Pancho Carter

Duane C. Carter Jr. (born June 11, 1950), nicknamed "Pancho", is a retired American race car driver. He is most famous for his participation in CART races. He won the pole position for the 1985 Indianapolis 500, and won the 1981 Michigan 500.

Pancho Carter
Carter at the 2011 Indianapolis 500
NationalityAmerican
Born (1950-06-11) June 11, 1950
Racine, Wisconsin, U.S.
Achievements1972 USAC Midget Car Champion
1974, 1976 USAC Sprint Car Champion
AwardsNational Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Inductee, 1990
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee, 1991
Champ Car career
165 races run over 18 years
Best finish3rd (1981)
First race1974 Indy 500 (Indy)
Last race1992 Marlboro 500 (Michigan)
First win1981 Norton Michigan 500 (Michigan)
Wins Podiums Poles
1 14 1
NASCAR Cup Series career
14 races run over 6 years
Best finish38th (1986)
First race1985 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Last race1995 UAW-GM Teamwork 500 (Pocono)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
2 races run over 1 year
Best finish49th (1995)
First race1995 Ford Credit 125 (Mesa Marin)
Last race1995 Maxx Race Cards 200 (Portland)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

Personal life

He is the son of Indycar racer Duane Carter. He was born while his parents were on the way to a race at the Milwaukee Mile.[1] His father's nickname was "Pappy". Pappy referred to his wife's pregnancy as "little paunch," so they nicknamed the child Pancho.[2] Carter is the half-brother of Johnny Parsons. His full brother, Dana Carter, also raced in USAC midgets, sprints and Silver Crown. He died of a heart attack in the early 1980s.[3]

Carter is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach.[4] He is married, to Carla; they have two children, and their son Cole is an aspiring racer.[1]

Racing career

Midget cars

Carter's national career began while racing in a midget car. He won the 1972 USAC midget car championship. He won the 1972 and 1975 Hut Hundred. He had 23 midget car feature wins by the time he left the series in 1978.[2]

Sprint cars

Carter won the 1974 and 1976 national USAC sprint car championships. He was the first driver to win the two USAC championships – midgets and sprint cars. He has wins in three USAC divisions – midgets, sprints and Silver Crown (formerly known as dirt cars).

On May 30, 1977, Carter won two USAC Midget features, one USAC sprint feature and finished second in the second USAC sprint feature at Salem Speedway on a day the temperatures were near 100 degrees. This was one day after he finished 15th in the Indianapolis 500.[2]

Carter ran well on dirt and pavement, but was exceptional on the paved high banks at Winchester and Salem, Indianapolis, and Dayton, Ohio. He won the Joe James/Pat O'Conner Memorial race at the half-mile at Salem, Indiana, on four consecutive occasions.

Carter was seriously injured during a testing crash at Phoenix International Speedway in November 1977. The injuries left him with a permanent disability in one of his legs that hampered his ability to perform well on road courses. He still ran very well on ovals. He made his return to racing at the end of March in 1978, winning a USAC Sprint race at the paved five-eighths mile Indianapolis Raceway Park on Saturday night and at the high-banked half-mile Winchester Speedway the next day – his first races back in the cockpit of a racecar.

Carter was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1990,[2] and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991.

Indy Cars

Carter drove his first Indianapolis 500 in 1974. He finished seventh, and was awarded the Rookie of the Year. In 1981 he finished third in the CART championship and captured his only Indy Car win at Michigan International Speedway. He finished third in the 1982 Indianapolis 500 behind the now-famous duel between Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears. In 1985, Carter drove the brand new Buick V6 engine to the pole position of the 1985 Indianapolis 500. He retired with mechanical problems after completing just six laps, becoming the first pole-sitter since Cliff Woodbury to finish dead-last. His last year as a full-time Indy Car driver was 1990 and his last appearance in an Indy Car was failing to qualify for the 1994 Indianapolis 500. In more recent years, Carter has served as a spotter for Sam Hornish, Jr., Vítor Meira, Dillon Battistini, Dan Wheldon, Martin Plowman and Adrián Campos Jr..In 2019 he was the spotter for Rookie Santino Ferrucci who also finished 7th and was Rookie of the Year as was Carter in his Indy 500 debut

