Duane Carter (May 5, 1913 – March 7, 1993) was an American racecar driver. He raced

midget cars Midget (from '' midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like " dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ...

sprint cars Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 * Chevrolet Sprint ...

, and IndyCars.Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
Carter was born in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, and he died in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. His son

Pancho Pancho is a male nickname for the given name Francisco (Spanish and Portuguese equivalent of Francis). The feminine form is Pancha. It is also sometimes used as a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Pancho Barnes (1901– ...

raced in Indy cars, along with

Johnny Parsons John Wayne Parsons1975 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (May 25, 1975) (born August 26, 1944 in Van Nuys, California) is an American race car driver. He is the son of 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner John ...

(whom he helped raise).

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 California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

. He was one of six drivers who went to

Western Springs Stadium Western Springs Stadium is a stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Built within a natural amphitheatre, it is primarily used for rugby union matches during the winter and for speedway during the summer. It is also occasionally used for large concer ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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 Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He captured a 500 lap victory in his midget car at the 1947 Los Angeles Coliseum Motordome after

Danny Oakes Danny Oakes (July 18, 1911 – January 13, 2007) was an American midget car hall of fame driver. Early life Daniel G. Oakes became interested in racing when he delivered morning and evening newspapers in his hometown of Santa Barbara, Califor ...

was initially declared the winner.

Sprint cars

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

Indy Cars

He drove in the

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

and USAC

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive event ...

series, racing in the 1948-1955, 1959–1960, and 1963 seasons with 47 starts, including the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

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 John Crosthwaite (9 October 1925 – 5 September 2010) was an English race car designer and engineer, active in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Crosthwaite worked with Cooper Cars, Colin Chapman at Team Lotus and Mickey Thompson as ...

designed Harvey Aluminium Special ‘roller skate car’ with the then pioneering low profile, wide racing tyres and a stock Chevrolet engine.

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 Henry Banks (June 14, 1913 – December 18, 1994) was an American midget car and "big car" driver. "Married Roseanne Eisamann, two children, John Allen Banks, and Kathryn Roseanne Banks, three grandchildren Allen Edwin Banks, Jeffrey Henry Banks ...

took over the position.

Career awards

*Carter was inducted into the

Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

in 1967. *He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991. *He was inducted in the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Sun Prairie is a city in Dane County in the U.S. state of Wi ...

in 1989.

Indianapolis 500 results

* shared drive with

Sam Hanks Samuel Dwight "Sam" Hanks (July 13, 1914 – June 27, 1994) was an American race car driver who won the 1957 Indianapolis 500. He was a barnstormer, and raced midget and Championship cars. Racing career Hanks was born in Columbus, Ohio and l ...

** shared drive with

Troy Ruttman Troy Ruttman (born March 11, 1930 – May 19, 1997) was an American race car driver. He was the older brother of Jimmy Ruttman, and NASCAR driver Joe Ruttman. Ruttman won the Indianapolis 500 in 1952, at the age of 22 years and 80 days. , he is ...

*Carter drove 1,741 laps or at Indianapolis without leading a lap. This currently ranks 5th on the all-time list.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) : ''† Indicates shared drive with

after retiring his own car.'' : ''* Indicates shared drive with

. Carter's own car finished 15th after being taken over by Marshall Teague, Jimmy Jackson and

Tony Bettenhausen Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen (September 12, 1916 – May 12, 1961) was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958. Bettenhausen was nicknamed the "Tinley Park Express" in honor of his hometown. He was ...

.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Duane 1913 births 1993 deaths 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Bonneville 200 MPH Club members Indianapolis 500 drivers National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Fresno, California Racing drivers from California AAA Championship Car drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Carrera Panamericana drivers