Charles Carpenter
Pro Mod Legend Charles Carpenter to Debut ’68 Camaro
CHARLOTTE, NC — When fans, fellow racers, or almost anyone involved in fast doorslammer racing thinks of 
Charles Carpenter, a few things probably come to mind: nitrous oxide, the origins of Pro Modified, and the 1955 Chevrolet.
Carpenter will soon return to racing, but in a move that may surprise many, he won’t be behind the wheel of his iconic ’55 Chevy. After over four decades of racing various iterations of the “shoebox”, the Pro Modified pioneer will debut a recently-acquired 1968 Camaro built by Jerry Bickel Race Cars.
During the final round of the Carolina Xtreme Pro Mod season-opener at Darlington Dragway in March, Carpenter was pushing hard for the victory when his nitrous-assisted ’55 Chevy made contact with the wall just past half-track. Typically, the car would have been repaired and Carpenter would be back on track by now, but the team had other plans.
Carpenter Returns to Racing with EOPM at Dunn-Benson
Courtesy of Charles Carpenter Racing
CHARLOTTE, NC – After spending more than eight months on the sidelines, Pro Modified pioneer Charles Carpenter will make his return to racing at this weekend’s Extreme Outlaw Pro 
Mod race at Dunn-Benson Dragstrip in Benson, NC.
“I can’t wait to get back out there,” said Carpenter. “Things have gotten very hectic and it’s harder than ever to find time to work on the car and to go racing, but we’ve put in some overtime recently to get things going. We didn’t touch the car from early October to about three weeks ago, so we had a lot of catching up to do, but I think we’re ready.”
Carpenter hasn’t been completely absent from the dragstrip. He has continued his tuning duties with multi-time West Coast Pro Street champion Randy Walker, and has recently assumed a crew chief and advisory role with noted Pro Nitrous racer Dan Stevenson. Working with those teams has allowed Carpenter to keep the tuning rust at bay.
Carpenter Honored as 2011 North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Fame Inductee
Courtesy of Carpenter Racing
CHARLOTTE, NC – Emerging from the most difficult period of his life, Charles Carpenter’s hope for 2011 is that it 
improves dramatically over a devastating 2010. The year will kick off on a high note this weekend when Carpenter is inducted into the North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2011.
The Hall of Fame inductions will be the focal point of the 9th Annual Shriners Drag Racing & Hot Rod Expo, to be held this Friday and Saturday, January 21 & 22, at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC. The induction ceremony will begin at 1:30 PM on Saturday.
“This is right up there with the top honors that I’ve received during my racing career, and I’m humbled to be inducted into the North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Fame,” Carpenter said. “To be considered a peer with some of the incredible names that are already in the Hall along with those being inducted this year is simply a dream come true.”
The dream began nearly forty years ago when Carpenter was a car-crazed young boy, spending his days building model cars and tagging along with his older brother as he raced his ’55 Chevy at the local dragstrips around Charlotte, NC.
Contrary to Rumors, Alan Pittman Race Cars Open for Business
Courtesy of Carpenter racing
GREENVILLE, SC – This Monday morning, the bay doors at Alan Pittman Race Cars swung open at 8 AM just as they 
do every weekday.
In the face of recent rumors that his renowned chassis fabrication business was closing, Alan Pittman would like to set the record straight: Alan Pittman Race Cars is not closing and is open for business.
“I started getting phone call after phone call this weekend from people saying they heard I had laid off all my employees and was closing the doors,” Pittman said. “It’s simply not true. It’s an unfortunate rumor that got started, and we all know
Carpenter Trying for a Texas Two-Step in Houston
Courtesy of Carpenter Racing
Photo by Roger Richards
BAYTOWN, TX – With a rough couple of months of competition that included three consecutive first round losses hopefully in the rearview mirror, Charles Carpenter is looking for a turnaround, beginning with this weekend’s inaugural ADRL Texas Drags at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, TX.
“We’ve got a lot riding on this weekend,” Carpenter said. “Not only are we here to attempt to qualify for and race in the inaugural Texas Drags, but we’ve also got the eliminations from the rained out Dragpalooza event to be contested during Friday’s qualifying. What better place to try to right the ship than where we set new career bests in E.T. and speed last time we were here? We’re shooting to double up and bring two trophies home in one weekend.”