NASCAR

Carter passes Eddie Bierschwale at Pocono in 1986

From 1985–1995 Carter ran 14 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races for multiple owners. His first start was at Darlington Raceway in 1985, which was the Southern 500. The race was best known for Bill Elliott locking up the Winston Million, Carter finished in 22nd. Carter began the 1986 season driving for Elmo Langley; at the 1986 Daytona 500, he and Kyle Petty were involved in a turn one accident, thus winding up in 34th place. After three races with Langley's team, he moved to driving for Roger Hamby,[4] competing in six more races that year; he posted his best career NASCAR finish with Hamby, a seventeenth-place finish at the Michigan International Speedway. In 1990, he competed at Atlanta Motor Speedway, driving for Paul Romine;[5] he drove for Donlavey Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1992,[6] and his final two races in Winston Cup competition came for Triad Motorsports at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1994, where he tied his career-best finish, and Pocono Raceway in 1995.[7]

In 1995, Pancho also raced two Craftsman Truck Series races,[8] driving for Enerjetix Motorsports.[9]

Post-racing career

Carter currently acts as a spotter for Dale Coyne Racing.[1]

Motorsports career results

American open-wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC Champ Car/Gold Crown Series

USAC Champ Car/Gold Crown results
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points
1974 Fletcher Racing ONT ONT ONT PHX TRE INDY
7
MIL POC
15
MCH
9
MIL
12
MCH
2
TRE
9
TRE
6
PHX
9
12th 1040
1975 Fletcher Racing ONT
2
ONT ONT
19
PHX
8
TRE INDY
4
MIL
6
POC
24
MCH
4
MIL
14
MCH
8
TRE
DNS
PHX
8
9th 1345
1976 All American Racers PHX
2
TRE
7
INDY
5
MIL
18
POC
14
MCH TWS TRE MIL ONT
29
MCH
DNS
TWS
10
PHX 12th 920
1977 All American Racers ONT
3
PHX
20
TWS
11
TRE
9
INDY
15
MIL
5
POC
20
MOS MCH
10
TWS
3
MIL
2
ONT
14
MCH 8th 1420
Alex Morales Motorsports PHX
3
1978 Fletcher Racing PHX ONT TWS TRE INDY
24
MOS
15
MIL
21
POC
10
MCH
DNS
ATL
11
TWS
11
MIL ONT
2
MCH
18
TRE
7
SIL BRH PHX
9
10th 1206
1979 Alex Morales Motorsports ONT TWS INDY
20
MIL POC TWS MIL NC 0
1980 Alex Morales Motorsports ONT
18
INDY
6
MIL
4
POC
6
MDO
7
5th 1078
1981-82 Alex Morales Motorsports INDY
28
POC ILL DUQ ISF INDY
3
NC 0

PPG Indycar Series

CART IndyCar World Series results
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points
1979 Alex Morales Motorsports PHX
20
ATL
9
ATL
11
INDY
20
TRE
10
TRE
8
MCH
7
MCH
14
WGL
16
TRE
DNS
ONT
28
MCH
8
ATL
13
PHX
7
13th 452
1980 Alex Morales Motorsports ONT
18
INDY
6
MIL
4
POC
6
MDO
7
MCH
3
WGL
7
MIL
22
ONT
7
MCH
7
MEX
22
PHX
19
5th 1855
1981 Alex Morales Motorsports PHX
7
MIL
20
ATL
5
ATL
5
MCH
1
RIV
10
MIL
10
MCH
18
WGL
15
MEX
6
PHX
5
3rd 166
1982 Alex Morales Motorsports PHX
6
ATL
10
MIL
13
CLE
19
MCH
18
MIL
6
POC
28
RIV
19
ROA
11
MCH
12
PHX
11
17th 47
1983 Alex Morales Motorsports ATL
16
INDY
7
MIL
14
CLE
8
MCH
6
ROA
7
POC
6
RIV
7
MDO
10
MCH
15
CPL
6
LAG
25
PHX
10
10th 53
1984 Galles Racing LBH PHX INDY
19
MIL POR MEA CLE MCH
6
ROA POC
7
MDO SAN MCH PHX
7
LAG CPL
11
21st 22
1985 Galles Racing LBH
13
INDY
33
MIL
5
POR
13
MEA CLE
16
MCH
16
ROA POC
12
MDO SAN
2
MCH
10
LAG PHX
7
MIA 18th 33
1986 Galles Racing PHX LBH INDY
16
MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH
3
POC
3
MDO SAN
15
MCH ROA LAG PHX MIA 19th 28
1987 Machinists Union Racing LBH PHX INDY
27
MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH
20
POC
6
ROA
14
MDO
14
NAZ
17
LAG
12
MIA
14
25th 9
1988 Machinists Union Racing PHX LBH INDY
DNQ
MIL POR CLE TOR MEA MCH POC MDO ROA NAZ LAG MIA NC -
1989 Leader Card Racing PHX
7
LBH
17
INDY
22
MIL
9
DET
10
POR
9
CLE
14
MEA
13
TOR
27
MCH
26
POC
12
MDO
28
ROA
19
NAZ
18
LAG
24
13th 18
1990 Leader Card Racing PHX
8
LBH INDY
29
MIL
15
DET
9
POR
15
CLE
14
MEA
18
TOR
18
MCH
18
DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG 20th 9
1991 Arciero Racing SRF LBH PHX INDY
21
MIL
14
DET POR CLE MEA TOR 26th 3
Leader Card Racing MCH
10
DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG
1992 Hemelgarn Racing SRF PHX LBH INDY
DNQ
DET POR MIL 31st 2
Gilmore Racing NHA
11
TOR MCH
17
CLE ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG
1994 McCormack Motorsports SRF PHX LBH INDY
DNQ
MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO NHA VAN ROA NAZ LAG NC -

