Michael Carter is a racing driver who last raced in Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin for Saito MotorSport Group. Carter is a one-time champion (2020), with 6 wins and 21 podiums from 50 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 3,925 ranks Carter 2918th of 17,494 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the low five figures. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file, decayed for time since their last race.
| 2023-08-27 | VIRginia International Raceway · ND2 | P13 | −64 |
| 2023-08-26 | VIRginia International Raceway · ND2 | P8 | +6 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ▸Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | Saito MotorSport Group | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P25 | −58 | 4,290 |
| 2022 | ▸Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | Carter Racing Enterprises | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P11 | −760 | 4,349 |
| 2021 | ▸Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | Carter Racing Enterprises | 14 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P2 | +323 | 5,109 |
| 2020 | ▸Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | Carter Racing Enterprises | 12 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | P1 | +724 | 5,063 |
| 2019 | ▸Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | Copeland Motorsports | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | P4 | +1,088 | 4,187 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏳️ Selin Rollan | 3,999 | 49 | 23 | 26 | 47% |
| 🇺🇸 Alex BachouraFIA BRONZE | 3,340 | 45 | 41 | 4 | 91% |
| 🇺🇸 Gresham WagnerFIA SILVER | 4,235 | 42 | 19 | 23 | 45% |
| 🇺🇸 Jared ThomasFIA SILVER | 4,297 | 36 | 19 | 17 | 53% |
| 🇺🇸 Justin PiscitellFIA SILVER | 3,996 | 36 | 25 | 11 | 69% |
| 🇺🇸 David StaabFIA BRONZE | 3,992 | 35 | 32 | 3 | 91% |
| 🇺🇸 Moisey UretskyFIA BRONZE | 4,391 | 31 | 29 | 2 | 94% |
| 🇺🇸 Aaron JeansonneFIA SILVER | 4,894 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 65% |
| 🇺🇸 Sam PaleyFIA SILVER | 4,250 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 62% |
| 🇺🇸 Robert NoakerFIA SILVER | 5,433 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 52% |
| 🇺🇸 Connor ZilischFIA GOLD · 1× CHAMPION | 5,895 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 36% |
| 🇺🇸 Parker KligermanFIA SILVER | 5,031 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100% |
| 🇺🇸 Tyler MaxsonFIA SILVER | 4,993 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% |
| # | Driver | Series | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,908 | 🇸🇪 August Raber | British F4 | 3,928 |
| 2,909 | 🇯🇵 Kouki Saga | Super GT | 3,928 |
| 2,910 | 🇺🇸 Billy Goshen | Star Mazda Championship | 3,927 |
| 2,911 | 🇸🇪 Hampus Ericsson | Lamborghini Super Trofeo NA | 3,927 |
| 2,912 | 🇬🇧 Harry Webb | GB3 | 3,927 |
| 2,913 | 🇯🇵 Akira Iida | Super GT | 3,926 |
| 2,914 | 🇷🇺 Anton Nebylitskiy | Formula V8 3.5 | 3,926 |
| 2,915 | 🇨🇦 Jason M. White | NASCAR Truck Series | 3,926 |
| 2,916 | 🇬🇧 Mark Radcliffe | British GT Championship | 3,926 |
| 2,917 | 🇺🇸 Chris Miller | IMSA Pilot Challenge | 3,925 |
| 2,918 | 🏳️ Michael Carter | Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin | 3,925 |
| 2,919 | 🇺🇸 Noah Harmon | Trans-Am TA2 | 3,925 |
| 2,920 | 🇬🇧 Chris Goodwin | GT World Challenge Europe | 3,924 |
| 2,921 | 🇧🇷 Leonardo Escorpioni | USF Pro 2000 | 3,924 |
| 2,922 | 🇯🇵 Yudai Uchida | Asian Le Mans Series | 3,924 |
| 2,923 | 🇺🇸 Jonathan Goring | Star Mazda Championship | 3,923 |
| 2,924 | 🇬🇧 Andrew Howard | British GT Championship | 3,922 |
| 2,925 | 🇯🇵 Kyosuke Mineo | Super GT | 3,921 |
| 2,926 | 🇫🇷 Maxime Robin | GT World Challenge Europe | 3,921 |
| 2,927 | 🇩🇪 Hendrik Still | Nürburgring 24 Hours | 3,920 |
| 2,928 | 🇺🇸 Nick Steele | Star Mazda Championship | 3,920 |
Michael Carter is a semi-professional racing driver with a Racer Rating of 3,925, placing him at the competitive level of drivers who win consistently in pro-am fields and run mid-pack among full-time professionals. His single season of prominence came in 2020, when he won the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin ND2 championship; across his five-season career from 2019 to 2023, all spent in that series, he recorded 6 wins and 21 podiums from 50 starts, averaging a finishing position of sixth.[1]
Carter's record against his regular rivals shows a mixed picture typical of a mid-field professional. He had slightly the worse of it against the series' strongest performers: he finished behind Jared Thomas, who won the championship three times during Carter's tenure, in 17 of 36 shared races, and behind Gresham Wagner, the 2021 champion, in 23 of 42 meetings. Against Selin Rollan, a driver of nearly identical strength, the head-to-head was notably close, with Carter ahead in 23 races and behind in 26. His clearest advantage lay over Alex Bachoura, whom he beat decisively 41 times in 45 shared races. Carter also demonstrated occasional ability to finish ahead of drivers rated considerably higher; he beat Connor Zilisch, an established professional and 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, five times across their meetings, and Robert Noaker, another established professional, thirteen times.[2]
Carter retired from racing after 2023, with his final two races in the series producing no podiums and a finish of 25th. He has since moved into a role as director of racing at The Meadows, marking a transition from driver to administrator in the sport.