Travis Carter passed away on Tuesday, June 10, following a brief stay in hospice. Carter was 75 years old.
Carter had an exceptional career in the NASCAR Cup Series, which lasted more than 30 years. Throughout his tenure, the once aspiring race car driver served in a multitude of roles, including pit crew member, crew chief, and team owner.
As a crew chief, Carter reached the top of the mountain twice in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In 1973, the then 24-year-old Carter was selected by the DeWitt Racing team to serve as the crew chief for Benny Parsons. What resulted from that hire was one of the most consistent seasons in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series for a driver.
While Parsons won just one race that season, which came at Bristol in July, an impressive string of consistent finishes, including 15 top-fives and 21 top-10s through the 28-race season, allowed Parsons to overcome seven DNFs to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Carter would spend three seasons as the crew chief for Parsons, and together, the duo also won the 1975 Daytona 500.
After a fourth-place finish in the championship standings with Bobby Allison in 1976 and a part-time effort with Dave Marcis in 1977, Carter split crew chief duties for Cale Yarborough’s No. 11 Junior Johnson & Associates race team with Tim Brewer in 1978.
Carter would collect his second NASCAR Cup Series championship during that 1978 season, which marked the third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship for Yarborough, which stood as an all-time record until Jimmie Johnson’s five-consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship streak from 2006 to 2010.
In all, Carter won more than 30 races as a crew chief to go along with his two championships.
Late in the 1990 season, Carter would form his own racing team, Travis Carter Enterprises. Over 13 years as a NASCAR Cup Series team owner, Carter’s race cars nearly started 500 races (493), and while he didn’t have any wins to show for his efforts as a team owner, Carter’s No. 23 team came dangerously close to victory lane on several occasions with Jimmy Spencer behind the wheel in the 1990s.
Carter’s team faced an uncertain future after Kmart, his team’s primary sponsor, filed for bankruptcy early in the 2002 season. The 2003 NASCAR Cup Series season would mark the final season for Travis Carter Enterprises.
The race team recorded 17 top-five finishes, 58 top-10s, and six poles. Spencer finished 14th in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings in 1998, which was the best-ever point standings finish for any driver under the Travis Carter Enterprises banner.
The legendary crew chief and longtime successful team owner is survived by his wife Linda, son Matt, daughter Kim, and grandchildren Levi, Charlie, and Emma.
