Pancho Carter huge airborne crash and slide at Indy 500 (May 3, 1987) VIDEO & ALL PICS
- 6 years ago
Duane C. Carter, Jr. (born June 11, 1950), nicknamed "Pancho", is a retired American race car driver. In 1987 he experienced a big airborne and flipped upside down during practice for the Indy 500 on May 3rd 1987.
Just two minutes before the Indianapolis Motor Speedway closed Sunday, Carter lost control of his March-Cosworth entering the third turn. The car slid a total of 1,620 feet before landing upside-down in the middle of the track's fourth turn. Carter, the 1985 pole winner at Indianapolis, was released with no injuries from the track hospital. He was well enough to drive himself to Methodist Hospital for precautionary X-rays. Track doctors plan to examine him again before he will be allowed to return to the 2 1/2 mile oval.
Carter's vehicle slid 660 feet, spun and flew into the air before landing 100 feet away. After landing, the car skidded another 600 feet, hit the fourth turn wall and slid 260 feet before stopping, upside-down. The vehicle's rear wing was destroyed. The car also sustained damage to the roll bar, the suspension and the left side. Carter had reached a top speed of 210.035 mph, one of the day's best times, earlier in the afternoon.
"I was going to come in (to the pits) that lap. I had caught some traffic and there wasn't any point in staying out," said Carter, who blamed wind gusts for the crash. "I can only feel my car got in some spoiled air from another car and got away from me. It went sideways and then the air got under it. It turned upside-down but it didn't land that hard. I don't remember a really jarring blow. It just picked itself up and set itself down,' said Carter, whose helmet was scraped in three places from being shoved against the track."
He is most famous for his participation in CART races. He won the pole position for the 1985 Indianapolis 500, and won the 1981 Michigan 500. 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.
He drove his first Indianapolis 500 in 1974. He finished seventh, and was awarded the Rookie of the Year. In 1981 he finished third in the CART championship and captured his only Indy Car win at Michigan International Speedway. 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. His last year as a full-time Indy Car driver was 1990 and his last appearance in an Indy Car was failing to qualify for the 1994 Indianapolis 500. In more recent years, Carter has served as a spotter for Sam Hornish, Jr., Vitor Meira, Dillon Battistini, Dan Wheldon, Martin Plowman and Adrián Campos Jr.
Just two minutes before the Indianapolis Motor Speedway closed Sunday, Carter lost control of his March-Cosworth entering the third turn. The car slid a total of 1,620 feet before landing upside-down in the middle of the track's fourth turn. Carter, the 1985 pole winner at Indianapolis, was released with no injuries from the track hospital. He was well enough to drive himself to Methodist Hospital for precautionary X-rays. Track doctors plan to examine him again before he will be allowed to return to the 2 1/2 mile oval.
Carter's vehicle slid 660 feet, spun and flew into the air before landing 100 feet away. After landing, the car skidded another 600 feet, hit the fourth turn wall and slid 260 feet before stopping, upside-down. The vehicle's rear wing was destroyed. The car also sustained damage to the roll bar, the suspension and the left side. Carter had reached a top speed of 210.035 mph, one of the day's best times, earlier in the afternoon.
"I was going to come in (to the pits) that lap. I had caught some traffic and there wasn't any point in staying out," said Carter, who blamed wind gusts for the crash. "I can only feel my car got in some spoiled air from another car and got away from me. It went sideways and then the air got under it. It turned upside-down but it didn't land that hard. I don't remember a really jarring blow. It just picked itself up and set itself down,' said Carter, whose helmet was scraped in three places from being shoved against the track."
He is most famous for his participation in CART races. He won the pole position for the 1985 Indianapolis 500, and won the 1981 Michigan 500. 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.
He drove his first Indianapolis 500 in 1974. He finished seventh, and was awarded the Rookie of the Year. In 1981 he finished third in the CART championship and captured his only Indy Car win at Michigan International Speedway. 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. His last year as a full-time Indy Car driver was 1990 and his last appearance in an Indy Car was failing to qualify for the 1994 Indianapolis 500. In more recent years, Carter has served as a spotter for Sam Hornish, Jr., Vitor Meira, Dillon Battistini, Dan Wheldon, Martin Plowman and Adrián Campos Jr.