Pete Halsmer

Halsmer at the 2014 Indianapolis 500

John Peter Halsmer (born March 3, 1944, in Lafayette, Indiana), is a former American racing driver best known for his success in IMSA GTO class, where he won two championships (1989, 1991) and secured multiple race victories. He claimed the 1989 GTO title while driving for Ford/Roush (under NASCAR team owner Jack Roush), winning four races, and added a second championship in 1991 with Mazda. Halsmer also achieved success across other sports car categories, including four GT2 race wins with BMW between 1994 and 1997, contributing to the Manufacturer's Title in 1996. From 1999 to 2004, he drove for and provided technical consulting to Honda America Race Team, winning several championships in the Motorola Cup and Grand-Am Cup series. He is also a three-time class winner at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Earlier in his career, Halsmer competed in the CART series over five seasons (1980, 1982–1985), making 33 career starts and racing in the Indianapolis 500 in 1981 and 1982. He recorded three top-five finishes, with a best result of second place at Cleveland in 1983. In 1992, he also competed in the IROC, representing IMSA.

Outside of racing, Halsmer trained as a helicopter pilot and served during the Vietnam War.

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.

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	Ref
1980	Wysard Racing	Wildcat	Offenhauser	ONT 20	INDY DNQ															36th	128
		McLaren	Cosworth			MIL	POC	MOH	MCH	WGL	MIL	ONT	MCH	MEX	PHX 6
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	MOH 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	MOH 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	MOH	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

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	MOH 23	MIN1 4	MIN2 14	ONT 1					2nd	628