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 retired Canadian professional race car driver. He was born in LaSalle, Quebec, Canada. Patrick competed in many different types of racing. These included the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series.

He won five races and stood on the podium 24 times in these series. He also finished third in the championship twice, in 2002 and 2004. After many years in Champ Car, he moved to the IndyCar Series in 2005. Later, he raced in Grand Am Road Racing in 2007. He also competed in some NASCAR races in 2007 and then full-time in 2008.

Since 2009, Patrick has raced part-time. He also works as a contractor and renovator in Montreal. He trades real estate in Las Vegas. He is also a color commentator for TV broadcasts of various racing series. His last race was part-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He drove the No. 32 Ford Fusion for Go FAS Racing. Today, Patrick Carpentier is the president of a home construction company in Quebec.

Early Racing Days

Patrick Carpentier began his racing career in Formula Ford 2000 Canada. Then, he moved up to the Player's Toyota Atlantic Championship in 1992. In 1995, he joined Lynx Racing. He won his very first race for the team on the streets of Bicentennial Park (Miami). He also won on the Nazareth Speedway oval track. However, he had many mechanical problems that year.

The year 1996 was much better for Patrick. In the Player's Toyota Atlantic Championship, he broke many records. He won nine out of 12 races. Eight of these wins were in a row, starting from the pole position. He set new records for most wins in a row (8) and most wins in a season (9). He also led the most laps and earned the most points in a season (239 points). One of his wins was at the Grand Prix Molson du Canada. His amazing 1996 season helped him move up to the major IndyCar series.

Champ Car and IndyCar Career

After his big win in the 1996 Player's Toyota Atlantic Championship, Patrick Carpentier got a chance to race in CART. He joined the Bettenhausen/Alumax team in 1997. He was faster than many experienced drivers from the US and Europe in a test at Sebring.

In his first CART season, he started from pole position at Nazareth. His best finish was second place at the first race at Gateway. He was also named "Rookie of the Year" that season.

In 1998, he started driving for Player's Forsythe Racing. He raced alongside fellow Canadian driver, Greg Moore. After Moore's sad death in 1999, Patrick became the team's main driver. Another Canadian rookie, Alex Tagliani, joined the team. In his early years, Patrick sometimes missed races due to injuries. Some of these injuries happened away from the track.

Patrick's first Champ Car win happened in 2001 at the Harrah's 500. This race was at the Michigan International Speedway. He finished tenth overall in the championship that year. In that race, he made a thrilling pass on Dario Franchitti on the very last lap to win. This first win came in his 79th race.

The next year, 2002, was even better. He won two races: the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland and the Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. He finished third in the championship standings. In 2003, he finished fifth overall, even though his teammate Paul Tracy won the championship. Patrick did win the Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca that year.

Carpentier at Twin Ring Motegi in 2005

In 2004, there were rumors that Patrick might leave Forsythe Racing. But the team owner, Gerald Forsythe, decided to keep Patrick and add a third car for another driver. Patrick was popular in Canada, which helped him keep his spot. He showed his skill by winning the Grand Prix of Monterey again. Even though he finished higher than Paul Tracy in the 2004 championship, Patrick left the team. He joined Eddie Cheever's Cheever Racing in the IndyCar Series for 2005.

People expected Patrick to do well in IndyCar because he was great on oval tracks. Most IndyCar races were on ovals, which were rare in Champ Car at the time. However, his Toyota engines were not very competitive. This stopped him from having major success. He finished tenth in the standings. He had two third-place finishes and 11 top-10 finishes out of 17 races.

The 2005 season was Patrick's last in open-wheel racing. He decided to retire from this type of racing. In his nine years in CART and IndyCar, Patrick finished in the top 10 eighty-five times. He also stood on the podium 24 times.

Sports Car Racing

After his IndyCar career, Patrick Carpentier raced a Crawford-Lexus DP03 for Eddie Cheever in the 2006 Rolex 24 at Daytona. He then raced in a CASCAR Super Series event at Cayuga Speedway in 2006. He started 21st and finished sixth.

