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-fives during his IndyCar career. His best season results were ninth in 2013 and 2016. In addition, he won the 2013 24 Hours of Daytona.
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 tenth place overall. He also won three races in the SCCAFormula Ford series. For 2003, he moved up to Formula FordUS, 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, Kimball 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 twelfth 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 FrenchSignature-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 ninth and 21st places respectively.

In 2007, Kimball competed in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for the ItalianVictory Engineering team, alongside DutchmanGiedo van der Garde.[1] He competed in twelve races (leaving the series with two race weekends remaining) and finished 24th in points with a best finish of eighth 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 six 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 tenth in points with a best finish of fourth at Watkins Glen International.
Kimball 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 fourth in points, one spot behind his teammate Martin Plowman.
IndyCar Series (2011–2021)

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 nineteenth in points with a best finish of ninth at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Kimball returned to the team in 2012 and again finished nineteenth 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 ninth 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-five finishes and placed ninth in points. In 2015, he finished third at the Indianapolis 500 and the Grand Prix of Sonoma, and finished fifth at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The driver finished fifth at both Indianapolis races and got eleven top-fives in sixteen races, which earned him a ninth overall position in 2016. He scored no top-fives 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-tens. Kimball ran part-time in 2019, scoring two tenth-place finishes. He joined A. J. Foyt Enterprises in 2020, where he scored two top-tens. 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 the age of 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 | HOC122 | HOC212 | LAU19 | LAU28 | OSC110 | OSC2Ret | BRH115 | BRH211 | NOR113 | NOR24 | NÜR110 | NÜR26 | ZAN111 | ZAN21 | CAT16 | CAT22 | LMS14 | LMS22 | HOC16 | HOC2Ret | 11th | 31 |
| 2008 | Prema Powerteam | Dallara F308/047 | Mercedes | HOC12 | HOC2Ret | MUG117 | MUG2Ret | PAU1Ret | PAU223 | NOR1 | NOR2 | ZAN1 | ZAN2 | NÜR1 | NÜR2 | BRH1 | BRH2 | CAT1 | CAT2 | LMS1 | LMS2 | HOC1 | HOC2 | 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 | MNZFEARet | MNZSPR8 | NÜRFEA16 | NÜRSPR8 | MONFEARet | HUNFEA10 | HUNSPRRet | SPAFEA13 | SPASPRRet | DONFEARet | DONSPR13 | MAGFEARet | MAGSPR17 | ESTFEA | ESTSPR | CATFEA | CATSPR | 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 | STP10 | STP7 | LBH19 | KAN13 | INDY13 | MIL10 | IOW7 | WGL4 | TOR15 | EDM5 | KTY18 | MOH13 | SNM8 | CHI7 | HMS13 | 10th | 310 |
| 2010 | AFS RacingAndretti Autosport | STP4 | ALA2 | LBH2 | INDY2 | IOW13 | WGL11 | TOR4 | EDM4 | MOH3 | SNM2 | CHI14 | KTY6 | HMS13 | 4th | 388 | ||
IndyCar Series
(key)
* Season still in progress.
- 1The 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
References
- ↑"Victory completes line-up with Kimball". crash.net. December 22, 2006. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
- ↑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.
- ↑"Road racer signs with Indy Lights team". USA Today. Gannett Company. Associated Press. March 24, 2009. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
- ↑Oreovicz, John (December 17, 2010). "Rahal, Kimball join Ganassi team". ESPN.com. ESPN Inc. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
- ↑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.
- ↑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.
- 123"Full Speed Ahead - Charlie Kimball runs laps around diabetes". ABILITY Magazine. Chet Cooper. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
- ↑Benbow, Dana. (May 23, 2015) IndyCar's Charlie Kimball: 'There's no gas in the gas tank'The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
- ↑"At Home with Charlie and Kathleen Kimball". September 15, 2015.
- ↑"How They Met: Charlie and Kathleen Kimball".
- ↑"Kathleen Kimball". LinkedIn.
- ↑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.
- ↑"Charlie Kimball – 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ↑"Charlie Kimball – 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ↑"Charlie Kimball – 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ↑"Charlie Kimball – 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ↑"Charlie Kimball – 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ↑"Charlie Kimball – 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ↑"Charlie Kimball – 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ↑"Charlie Kimball – 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ↑"Charlie Kimball – 2019 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ↑"Charlie Kimball – 2020 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ↑"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
- 1985 births
- A1 Team USA drivers
- British Formula Three Championship drivers
- World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers
- Formula 3 Euro Series drivers
- Indianapolis 500 drivers
- Indy Lights drivers
- IndyCar Series drivers
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Chertsey
- Racing drivers with diabetes
- 24 Hours of Daytona drivers
- Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
- WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
- International Kart Federation drivers
- U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers
- Racing drivers from Ventura County, California
- Carlin racing drivers
- Signature Team drivers
- Victory Engineering drivers
- Prema Powerteam drivers
- AFS Racing drivers
- Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
- A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers
- Andretti Autosport drivers
- People with type 1 diabetes
- British Formula Ford Championship drivers
- New Zealand Formula Ford Championship drivers
