Pete Halsmer

John Peter Halsmer (born March 3, 1944 in Lafayette, Indiana), is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in 5 seasons (1980, 1982–1985), with 33[1] career starts, and started in the Indianapolis 500 in 1981-1982. He finished in the top five three times in the CART series, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1983 at Cleveland. In 1992, Halsmer raced in the IROC series, representing IMSA. Pete drove for Ford/Roush (NASCAR owner Jack Roush) from 1986 through 1989 and won six Trans Am races and four GTO races winning the 1989 GTO championship. From 1990 through 1992 he drove for Mazda and won another GTO championship in 1991. From 1994 through 1997 he drove BMWs, winning four GT2 races and winning the Manufacturer's Title in 1996. From 1999 to 2004 he drove for and provided technical consulting for Honda America Race Team winning several championships in Motorola Cup and Grand Am Cup series. Halsmer is also a 3 time class winner at the 24 Hours of Daytona and was trained as a helicopter pilot and served in the Vietnam War.[2][3]

Halsmer at the 2014 Indianapolis 500.

Early life and education

Halsmer graduated from Purdue University with degrees in industrial supervision and aviation electronics. He was drafted into the army and became a helicopter pilot. He served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War in 1970.[4]

Racing record

CART PPG IndyCar World Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
1980	Wysard Racing	Wildcat	Offenhauser	ONT 20	INDY DNQ															36th	128
1980	Wysard Racing	McLaren	Cosworth			MIL	POC	MDO	MCH	WGL	MIL	ONT	MCH	MEX	PHX 6					36th	128
1982	Arciero Racing	Eagle	Chevrolet	PHX	ATL	MIL	CLE	MCH	MIL	POC	RIV 24	ROA 19	MCH	PHX 24						43rd	2
1983	Arciero Racing	Penske	Cosworth	ATL 4	INDY DNQ	MIL 9	CLE 2	MCH 33	ROA 14	POC 14	RIV 27	MDO 24	MCH 14	CPL 5	LAG 20	PHX 7				11th	48
1984	Arciero Racing	Penske	Cosworth	LBH 8	PHX 14	INDY DNQ	MIL DNQ													29th	9
		March						POR 22	MEA 26	CLE			POC 18	MDO 13	SAN 24	MCH 18	PHX 18	LAG 26
		Arciero																	CPL 9
	Curb-All American Racers	Eagle	Pontiac								MCH 14	ROA
1985	Machinists Union Racing	March	Cosworth	LBH	INDY DNQ	MIL 15	POR 8	MEA 19	CLE	MCH	ROA	POC	MDO	SAN	MCH 11	LAG	PHX	MIA		32nd	7

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1981	Penske	Cosworth	24	24	Arciero Racing
1982	Eagle	Chevrolet	32	25	Arciero Racing

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year	Track	Car	Engine	Class	Finish	Start	Status
1974	Road Atlanta	Brabham BT29	Cosworth	Formula B	15	9	Retired

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Pete Halsmer at the 2016 Brickyard SVRA Pro-Am race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos	Points
1977	Race Research Inc.	TRE	MIL	MOS	PIR 3							12th	140
1978	Simpson Racers	PIR1 4	TRE1 9	MOS 6	MIL1 21	TEX 24	MIL2 15	OMS1 10	OMS2 10	TRE2 19	PIR2 23	12th	318
1979		TEX1 4	IRP 9	MIL1 8	POC 8	TEX2 12	MIL2 5	MIN1 4	MIN2 2			4th	650
1980	Frank Arciero	MIL 3	POC 2	MDO 23	MIN1 4	MIN2 14	ONT 1					2nd	628

References

33 starts do not include the 1981 or 1982 Indy 500, as it was not a CART race either year.
Pete Halsmer « Where are they now? « OldRacingCars.com
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Archived 2006-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
Flying. "Pete Halsmer, Race Car Driver, Flying Reader", volume 117, number 12, December 1990, p. 127.

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[1] 33 starts do not include the 1981 or 1982 Indy 500, as it was not a CART race either year.

[2] Pete Halsmer « Where are they now? « OldRacingCars.com

[3] Indianapolis Motor Speedway Archived 2006-10-17 at the Wayback Machine

[4] Flying. "Pete Halsmer, Race Car Driver, Flying Reader", volume 117, number 12, December 1990, p. 127.