the Motorola 300. He would also be crowned "Rookie of the Year". In 1998, he started driving for Player's Forsythe Racing, when the team expanded their operations to run a second alongside fellow Canadian, Greg Moore. At the end of the following season, with the unfortunate death of Moore, in season finale, the Marlboro 500 at Fontana, Carpentier became Forsythe's number one, when rookie Alex Tagliani was brought into the squad, keeping it an all-Canadian affair. In his early years he was prone to missing races through injuries, some of which originated off-track. His first Champ Car victory came in 2001 in the Harrah's 500, at the Michigan International Speedway, and would finish tenth in the overall end of year standing. In what was the last CART sanctioned Michigan 500, he seized victory with a dramatic last-lap pass of Dario Franchitti. For Carpentier, this first CART win finally arrived in his 79th start. The following season, he would win twice, Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland, and Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio and would take third in the championship standing. Carpentier was 5th overall in a disappointing 2003 season, despite winning the Grand Prix of Monterey, at the Laguna Seca (compared to title-winning teammate Paul Tracy). Tracy's performance weakened Carpentier's position within the team and rumours circulating pre-2004 season suggesting Carpentier would be dropped by Forsythe Racing, in favour of Rodolfo Lavin. Instead, Gerald Forsythe decided to run a third car for Lavin. Allegedly, Patrick kept his ride because of his marketing popularity in his homeland. He would repay Forsythe by retaining the Grand Prix of Monterey. Despite finishing higher than Paul Tracy in the 2004 championship, Carpentier left the team and the series for the 2005 season, joining Eddie Cheever's Cheever Racing in the IndyCar Series. Due to his excellent record on oval tracks he was expected to do well (most of the IndyCar Series races are on ovals which had become virtually extinct in Champ Car), but uncompetitive Toyota engines prevented any major success. He ended 10th in the standings with two third places and 11 top 10s out of 17 races. The 2005 season would be Carpentier's last in open-wheel competition. In a 2016 interview, the Canadian acknowledged he had decided to retire after seeing Ryan Briscoe's crash into the catchfence at the Chicagoland race; other major IRL crashes like the one suffered by Kenny Bräck in the 2003