Duane Carter

American racing driver
Duane Carter
Carter at Chicago's Soldier Field racetrack, circa 1946
BornDuane Claude Carter
(1913-05-05)May 5, 1913
Fresno, California, U.S.
DiedMarch 7, 1993(1993-03-07) (aged 79)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Awards
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame (2005)
Champ Car career
45 races run over 15 years
Years active1947-1955, 1959-1964
Best finish4th – 1952
First race1948 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race1963 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles
0 4 1
Formula One World Championship career
Active years1950 – 1955, 1959 – 1960
TeamsKurtis Kraft, Kuzma, Lesovsky, Stevens, Diedt
Entries8
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums1
Career points6.5
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1950 Indianapolis 500
Last entry1960 Indianapolis 500

Duane Claude Carter (May 5, 1913 – March 7, 1993) was an American racecar driver. He raced midget cars, sprint cars, and IndyCars.[1] Carter was born in Fresno, California, and he died in Indianapolis, Indiana. His son Pancho raced in Indy cars, along with Johnny Parsons (whom he helped raise[2]).

Racing career

Midget cars

Carter started racing midgets at the 1/5 mile dirt track in the west side of Fresno while attending Fresno State University. He was one of six drivers who went to Western Springs Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand in 1937. He won the first ever midget car race at that track. The car he drove still exists in a museum in Auckland. He was a consistent winner on the Nutley board track in 1939 while future journalist Chris Economaki was his unofficial crew chief. He won the 1940 Detroit VFW Motor Speedway title, the 1942 championship at Sportsman Park in Cleveland. He captured a 500 lap victory in his midget car at the 1947 Los Angeles Coliseum Motordome after Danny Oakes was initially declared the winner.[1]

Sprint cars

He moved up to the sprint cars, and won the 1950 Midwest division.[1]

Indy Cars

He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1948–1955, 1959–1960, and 1963 seasons with 47 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in each season. He finished in the top ten 23 times, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1953 at Phoenix. In his last race, at the Indy 500, he drove the innovative John Crosthwaite designed Harvey Aluminium Special ‘roller skate car’ with the then pioneering low profile, wide racing tyres and a stock Chevrolet engine. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

USAC director

He retired from competition in 1956 to take the Competition Director position for USAC. He returned to competition in 1959 after Henry Banks took over the position.[1]

Career awards

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired Chassis Engine
1948 16 29 126.015 11 22 59 0 Lost wheel Wetteroth Offy
1949 17 5 128.233 12 14 182 0 Spun T3 Stevens Offy
1950 18 13 131.666 12 12 133 0 Flagged Stevens Offy
1951 27 4 133.749 15 8 180 0 Flagged Diedt Offy
1952 1 6 135.522 16 4 200 0 Running Lesovsky Offy
1953 4 27 135.267 31 24 94 0 Ignition Lesovsky Offy
3 - - - 3rd* 200 0 Running Kurtis Kraft Offy
1954 16 8 138.238 20 15 196 0 Flagged Kurtis Kraft Offy
34 - - - 4** 200 0 Running Kurtis Kraft Offy
1955 98 18 139.330 19 11 197 0 Flagged Kuzma Offy
1959 37 12 142.795 17 7 200 0 Running Kurtis Kraft Offy
1960 17 27 142.631 28 12 200 0 Running Kuzma Offy
1963 83 15 148.002 30 23 100 0 Rod Mickey Thompson Chevrolet
Totals 1741 0
Starts 11
Poles 0
Front Row 0
Wins 0
Top 5 3
Top 10 5
Retired 4

* shared drive with Sam Hanks

** shared drive with Troy Ruttman

  • Carter drove 1,741 laps or 4,352.5 miles (7,004.7 km) at Indianapolis without leading a lap. This currently ranks 5th on the all-time list.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 WDC Points
1950 Murrell Belanger Stevens Offenhauser L4 GBR MON 500
12 		SUI BEL FRA ITA NC 0
1951 Mobiloil / Rotary Engineering Diedt Tuffanelli Derrico Offenhauser L4 SUI 500
8 		BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP NC 0
1952 Belanger Motors Lesovsky Offenhauser L4 SUI 500
4 		BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA 15th 3
1953 Bardahl / Ed Walsh Kurtis Kraft 4000 Offenhauser L4 ARG 500
3 † 		NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA 13th= 2
1954 Automobile Shippers / Casaroll Kurtis Kraft 500A Offenhauser L4 ARG 500
4 * 		BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA ESP 23rd= 1.5
1955 J.C. Agajanian Kuzma Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500
11 		BEL NED GBR ITA NC 0
1959 Smokey Yunick Kurtis Kraft 500H Offenhauser L4 MON 500
7 		NED FRA GBR GER POR ITA USA NC 0
1960 Thompson / Ensley & Murphy Kuzma Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500
12 		NED BEL FRA GBR POR ITA USA NC 0
† Indicates shared drive with Sam Hanks after retiring his own car.
* Indicates shared drive with Troy Ruttman. Carter's own car finished 15th after being taken over by Marshall Teague, Jimmy Jackson and Tony Bettenhausen.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Biography for Johnny Parsons at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Road & Track magazine June 1963
  4. ^ Motor Trend magazine June 1963
  5. ^ Car & Driver magazine June 1963
  6. ^ Car and Driver magazine August 1963
  7. ^ Indianapolis 500 Mile Race USAC Yearbook 1963. Floyd Clymer
  8. ^ "Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame | Home". Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame | Home. Archived from the original on 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2017-02-02.