A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he raced in the CART series in 1981 and was CART's Rookie of the Year. He had fourth-place finishes at Watkins Glen International and Mexico. Lazier also competed in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, finishing 19th after a blown engine caused him to retire the Penske PC-7 after 154 laps. He was married to wife Diane and was the father of both 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier and Indy Racing League driver Jaques Lazier.