
John Peter Halsmer (born March 3, 1944, in
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette ( ) is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Lafayette ...
), is a former driver in the
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs.
A handcart ...
Championship Car
American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...
series. He raced in 5 seasons (1980, 1982–1985), with 33 career starts, and started in the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
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
International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an American-motorsports equivalent of an all-star game. Despite its name, IROC was primarily ...
series, representing
IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...
. Pete drove for Ford/Roush (
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
owner
Jack Roush
Jack Roush (born Jackson Earnest Roush on April 19, 1942) is the founder, CEO, and co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, a NASCAR team headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, and is chairman of Roush Enterprises.
Roush Enterprises is the ...
) 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
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...
and was trained as a
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
pilot and served in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
.
Early life and education
Halsmer graduated from
Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
with degrees in industrial supervision and aviation electronics. He was drafted into the army and became a helicopter pilot. He served in
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
in 1970.
['']Flying
Flying may refer to:
* Flight, the process of flying
* Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft
Music
Albums
* '' Flying (Cody Fry album)'', 2017
* ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997
* ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008
* ...
''
"Pete Halsmer, Race Car Driver, Flying Reader"
volume 117, number 12, December 1990, p. 127.
Racing record
CART PPG IndyCar World Series
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
Indianapolis 500
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest race lap)
Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halsmer, Pete
1944 births
Living people
United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
American Le Mans Series drivers
Champ Car drivers
Indianapolis 500 drivers
International Race of Champions drivers
Sportspeople from Lafayette, Indiana
Racing drivers from Indiana
Trans-Am Series drivers
SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
Purdue University alumni
SCCA National Championship Runoffs participants
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
United States Army soldiers