Interview: Charlie Kimball Looking For 2nd Win At Mid-Ohio

Charlie Kimball won his first Verizon IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio, and is looking for No. 2 this weekend. Kimball spoke with us about what’s ahead.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will always be a special place for Charlie Kimball. It’s where the No. 83 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet driver notched his first – and so far only – Verizon IndyCar Series victory.

Kimball is looking for history to repeat itself in this weekend’s Honda Indy 200, and spoke to Beyond the Flag about returning to Lexington and what it was really like to drive over that busted curb in Toronto.

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“It is one of the highlights for any driver and team. It’s a great track that shows what IndyCar series cars can do,” he said of why so many drivers love Mid-Ohio.

“It’s also a great event, great atmosphere, the weather’s usually really good. The buzz in the air from the fans and all the fans that are camping all weekend – it’s such a fun event, a fun race weekend for us to go to. It’s like racing in a park.”

Kimball drove to Victory Lane at Mid-Ohio in 2013, beating out Simon Pagenaud and Dario Franchitti. We asked him if having won at the track gives him more confidence headed into Sunday’s race.

“I think it helps with the foundation,” he said. “The confidence of being able to say we’ve won here in the past, we know what it takes, we know how to get the job done and what we need to do to be successful.

“But at the same time as competitive as the IndyCar series is, you’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game every race, every lap or else you won’t even be close to the top 10,” Kimball continued. “Having that confidence and that foundation helps, but at the same time you still have to bring it and give it everything you’ve got every weekend.”

A victory would certainly sweeten Kimball’s 2016 season, which has been steady if not exceptional. He has finished within the Top 10 in seven of 11 races, including back-to-back Top 5 finishes in both Indianapolis races. So how does he feel about this campaign so far?

“Our season is starting to pick up some momentum,” he told us. “We’ve been very consistent, obviously highlighted at the Indy 500, but the constistency for sure shows as we look towards the point standings – being ninth in points and only like six points out of seventh.

“But we’ve also missed a couple opportunities. I think we had a chance to finish better at the Angie’s List Grand Prix; you start on the front row and finishing fifth is not where you want to end up.”

Kimball has also had some recent dust-ups with other drivers. Juan Pablo Montoya criticized his close racing, and then he collided with Ryan Hunter-Reay early in the Honda Indy Toronto. But for his part he understands that it’s all just part of the job.

“It is frustrating when you’re just trying to keep your nose clean and settle into the race and have people make contact,” he conceded, “but at the same time, IndyCar racing is so competitive. We’re racing wheel to wheel, we’re so close that these things happen.

“In a place like Toronto it’s so tight it turns into more of a street fight than a street race,” he added, “so definitely those things happen, and you just try to make adjustments and try to battle back as best as possible.”

We asked Kimball to give us his opinion on the damaged curb that was a major talking point after Toronto, and he disagrees with the idea that it affected the outcome of the race.

“I don’t know that it did,” he told us. “It’s a part of the track and it’s a part of the race that we use very aggressively. I use that curb just about every lap, and that’s the thing about street races and each time the track is built, things are different.

“I think IndyCar did a nice job when it became a problem and they had other issues on the racetrack to deal with and clean up. They managed to at least keep it from breaking up any more and managed that curb, and I don’t really think it changed much.”

What’s the most random thing that’s ever happened to him while in the car?

“I remember when the track was coming up in Detroit a couple of years ago, that was pretty spectacular,” Kimball reflected. “I don’t know that I’ve had any track-based things go crazy or wrong.

“[There’ve been] a couple of breaks and things moving around on the track when you go over them and you go that didn’t feel right,” he continued, “and then it goes yellow because you’ve got to go pick up a manhole cover or something. Things like that do happen, but that’s the art of street racing.”

Then of course there’s random (and hilarious) IndyCar promotional videos, like this classic from a few years ago:

There is one crazy challenge Kimball would like to try sometime, but it has nothing to do with IndyCar racing.

“I don’t know if it would ever work during race season but I would love to be part of The Amazing Race,” he revealed. “I love to travel the world. I grew up a lot of my life in Europe and went back over there and my wife and I are planning a vacation around the world at the end of the season mixing in a few work stops.

“Being part of The Amazing Race would be a lot of fun. To be able to figure things out and do it in a completely different environment and a whole different culture would be fun.”

With IndyCar drivers recently appearing on American Ninja Warrior and this weekend on Celebrity Family Feud, Kimball on The Amazing Race is not out of the realm of possibility. But for now he’s focused on the excitement ahead at Mid-Ohio.

“I think going to Mid Ohio is a highlight for everybody and it should be a highlight for the IndyCar series schedule,” he enthused. So if people can’t make it to the race track itself, then tune in and watch, because we always put on such a good show there and there’s always different strategies going on throughout the course of the race. Last year the turnout was spectacular.”

The Honda Indy 200 takes place this Sunday, Jul. 31 from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The race will be televised beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT on CNBC.