Next, he tried Grand-Am Road Racing. He raced part-time with SAMAX Motorsport in their Riley Mk XI. He signed with SAMAX again for the 2007 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. He drove a Daytona Prototype with Milka Duno or Ryan Dalziel. The best moment was finishing second in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. He, Milka Duno, and Darren Manning drove their Riley-Pontiac Mk XI. They finished just over a minute behind the winner after 24 hours of racing. Patrick's last race for SAMAX was the 400 km Montreal on August 3, 2007. He finished tenth. He then left SAMAX 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 first appearance in the NASCAR Busch Series on August 4, 2007. This race was at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. He won the pole position in qualifying. He finished the race in second place, behind Kevin Harvick. He returned to Montreal in 2008 and finished second again.

Patrick made his NASCAR Nextel Cup debut on August 12, 2007, at Watkins Glen. He drove the #10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools-sponsored Dodge for Gillett Evernham Motorsports. He started 40th and led for seven laps. He finished the race in 20th place. In October 2007, it was announced that he would drive the #10 car full-time in 2008.

On February 14, 2008, Patrick tried to qualify for the 2008 Daytona 500. He was doing well, running in the top 10 for most of the race. But late in the race, his right front tire blew. This sent his car into the wall.

2008 Sprint Cup racecar

Patrick had never seen New Hampshire Motor Speedway before racing there in 2008. On June 27, 2008, in only his 17th NASCAR race, he became the second non-American driver to win a pole position. He was the first foreign-born driver to win a pole in NASCAR's top series since 1953. On race day, he led the first four laps. "That was a heck of a thrill," Patrick said. "Winning the pole was a highlight. But leading those laps was unbelievable." He later had brake problems and finished 31st.

On July 5, 2008, Patrick had his best Sprint Cup finish. He came in 14th place in the Coke Zero 400.

On August 30, 2008, Patrick announced he would be a free agent for the 2009 Sprint Cup Series. He left Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Later, A. J. Allmendinger finished the year for the team.

On June 9, 2009, Michael Waltrip Racing announced that Patrick would replace team owner Michael Waltrip. He would drive the No. 55 NAPA-sponsored Toyota for two road course races. These were at Infineon and Watkins Glen. Patrick also raced in some events for Tommy Baldwin Racing.

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

In 2010, Patrick raced in several events for Latitude 43 Motorsports. In 2011, he tried to qualify for the 95th Indianapolis 500 for Dragon Racing. However, he could not get the car up to speed. He also drove a few Sprint Cup races for Frank Stoddard's team. On June 7, Patrick told the Toronto Sun that he would officially retire from racing. His last race was the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. He drove for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing.

On April 22, 2016, Patrick announced he would return to the Cup Series for two races. These were the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma and the Brickyard 400 at Indy. He drove the No. 32 Can-Am Kappa, Cyclops Ford Fusion for Go FAS Racing. At Sonoma, he was the only road course specialist in the race. He was running 11th when a tire blew, causing him to finish 37th. At the 2016 Brickyard 400, he had an accident with Kyle Busch during practice. Patrick finished 34th in the race, which was his best finish of the season.

Retirement and Later Activities

On August 20, 2011, Patrick Carpentier announced his retirement. This was just before the Nationwide race in Montreal. While running fourth, contact with Steven Wallace forced him out of the race. He left to a standing ovation from the crowd.

Even after retiring, Patrick said in January 2012 that he would race in the Montreal Nationwide Series race in 2012. He wanted to raise money for children's charities. He started 13th and finished 29th.

In 2013, Patrick joined the French-language sports channel RDS. He became a color commentator for their NASCAR broadcasts. He said he "tried other things but I need to be around racing." Before this, Patrick was in the home renovation business. He bought and sold real estate in Nevada, where he lived as a racer. When RDS offered him the job, he took it.

In August 2014, Patrick had a chance to try rallycross. This was at the first World Rallycross Championship event at Circuit Trois-Rivières in Canada. He raced with the Volkswagen Marklund Motorsport team. Even though he was new to rallycross cars, he made it to the Final. In the final, he spun out and crashed, finishing sixth. He raced a JRM Racing Mini Countryman in the 2015 World RX of Canada. This time, he finished 14th and did not reach the semi-finals.

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

Career Highlights

Images for kids

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  Carpentier at Twin Ring Motegi in 2005

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

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  2008 Sprint Cup racecar

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

See also

In Spanish: Patrick Carpentier para niños

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