Pancho Carter

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Duane "Pancho" Carter, Jr. (born June 11, 1950 in Racine, Wisconsin) is a retired American race car driver. He is most famous for his participation in CART races.

1 Background
2 Racing career
3 Career awards
- 3.1 Indy 500 results
4 References

[edit] Background

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. His father's nickname was "Pappy". Pappy referred to his wife's pregnancy as "little paunch," so they nicknamed the child Pancho. ^[1] Carter is the half-brother of Johnny Parsons. ^[2]

[edit] Racing career

[edit] Midget cars

His 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 that he left the series in 1978. ^[1]

[edit] Sprint cars

He won the 1974 and 1976 national USAC sprint car championships. He was the first driver to win the two USAC championships. He has wins in three USAC divisions. ^[1]

[edit] Indycars

He drove his first Indianapolis 500 in 1974. He finished seventh, and was awarded the Rookie of the Year. 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. In more recent years, Carter has served as a spotter for Sam Hornish, Jr..

[edit] NASCAR

From 1985-1995 Pancho ran 14 NASCAR Winston Cup races for multiple owners including Elmo Langley. Pancho's best finish in NASCAR was a seventeenth place finish at the Michigan International Speedway. In 1995, Pancho also raced two Craftsman Truck Series races. ^[3]

[edit] Career awards

He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1990. ^[1]
Carter was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991.

[edit] Indy 500 results

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