Al Carter, who has bred, owned and raced Standardbreds for the past two decades doubles as a race car driver. A cancer survivor from Greenville, Del., Carter, has become a Rolex 24 At Daytona Champion. It took Carter only four Rolex 24 At Daytona participations to win the ‘greatest endurance race in North America.’
Carter's No. 93 SRT Viper race car started last in the GTD class field of the Daytona race this past Saturday afternoon.
Carter, who was entered in the No. 33 and No. 93 Viper GT3-Rs, drove multiple stints during the race in both cars, for the Riley Motorsports team, and never made a single mistake. The No. 33 and 93 cars ran in the top five most of the race and in the final hour of the race, after battling the best Porsches and Ferraris, the No. 93 came on top of its GTD class
Carter's driving talent and determination to succeed have continually shaped his racing career, attracting attention as early as his rookie year, by winning two Skip Barber Series Master Championships in a row. As an accomplished racer, a graduate of the University of Delaware with a degree in finance, and a father of three teenage children, Carter knows competition and how to excel while in the heat of it.
In harness racing, Carter has owned around 100 horses, including Totally Rusty, p,2, 1:52.f ($129,250), a homebred filly he bred from his stallion Rustys For Real and his mare Rustys Joy. Most of Carter’s horses have his nickname ‘Rusty’ in their names.
Previously, Carter visited the podium of three major races in three different series in 2012. He finished second in the World Challenge at Mid-Ohio, second, driving a Porsche in his first-ever ALMS race at Mid-Ohio, and won the GTC class of the ALMS Grand Prix of Baltimore, the first-ever professional win of his career
For 2015, Carter built an interesting TUDOR Championship racing program. He will co-drive the No. 93 ViperExchange.com Viper GT3-R in the GT Daytona class during the four races of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup (Rolex 24, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida, the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen and Petit Le Mans).
One of Carter's announced 2015 primary objectives was to score a podium finish at Daytona International Speedway. This weekend Carter achieved that childhood dream.
The next race for Carter will be the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida scheduled for March 18-21.
(Dover Downs)