Charlie Kimball

Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American former race car driver who most recently competed in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises. He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s during his IndyCar career. His best season results were ninth in 2013 and 2016. In addition, he won the 2013 24 Hours of Daytona.

Charlie Kimball
Kimball during Carb Day at the 2015 Indianapolis 500
Nationality	American
Born	Charles Newton Kimball (1985-02-20) February 20, 1985 (age 39) Chertsey, Surrey, England
IndyCar Series career
157 races run over 10 years
Team(s)	No. 4 (A. J. Foyt Enterprises)
2019 position	25th
Best finish	9th (2013, 2016)
First race	2011 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg)
Last race	2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach)
First win	2013 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio (Mid-Ohio)
Wins Podiums Poles 1 6 1
Previous series
2009–10 2008–09 2006, 2008 2007 2005 2004 2003 2002	Indy Lights A1 Grand Prix Formula 3 Euro Series Formula Renault 3.5 Series British Formula Three British Formula Ford US Formula Ford Formula Dodge
Awards
2003	Team USA Scholarship
Signature

Career

2002–2005

Born in Chertsey, England, Kimball's single-seater career started in 2002 when he took part in the American Formula Dodge national championship, finishing the season in 10th place overall. He also won three races in the SCCA Formula Ford series. For 2003 he moved up to Formula Ford US, finishing third overall with two race wins and seven podium finishes. He also contested the UK Formula Ford winter series, taking one race win to finish third overall.

In 2004, he competed in the full UK Formula Ford championship for Team JLR, taking two race wins and eleven podiums on his way to fourth in the championship. In the end-of-season Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch he finished in eighth place. His performances earned him a drive with front runners Carlin Motorsport in the 2005 British Formula 3 Championship, where he took five race wins to finish an impressive second behind teammate Álvaro Parente. He also finished 12th in the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort, but failed to finish the season-ending Macau Grand Prix.

2006–2008

For 2006 Kimball stayed in Formula Three, but moved up to the Formula 3 Euro Series with the French Signature-Plus team. He took one race win and three podiums to finish the season in eleventh place. Once again, he took part in the Masters Formula 3 race at Zandvoort and the Macau Grand Prix, finishing in 9th and 21st places respectively.

Kimball driving for Victory Engineering in the Donington Park round of the 2007 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.

In 2007, he competed in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for the Italian Victory Engineering team, alongside Dutchman Giedo van der Garde.^[1] He competed in 12 races (leaving the series with 2 race weekends remaining) and finished 24th in points with a best finish of 8th in the Monza and Nurburgring sprint races. His departed the team due to the onset of Type 1 diabetes which required hospitalization. As part of his ongoing treatment he wears a wireless blood sugar monitor and carries sugar water on board the car while racing.^[2] In 2008, he returned to F3 EuroSeries for 6 races with Prema Powerteam. Late in 2008 he competed in the first round of the A1 Grand Prix series for A1 Team USA.

Firestone Indy Lights (2009–2010)

For 2009 Kimball signed to drive in Indy Lights for the new Team PBIR outfit. He stated that an influencing factor in his return to the U.S. is to increase Diabetes awareness in his home country.^[3] Kimball finished 10th in points with a best finish of 4th at Watkins Glen International.

He returned to Indy Lights in 2010 and signed with AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport. Despite not winning a race or pole, Kimball had four second-place finishes on the season and captured 4th in points, one spot behind his teammate Martin Plowman.

IndyCar Series (2011–2021)

Kimball driving the Novo Nordisk Ganassi car at the 2015 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma

It was announced on December 16, 2010, that Kimball would move up to the IndyCar Series in 2011, in which he would drive the No. 83 entry for Chip Ganassi Racing.^[4] Kimball finished 19th in points with a best finish of ninth at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Kimball returned to the team in 2012 and again finished 19th in points despite missing a race due to injury. He finished second at the Honda Indy Toronto, his first career podium finish. Kimball won his first IndyCar race on August 4, 2013, at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. He also finished second at Pocono and fourth at Barber and ranked 9th in points. In 2013, he competed in his first 24 Hours of Daytona race with Ganassi and was on the race-winning team with co-drivers Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett, and Memo Rojas.

In the 2014 IndyCar season, Kimball scored four top 5 finishes and placed 9th in points. In 2015 he finished third at the Indianapolis 500 and the Grand Prix of Sonoma, and finished 5th at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The driver finished fifth at both Indianapolis races and got 11 top 5s in 16 races, which earned him a 9th overall position in 2016. He scored no top 5s in 2017, and he parted with Ganassi afterward.

