Patrick Carpentier entered the Temple, cautiously

Quebecer was unable to attend his induction Saturday in Toronto because he works in Montreal.

I was unable to attend the ceremony because I had obligations as a television analyst, he explained to Radio-Canada Sports. It was during a big race weekend with the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 and the longest NASCAR race of the season.

Patrick Carpentier, 50, now lives in Vermont, near Burlington, very close to the Quebec border. She was in the kitchen when the phone rang.

This is the icing on sundae for my career, it has come full circle. I’m super happy about thathe said spontaneously.

At the end of my career, 15 years ago, I was offered to enter the Hall of Fame, he explained. But I was asked for $ 2,000, I think it was to fund their activities. It was another administration, and as a matter of principle, I felt I didn’t have to pay to be inducted. The memories are in my mind, and I live well. I refused then.

This time, I am more comfortable. There was no admission fee, but I sent them as much racing equipment as I had, Player team clothes, a helmet from my Formula Atlantic championship, half a dozen visors, personalized shoes with my name on.

They told me they received a lot. It was the auction that brought in the crowd. Atleast I contributed to help them. I thought, “Will it still sell today? Do people remember me?” It seems sohe explains, laughing.

It’s a great opportunity to revisit Quebecer’s racing in North America, which has touched on many motor racing disciplines, from the formula category to NASCAR, including endurance and cross rally.

And it’s not his performance on the track that he’s most proud of. This is the whole adventure. He knew he was very lucky.

I’m even more glad we took advantage of this, Anick (Dunn) and I. We’ve been together for over 25 years, and we’ve really had a unique experience. In my career, it has been hard at times, especially the death of Greg Moore. There were ups and downs, the negotiation of contractual agreements. But in general, we had a lot of fun, we traveled, I didn’t have a serious injury.

Talent, many in Canada, in Quebec. But I, I was lucky, at once came the Player sector. The timing is perfect. I have no way to climb the Indy formula. The sector allowed us to go there.

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Long live the american dream

Patrick Carpentier experienced this that very few experience it.

We decided to live in Las Vegas, because there were direct flights almost everywhere, then also for taxes and a business package, and everyone went at once: Cirque du Soleil, Celine Dion. It’s like little Italy in Montreal, except it’s little Quebec in Las Vegashe said laughing.

We were invited everywhere, we were well received, we watched shows, they came to the races. Me, I drive beautiful racing cars on the best circuit in the world. Amazing. We had a little fun therehe admits.

Even if we go back there, we will never be able to go back to what we experienced before. This is really the best part of my career path. Often, we do not value life enough. We don’t spend time, we work, we are too busy with all kinds of business. We took the time to enjoy.

Just a regret, and again …

If Patrick Carpentier touched the Quebec public, it was thanks to his calm, laughing, accessible habit.

If there’s one thing I can do again to try to get better results, better presentations, it’s to be less patient, to be more demanding on the team, to be more demanding. But if I acted like that, I’m not sure I would stay long with Player’s.

What allowed me to stay was my fellowship with almost everyone. But I know I have more podiums, more wins, if I were a dog, more naughty, he admits. But you know, everyone has their own personality, and I think I’ve been happier than ever.

During his career, he lived in darker times. The death of his teammate Greg Moore in 1999 shook him deeply. And what decided him to leave the circuits was his accident in Chicago in 2006.

It’s very hard to go through Greg’s death, because often when something like that happens, next week you’ll be back in the car. You’re in a hurry to focus your attention on something else, which helps a lot in eliminating fear, he explains. But in the case of Greg’s accident, it was in the final racing of the season. So I had to live the whole winter with what happened. And during that time, you have many more questions to ask yourself.

I was young, and worried about what would happen back in the car. You will never know. You can start doubting yourself, and then you have to stop. But after a couple of laps it’s okay.

In IRL, on some circuits, you can drive more than 400 km / h, he recalls. And when in 2006, in Chicago, Ryan Briscoe hit a wall and leaned over my head, his car split into the fence. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured. That time, I knew immediately it was done for me. I called Anick and told him: “I’m finishing the year, and I’m quitting.”

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After his years in the formula category, Patrick Carpentier made NASCAR, which he considered less risky. But as he got older, he started to think a little, he had two children. So he chose to retire from motor racing.

I get invitations, but it takes time and practice. And if I can’t be 100% fit to give myself every chance, I’d rather not go.he simply said.

Unlike the woodpecker

Humans are complex machines, but animals have some unique defense mechanisms, as Patrick Carpentier learned after one of his accidents.

I stopped motorsports altogether. Don’t forget that I had seven concussions, he recalls. It’s a lot. In an accident, the deceleration is painful, even with a helmet. When the brain hits the skull.

A doctor once explained to me that the feather wrapped its tongue around its brain before hitting the trunk, which was what was protecting it. We don’t have that, so when our brain hits like that, it hurts. So it’s good for me to quit, and hard, because sometimes my friends tell me I’m scared now. It’s just a concussion, you can’t see.

Patrick Carpentier is a man fulfilled through his career path and his family life with Anick and their children Anaïs, 21, and Loïc, 15, and the life he leads today.

Anaïs and Loïc were small when their father rolled his lump on the circuits. His induction into the Hall of Fame allows them to realize how their father was one of the best Canadian pilots of his generation.

My daughter is studying psychology at university, I think she wants to try to understand her father, said Patrick Carpentier with a loud laugh. My son has no interest in racing, zero, but he can’t believe I have custom racing shoes embroidered with my name.

Patrick Carpentier wanted to pay tribute to his wife Anick Dunn, who was often home alone with the children when they were young and their father traveled to North America.

Now, they make a living for themselves away from the spotlight in Vermont, at a pace that suits them.

In the United States, I do a lot of construction. Anick manages the apartments and condo complexes in the region, then I renovate them. I will do something again in June. In Vermont, these are old buildings, so a lot of work is included in the renovation. I’ve been doing this for a long time and I like it.

And then, we were in Vermont, because the pace was slow. It’s the opposite of Las Vegas, where we used to live. It’s quieter, and that suits us. I am happy. I don’t want to travel anymore. We have done enough.

Quebecer threw a lot of trophies taking up space, but he retains some memories of his career at home. And this will provide space for the small Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame souvenir plaque.

Oh yes? Got a trophy? he asked as candidly as possible.

He didn’t even know. Like what…