Carter drove his first Indianapolis 500 in 1974. He finished seventh, and was awarded the Rookie of the Year. In 1981 he finished third in the CART championship and captured his only Indy Car win at Michigan International Speedway. He finished third in the 1982 Indianapolis 500 behind the now-famous duel between Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears. In 1985, Carter drove the brand new Buick V6 engine to the pole position of the 1985 Indianapolis 500. He retired with mechanical problems after completing just six laps, becoming the first pole-sitter since Cliff Woodbury to finish dead-last. His last year as a full-time Indy Car driver was 1990 and his last appearance in an Indy Car was failing to qualify for the 1994 Indianapolis 500. In more recent years, Carter has served as a spotter for Sam Hornish, Jr., Vítor Meira, Dillon Battistini, Dan Wheldon, Martin Plowman and Adrián Campos Jr..In 2019 he was the spotter for Rookie Santino Ferrucci who also finished 7th and was Rookie of the Year as was Carter in his Indy 500 debut