Carlin signed Kimball for the 2018 season. He got a fifth-place finish at Toronto and collected six top 10s. Kimball ran part-time in 2019, scoring two tenth-place finishes. He joined A. J. Foyt Enterprises in 2020, where he scored two top 10s. In 2021, Kimball failed to qualify for the Indy 500 for the first time in his career.

Personal life

Kimball was born in England but grew up in Camarillo, California.^[5] His father Gordon was a designer of Formula One and Indy cars.^[6]

At 22, Kimball was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and was forced to abandon his racing program midseason.^[7] Undeterred, he climbed back into the cockpit the following year and claimed a podium finish in his first race after returning.^[7] He is also the first licensed driver with diabetes in the history of IndyCar racing^[7] (Howdy Wilcox hid the fact he was driving with diabetes in the 1932 Indy 500 but was barred from competing when officials found out before the 1933 race).^[8] Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of the insulin Kimball uses, became a full-time sponsor of his racing program in 2011.

Kimball married Kathleen, whom he first met in high school, in 2014, the wedding officiated by fellow driver James Hinchcliffe.^[9] The couple relocated to Indianapolis, where they live with two dogs.^[10] Kathleen earned her MBA from Indiana University Kelley School of Business, and works at Kimball Marketing Group.^[11]

Kimball is a long-time fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.^[12]

Racing record

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2006	Signature-Plus	Dallara F306/010	Mercedes	HOC 1 22	HOC 2 12	LAU 1 9	LAU 2 8	OSC 1 10	OSC 2 Ret	BRH 1 15	BRH 2 11	NOR 1 13	NOR 2 4	NÜR 1 10	NÜR 2 6	ZAN 1 11	ZAN 2 1	CAT 1 6	CAT 2 2	LMS 1 4	LMS 2 2	HOC 1 6	HOC 2 Ret	11th	31
2008	Prema Powerteam	Dallara F308/047	Mercedes	HOC 1 2	HOC 2 Ret	MUG 1 17	MUG 2 Ret	PAU 1 Ret	PAU 2 23	NOR 1	NOR 2	ZAN 1	ZAN 2	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	BRH 1	BRH 2	CAT 1	CAT 2	LMS 1	LMS 2	HOC 1	HOC 2	17th	8

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	DC	Points
2007	Victory Engineering	MNZ FEA Ret	MNZ SPR 8	NÜR FEA 16	NÜR SPR 8	MON FEA Ret	HUN FEA 10	HUN SPR Ret	SPA FEA 13	SPA SPR Ret	DON FEA Ret	DON SPR 13	MAG FEA Ret	MAG SPR 17	EST FEA	EST SPR	CAT FEA	CAT SPR	24th	7

American open–wheel results

(key)

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Rank	Points
2009	Team PBIR	STP 10	STP 7	LBH 19	KAN 13	INDY 13	MIL 10	IOW 7	WGL 4	TOR 15	EDM 5	KTY 18	MDO 13	SNM 8	CHI 7	HMS 13	10th	310
2010	AFS Racing Andretti Autosport	STP 4	ALA 2	LBH 2	INDY 2	IOW 13	WGL 11	TOR 4	EDM 4	MDO 3	SNM 2	CHI 14	KTY 6	HMS 13			4th	388

IndyCar Series

(key)