Carpenter is hoping getting back on familiar grounds will help him find the edge that has been missing over the last three events.
Going Rounds in Topeka is Top Priority for Carpenter
Courtesy of Carpenter Racing
TOPEKA, KS – Coming off a less-than-stellar eliminations record over the past two races, Charles Carpenter has one goal for this weekend’s ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park Topeka: get past the first round.
After making it out of round one at every race dating back to the 2009 U.S. Drags, Carpenter has been trailered early at each of the past two races and is looking to turn it around in Topeka.
“We’ve been running great, but have lost our raceday consistency and just haven’t performed when the time comes,” said Carpenter. “There’s a happy medium there, and we just have to find it.”
Carpenter hopes to find that middle ground fast. Just 81 points behind Mike Castellana for first place in the Speedtech Battle for the Belts points standings, Carpenter knows he needs to match the perennial front runner step for step while fending off the tough competition from the Pro Nitrous field to stay near the top.
Carpenter Disappointed with Another Early Exit
Courtesy of Charles Carpenter Racing
MARTIN, MI – Needing to go rounds after a first round loss at last month’s ADRL Speedtech US Drags, Pro Nitrous veteran Charles Carpenter looked to be in prime position to do just that at the ADRL Ford Drive One Summer Drags
VI at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, MI.
After a solid 3.956 effort in Friday’s final qualifying session put Carpenter third heading into eliminations, the team failed to capitalize on the opportunity and suffered a first round loss to Thomas Myers. Carpenter had the advantage off the starting line, but his freshly-painted ’55 Chevy went into violent tire shake early in the run, forcing Carpenter to lift off the throttle as Myers took his first round win of the season with a 4.271.
“We were just too aggressive,” Carpenter said. “The track conditions changed from Friday to Saturday more than we anticipated and we didn’t back it down enough. The car went about halfway to the 60-foot mark and blew the tires off.”
Carpenter Aiming to Rebound in Martin
Courtesy of Carpenter racing
MARTIN, MI – After getting off to an incredible start to the 2010 American Drag Racing League season, Charles Carpenter’s success came to a halt at the hands of Jim Halsey in the first round of eliminations at the ADRL Speedtech
US Drags III three weeks ago.
Carpenter experienced mechanical and electrical gremlins while warming the car in the pits on Saturday morning and was unable to get them rectified before the first round of eliminations. The problem slowed Carpenter to an off-pace 4.07 after he’s lived in the mid 3.90s all season.
Carpenter soon traced the problem to a bad ground wire once he got back to his Charlotte, NC shop. With the simple fix in place, Carpenter expects to get back on track at this weekend’s ADRL Ford Drive One Summer Drags VI at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, MI.
Charles Carpenter Racing ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III Wrap-up
Courtesy of Carpenter Racing
CHARLOTTE, NC – Going into the third annual ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags at Virginia Motorsports Park, Charles Carpenter was looking for a clean sweep of the event, aiming to win Best 
Appearing Car, Best Appearing Crew, and take home the Pro Nitrous Minuteman trophy all in one weekend.
After it was announced that Carpenter’s fresh paint and airbrushing, applied by Chandler Robbins and East Coast Refinishing, had garnered him the Olson Paint & Body Best Appearing Car award, the team set its sights on the other task at hand: taking the momentum of two consecutive ADRL Pro Nitrous final round appearances and turning it into a win at VMP.
Capping Friday’s qualifying with a 3.946 at 188.99 MPH, his quickest of three full passes, Carpenter was qualified in the number eight position heading into Saturday’s final qualifying attempt.
Carpenter Sporting New Paint
Petersburg, VA – We’d seen the t-shirt renderings of the new paint on Charles Carpenter’s car, however it did not do it justice. The car is immaculate and as straight as an arrow. “We are very happy with how the car turned out,” stated Carpenter, “especially with what they had to start with!” There has been a resurgence of the team, car and their performance over the last 2 events. The new paint puts an exclamation point on the team’s hunt for an ADRL Pro Nitrous win.
