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, and

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapoli ...

s.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, maki ...

, 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 Mar ...

. 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 conce ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

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 coun ...

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 Christopher Constantine Economaki (October 15, 1920 – September 28, 2012) was an American motorsports commentator, pit road reporter, and journalist. Economaki was given the title "The Dean of American Motorsports Journalism."

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 United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

. 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.

Sprint cars

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

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 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 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 took over the position.

Career awards

*Carter was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame in 1967. *He was inducted in the

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum is a Hall of Fame and museum for sprint car drivers, owners, mechanics, builders, manufacturers, promoters, sanctioning officials and media members. The museum is located in Knoxville, Iowa, the h ...

in 1991. *He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1989.

Indianapolis 500 results

* shared drive with Sam Hanks ** 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) : ''† Indicates shared drive with Sam Hanks 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.''

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