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Rank	Points	Ref
2011	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara IR-05	83	Honda	STP 22	ALA 10	LBH 24	SAO 16	INDY 13	TXS 30	TXS 23	MIL 14	IOW 22	TOR 21	EDM 17	MDO 11	NHM 9	SNM 26	BAL 21	MOT 23	KTY 13	LVS1 C		19th	233	[13]
2012		Dallara DW12			STP 9	ALA 25	LBH 18	SAO 8	INDY 8	DET 8	TXS 23	MIL 17	IOW 11	TOR 2	EDM 19	MDO	SNM 21	BAL 18	FON 10					19th	260	[14]
2013					STP 12	ALA 4	LBH 21	SAO 10	INDY 9	DET 14	DET 7	TXS 17	MIL 17	IOW 12	POC 2	TOR 21	TOR 6	MDO 1	SNM 20	BAL 6	HOU 11	HOU 8	FON 10	9th	427	[15]
2014				Chevrolet	STP 20	LBH 23	ALA 10	IMS 5	INDY 31	DET 9	DET 3	TXS 10	HOU 18	HOU 4	POC 17	IOW 10	TOR 7	TOR 4	MDO 7	MIL 16	SNM 21	FON 12		14th	402	[16]
2015					STP 21	NLA 14	LBH 15	ALA 12	IMS 5	INDY 3	DET 22	DET 11	TXS 7	TOR 20	FON 8	MIL 12	IOW 22	MDO 23	POC 12	SNM 3				12th	372	[17]
2016					STP 10	PHX 12	LBH 11	ALA 9	IMS 5		DET 8	DET 16	RDA 6	IOW 10	TOR 11	MDO 8	POC 15	TXS 6	WGL 6	SNM 9				9th	433	[18]
			42							INDY 5
2017			83	Honda	STP 18	LBH 21	ALA 15	PHX 8	IMS 21	INDY 25	DET 21	DET 8	TXS 21	ROA 6	IOW 15	TOR 12	MDO 13	POC 16	GTW 7	WGL 7	SNM 11			17th	327	[19]
2018	Carlin		23	Chevrolet	STP 20	PHX 17	LBH 10	ALA 23	IMS 20	INDY 18	DET 19	DET 8	TXS 10	ROA 18	IOW 14	TOR 5	MDO 16	POC 9	GTW 19	POR 7	SNM 22			17th	287	[20]
2019					STP 17	COA	ALA	LBH	IMS	INDY 25	DET	DET	TXS 21	RDA	TOR	IOW	MDO	POC 10	GTW 15	POR 10	LAG 15			25th	117	[21]
2020	A. J. Foyt Enterprises		4		TXS 11	IMS 18	ROA 11	ROA 10	IOW 17	IOW 16	INDY 18	GTW 13	GTW 18	MDO 21	MDO 19	IMS 13	IMS 23	STP 8						18th	218	[22]
2021			11		ALA	STP	TXS	TXS	IMS 22	INDY DNQ	DET	DET	ROA	MDO	NSH	IMS	GTW	POR	LAG	LBH 18				36th	20	[23]

* Season still in progress.

• ¹ The Las Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned after Dan Wheldon died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11.

Years	Teams	Races	Poles	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Indianapolis 500 wins	Championships
5	1	84	1	1	11	33	0	0

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2011	Dallara	Honda	28	13	Chip Ganassi Racing
2012	Dallara	Honda	14	8	Chip Ganassi Racing
2013	Dallara	Honda	19	9	Chip Ganassi Racing
2014	Dallara	Chevrolet	26	31	Chip Ganassi Racing
2015	Dallara	Chevrolet	14	3	Chip Ganassi Racing
2016	Dallara	Chevrolet	16	5	Chip Ganassi Racing
2017	Dallara	Honda	16	25	Chip Ganassi Racing
2018	Dallara	Chevrolet	15	18	Carlin
2019	Dallara	Chevrolet	20	25	Carlin
2020	Dallara	Chevrolet	29	18	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2021	Dallara	Chevrolet	DNQ		A. J. Foyt Enterprises

References

1. "Victory completes line-up with Kimball". crash.net. December 22, 2006. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
2. Kelly, Peggy (February 20, 2008). "Charlie Kimball: Diabetes doesn't force Formula driver off the road to fame". Santa Paula Times. Debbie Johnson, Santa Paula Times. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
3. "Road racer signs with Indy Lights team". USA Today. Gannett Company. Associated Press. March 24, 2009. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
4. Oreovicz, John (December 17, 2010). "Rahal, Kimball join Ganassi team". ESPN.com. ESPN Inc. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
5. Felton, David (April 13, 2010). "Charlie Kimball aims to win Indy 500 despite Type 1 diabetes diagnosis". Daily Breeze. Ron Hasse, Digital First Media. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
6. Miller, Robin (January 26, 2015). "IndyCar 2018 by Gordon Kimball". Racer. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Archived from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
7. "Full Speed Ahead - Charlie Kimball runs laps around diabetes". ABILITY Magazine. Chet Cooper. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
8. Benbow, Dana. (May 23, 2015) IndyCar's Charlie Kimball: 'There's no gas in the gas tank' The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
9. "At Home with Charlie and Kathleen Kimball". September 15, 2015.
10. "How They Met: Charlie and Kathleen Kimball".
11. "Kathleen Kimball". LinkedIn.
12. Fryer, Jenna (April 18, 2013). "Charlie Kimball awed by Dodgers experience". The Seattle Times. Frank A. Blethen, The Seattle Times Company. Associated Press. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
13. "Charlie Kimball – 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
14. "Charlie Kimball – 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
15. "Charlie Kimball – 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
16. "Charlie Kimball – 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
17. "Charlie Kimball – 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
18. "Charlie Kimball – 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
19. "Charlie Kimball – 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
20. "Charlie Kimball – 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
21. "Charlie Kimball – 2019 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
22. "Charlie Kimball – 2020 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
23. "Charlie Kimball – 2021 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Charlie Kimball career summary at DriverDB.com
• IndyCar Driver Page
• IndyCar 11 in '11 video
• IndyCar 36: Charlie Kimball - IndyCar documentary