Patrick Carpentier facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Patrick Carpentier
Carpentier in 2007
Born	(1971-08-13) August 13, 1971 (age 53) LaSalle, Quebec, Canada
Achievements	1985 Quebec Karting (4stroke) junior champion 1989 Spenard-David racing school series champion 1992 Formula Atlantic (Canada) series champion. 1996 Toyota Atlantic champion 1 Mile Oval: Fastest lap ever recorded by anyone (1998 Nazareth, PA CART) 184.896 mph with a qualifying lap of 18.419 sec.
Awards	1997 CART Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
42 races run over 6 years
2016 position	47th
Best finish	38th (2008)
First race	2007 Centurion Boats at the Glen (Watkins Glen)
Last race	2016 Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 1
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
16 races run over 6 years
Best finish	50th (2008)
First race	2007 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal)
Last race	2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 5 1
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	89th (2008)
First race	2008 O'Reilly 200 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Pinty's Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	35th (2006)
First race	2006 Hot Head Henry 200 (Cayuga)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
IndyCar Series career
17 races run over 1 year
Best finish	10th (2005)
First race	2005 Toyota Indy 300 (Homestead)
Last race	2005 Toyota Indy 400 (Fontana)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 2 0
Champ Car career
140 races run over 8 years
Best finish	3rd (2002 2004)
First race	1997 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami (Homestead)
Last race	2004 Gran Premio Telmex/Tecate (Mexico City)
First win	2001 Harrah's 500 (Michigan)
Last win	2004 Grand Prix of Monterey (Laguna Seca)
Wins Podiums Poles 5 22 5
Statistics current as of July 24, 2016.

Patrick Carpentier (born August 13, 1971) is a Canadian former professional auto racing driver. He competed in major open-wheel racing series like Champ Car and the IndyCar Series. Patrick achieved five wins and 24 podium finishes in these series. He also finished third in the championship twice, in 2002 and 2004.

After a successful career in open-wheel racing, Carpentier moved to Grand Am Road Racing and then to NASCAR. Since 2009, he has raced part-time. He also works as a color commentator for racing on TV. Today, Patrick is the president of a home construction company in Quebec.

Early Racing Years

Patrick Carpentier began his racing journey in Formula Ford 2000 Canada. He then moved up to the Player's Toyota Atlantic Championship in 1992. In 1995, he joined Lynx Racing and won his first race with them in Miami. He also won on the Nazareth Speedway oval.

The year 1996 was amazing for Carpentier. He broke many records in the Player's Toyota Atlantic Championship. He won nine out of 12 races, with eight of those wins in a row. He also started from the pole position in eight consecutive races. This included a big win at the Grand Prix Molson du Canada. His incredible 1996 season helped him move to the top level of Indycar racing.

IndyCar Career Highlights

After winning the 1996 Player's Toyota Atlantic Championship, Carpentier joined the Bettenhausen/Alumax team in CART. He made his debut in 1997 and earned the "Rookie of the Year" award. His best finish that year was second place at Gateway.

In 1998, he started driving for Player's Forsythe Racing. He became the team's main driver after his teammate, Greg Moore, sadly passed away. Another Canadian driver, Alex Tagliani, joined the team, keeping it all-Canadian.

Patrick's first Champ Car win came in 2001 at the Michigan International Speedway. He finished tenth in the overall standings that year. He won the race with an exciting pass on the very last lap. In 2002, he won two more races: the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland and the Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. He finished third in the championship that season. In 2003, he won the Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca.

Carpentier at Twin Ring Motegi in 2005

In 2004, Patrick won the Grand Prix of Monterey again. Despite finishing higher than his teammate, Paul Tracy, in the championship, Carpentier left the team. He joined Cheever Racing in the IndyCar Series for the 2005 season. He was expected to do well on oval tracks, which are common in IndyCar. However, his car's engines were not very competitive. He still managed to finish tenth in the standings with two third-place finishes.

The 2005 season was Patrick's last in open-wheel racing. He decided to retire due to safety concerns after seeing some serious crashes. During his nine years in CART and IndyCar, Carpentier finished in the top 10 eighty-five times. He also stood on the podium 24 times.

Sports Car Racing

After his IndyCar career, Carpentier raced a Crawford-Lexus DP03 in the 2006 Rolex 24 at Daytona. He also competed in a CASCAR Super Series event in 2006, finishing sixth. He then tried Grand-Am Road Racing, racing part-time with SAMAX Motorsport.

In 2007, he continued with SAMAX Motorsport in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. A highlight was finishing second in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. His team finished very close to the winner after 24 hours of racing. Carpentier left sports car racing in August 2007 to start a career in NASCAR.

Stock Car Racing

Patrick Carpentier practicing for the 2007 Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Patrick Carpentier made his NASCAR Busch Series debut on August 4, 2007, in Montreal. He started from the pole position and finished second in the race. He returned to Montreal in 2008 and finished second again. Carpentier also made his NASCAR Nextel Cup debut on August 12, 2007, at Watkins Glen. He led for seven laps and finished 20th. In October 2007, it was announced he would race full-time in 2008.

2008 Sprint Cup racecar

On June 27, 2008, in only his 17th NASCAR race, Carpentier made history. He became only the second non-American driver to win a pole position in NASCAR's top series. He was the first foreign-born driver to do so since 1953. He led the first four laps of the race, calling it "a heck of a thrill." Later, he had brake problems and finished 31st. On July 5, 2008, he achieved his best Sprint Cup finish, coming in 14th at the Coke Zero 400.

Carpentier in the qualification for the 2010 NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal

In 2009, Carpentier raced part-time for Michael Waltrip Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing. In 2010, he raced for Latitude 43 Motorsports. In 2011, he tried to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 but was unsuccessful. He also drove a few Sprint Cup races. On June 7, 2011, Carpentier announced he would officially retire from racing after the NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Montreal.

Carpentier's No. 32 car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016

Despite his retirement, Carpentier returned for two races in 2016. He competed in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma and the Brickyard 400 at Indy for Go FAS Racing. At Sonoma, a tire problem ruined a promising race. At Indy, he was involved in an accident during practice. He finished 34th in the Brickyard 400, his best finish of the season.

Retirement and Other Activities

Patrick Carpentier officially announced his retirement on August 20, 2011. This was just before a Nationwide race in Montreal. He left the race early due to contact with another car, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.

Even after retiring, Carpentier raced in the 2012 Montreal Nationwide Series race. He did this to raise money for children's charities. He started 13th and finished 29th.

In 2013, Carpentier joined the French-language sports channel RDS as a TV commentator for NASCAR races. He said he "needed to be around racing" after trying other things. Before this, he worked in home renovation and real estate.

In August 2014, Carpentier made his rallycross debut at the World Rallycross Championship event in Canada. He raced a Volkswagen Polo and made it to the final. He spun out during the final, finishing sixth. In 2015, he raced a Mini Countryman in the same event, finishing 14th.

Patrick Carpentier was honored for his career in 2021. He was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

Broadcasting Career

Patrick Carpentier is a TV commentator for motorsports on RDS. This is the French-language version of TSN, a major sports network in Canada.

Career Highlights

See also

In Spanish: Patrick Carpentier para niños

• List of Canadians in Champ Car
• List of Canadians in NASCAR