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Travis Carter, Former Car Owner, Champion Crew Chief, Dead at 75

Originally posted on Racing America on SI
By Toby Christie | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 12:12 PM ET

Nigel Kinrade | Autostock for Ford Performance

Travis Carter, a longtime NASCAR Cup Series team owner and championship-winning crew chief, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 75. While a few members of the NASCAR industry indicated that Carter had been moved into hospice on Monday, no official cause of death has been given publicly, as of yet.

In a 2008 interview with Stock Car Racing Magazine, Carter named Roger Penske and Junior Johnson as two of the people in the sport who heavily influenced his career. And by the end of his days on the competition side in NASCAR, the native of Ellerbe, North Carolina, led an incredible career in the NASCAR Cup Series as a team owner, a crew chief, and a pit crew member.

Carter spent more than three decades in the NASCAR Cup Series garage, and it's obvious why. He was as beloved by others as he was talented.

After news of Carter's passing began to spread on Tuesday, several of Carter's former drivers, and competitors issued their condolences for the Carter family, and shared their fond memories of the legendary presence in the NASCAR Cup Series garage.

Rick Mast shared on X, "In 1989, Travis Carter, while in a desperate situation trying to save his team, took a chance on an unproven, unpolished rookie race car driver at @DAYTONA. He was rewarded with running up front, leading, and a 6th place finish. (Could've won had we gambled on fuel like Darrell [Waltrip] did). This race propelled me into the spotlight and reaffirmed Travis's place in our sport. That man took a chance on me because he "saw something." Travis was a visionary and was hailed with the utmost respect in our industry. RIP, dear friend. "It's ah dupping""

In 1989 Travis Carter, while in a desperate situation trying to save his team, took a chance on an unproven, unpolished rookie race car driver at @DAYTONA. He was rewarded with running up front, leading, and a 6th place finish. (Could’ve won had we gambled on fuel like Darrell… pic.twitter.com/LO5KYuKOok
— Rick Mast (@rickmast22) June 11, 2025

"Travis Carter has passed away," Kenny Wallace posted on his X account. "I will always remember Travis changing tires for Junior Johnson's cars in a VERY calm demeanor. Travis never got on his knees. TRAVIS WAS A LEGEND. My prayers to the family."

Travis Carter has passed away

I will always remember Travis changing tires for Junior Johnson’s cars in a VERY calm demeanor.

Travis never got on his knees.

TRAVIS WAS A LEGEND.

My prayers to the family
— Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace) June 10, 2025

Brian Keselowski, the older brother of 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, stated that Carter was a great guy and explained that the longtime car owner was pivotal in his bid to make the Daytona 500 starting field in 2011.

"Just heard about Travis Carter passing away," Keselowski posted on X. "If you didn't know him, you missed out on a great guy. When we first moved to NC in 2010 we rented a shop from him. He was so happy for us when we made Daytona in 2011, I'll never forget it. Rest easy my friend."

Just heard about Travis Carter passing away. If you didn’t know him, you missed out on a great guy. When we first moved to NC in 2010 we rented a shop from him. He was so happy for us when we made Daytona in 2011, I’ll never forget it. Rest easy my friend
— Brian Keselowski (@KeselowskiBrian) June 10, 2025

Carter got his first chance to serve as a crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series during the 1973 season as he was paired with Benny Parsons on the No. 72 DeWitt Racing team. The pairing proved formidable out of the box as Parsons and Carter combined to record 15 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s over the 28-race season, and the duo would lead 320 of 500 laps on the path to a win at Bristol in July 1973.

At the end of their first season together, Parsons and Carter were crowned NASCAR Cup Series champions as Parsons earned 67 more points than Cale Yarborough.

Carter would remain paired with Parsons through the end of the 1975 season, a year, where they scored the biggest race win of Parsons' career in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

In 1978, Carter would go on to win his second NASCAR Cup Series championship, this time with Cale Yarborough as he split crew chief duties that season with Tim Brewer. The 1978 title was Yarborough's third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship, an impressive mark that remained unmatched in NASCAR history until the 2008 season, when Jimmie Johnson won his third consecutive, of what would ultimately be a five-consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship stretch.

Carter would be the crew chief for Cale Yarborough in the iconic 1979 Daytona 500. Famously, Yarborough was battling Donnie Allison on the final lap of that race. Then, the two drivers collided on the backstretch and spun into the infield grass, ending their bids to win as Richard Petty cruised by for his record seventh Daytona 500 victory.

As Donnie's brother Bobby Allison arrived at the crash scene, a fight broke out between Yarborough and the two Allison brothers.

Over a 17-year career on the pit box, Carter collected more than 30 wins as a crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, but famously didn't attend victory lane to celebrate. In addition to Parsons and Yarborough, Carter served as the crew chief for many other big names in the sport throughout the years, including Bobby Allison, Dave Marcis, Morgan Shepherd, Harry Gant, Darrell Waltrip, Geoff Bodine, Todd Bodine, and Joe Nemechek.

In all, Carter crew chiefed for five drivers (Parsons, Yarborough, Allison, Gant, and Waltrip), who have been elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Carter would form his own NASCAR Cup Series race team, Travis Carter Enterprises, late in the 1990 season. In 493 starts as a car owner, Carter never reached victory lane, but the team owner achieved 17 top-five results, 58 top-10s, and six poles.

Nobody had more success behind the wheel of Carter's race cars than Jimmy Spencer.

Spencer had some iconic paint schemes with the Carter team as well, including the purple and yellow Camel Joe's Ford Thunderbird, and later the Winston No Bull No. 23 Ford.

From the collections of Ford Motor Company

Spencer made 263 of his 478 NASCAR Cup Series starts in a Travis Carter Enterprises machine, and amassed 14 top-five finishes and 48 top-10s. Together, Spencer and Carter narrowly missed out on several victories in their time together, the most notable near miss came in the 1999 Night Race at Bristol, where Spencer would finish runner-up to Dale Earnhardt, who spun Terry Labonte in Turn 2 on the final lap of the race, and caused a massive pileup.

Spencer skirted through the chaos and was charging hard toward Earnhardt for the win, but was unable to get by before crossing the finish line.

Carter is survived by his wife Linda, son Matt (a former NASCAR National Series race car driver), and daughter Kim, as well as grandchildren Levi, Charlie, and Emma.