Indy 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish
1974 Eagle Offy 21st 7th
1975 Eagle Offy 18th 4th
1976 Eagle Offy 6th 5th
1977 Eagle Offy 8th 15th
1978 Lighning Cosworth 21st 24th
1979 Lighning Cosworth 17th 20th
1980 Penske Cosworth 8th 6th
1981 Penske Cosworth 10th 28th
1982 March Cosworth 10th 3rd
1983 March Cosworth 14th 7th
1984 March Cosworth 21st 19th
1985 March Buick 1st 33rd
1986 Lola Cosworth 14th 16th
1987 March Cosworth 29th 27th
1988 March Buick Qualifying Crash
1989 Lola Cosworth 32nd 22nd
1990 Lola Cosworth 22nd 29th
1991 Lola Buick 32nd 21st
1992 Lola Buick Failed to Qualify
1994 Lola Chevrolet Failed to Qualify

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NWCC Pts
1985 Ellington Racing 1 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY POC TAL MCH BRI DAR
22
RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 88th 97
1986 Langley Racing 64 Ford DAY
34
RCH CAR
23
ATL
38
BRI DAR NWS MAR 38th 706
Hamby Racing 17 Chevy TAL
18
DOV CLT RSD POC
28
MCH
17
DAY
28
POC TAL
40
GLN
31
MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD
1990 Romine Racing 29 Ford DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL
32
90th 67
1992 Donlavey Racing 90 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
32
CAR PHO ATL 82nd 67
1994 Triad Motorsports 78 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
DNQ
CAR PHO ATL
17
60th 112
1995 DAY CAR RCH ATL
DNQ
DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC
35
MCH DAY NHA POC TAL 63rd 58
Cave Motorsports IND
DNQ
GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL

SuperTruck Series

NASCAR SuperTruck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 NSTSC Pts
1995 Enerjetix Motorsports 99 Chevy PHO TUS SGS
DNQ
MMR
28
POR
16
EVG I70 LVL BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH MAR NWS SON MMR PHO 49th 349

References

  1. Shaffer, Jan (May 24, 2013). "Where Are They Now? Pancho Carter". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on September 16, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  2. His biography Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
  3. Biography of Johnny Parsons, National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, archived from the original on 2007-09-29
  4. "Pancho Carter Joins NASCAR Stock Car Circuit". Boca Raton News. May 25, 1986. p. 11. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  5. "Carter rejoins NASCAR circuit". The Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, IA. October 4, 1990. p. 3B. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  6. "Driver By Driver". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. October 12, 1993. p. 7B. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  7. "Pancho Carter - NASCAR Sprint Cup Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  8. NASCAR biography, racing-reference.info
  9. "Carter will drive local NASCAR truck". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, WA. March 9, 1995. p. C3. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Graham McRae
Indianapolis 500
Rookie of the Year

1974
Succeeded by
Bill Puterbaugh
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