Duane
Carter

Duane Carter was born in Fresno, California, in 1913. He began racing midgets on a small dirt track in his home town while studying at Fresno State University. In 1937 he was one of six drivers who travelled to Auckland, New Zealand, and he won the first midget race held at Western Springs Stadium. He went on to win the 1940 title at the Detroit VFW Motor Speedway and the 1942 championship at Sportsman Park in Cleveland. In 1947 he won a 500-lap race at the Los Angeles Coliseum. In 1950 he took the Midwest division title in sprint cars.

Carter competed in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series in 1948 to 1955, 1959, 1960 and 1963, making 47 starts. He also started the Indianapolis 500 in each of those years. His best finish in the series was second place at Phoenix in 1953.

From 1950 to 1960 the Indianapolis 500 counted towards the Formula One World Championship. All eight of Carter's World Championship starts came in that race, in 1950 to 1955, 1959 and 1960. He took one podium finish, but no wins or pole positions. His best place in the championship standings was 13th, in both 1952 and 1953.

In 1956 he stopped racing for a time to become competition director of USAC. He returned to competition in 1959, after Henry Banks took over that post. His final race was the 1963 Indianapolis 500, driving the Harvey Aluminium Special, a design by John Crosthwaite with a low profile, wide tyres and a stock Chevrolet engine. His son Pancho also raced in Indy cars. Carter was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame in 1967, the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1989 and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991. He died in Indianapolis in 1993.

Source: Wikipedia, “Duane Carter”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.