🇺🇸 Charlie Kimball

Charlie Kimball was an established professional driver who raced in open-wheel and endurance competition, primarily in the IndyCar Series where he competed for multiple teams across 158 starts between 2011 and 2021. He held FIA Gold grading, which places him among the top professional tier in endurance racing. His single IndyCar win came in 2013, the year he also finished ninth in the championship standings and won the 24 Hours of Daytona in IMSA WeatherTech competition.[1]

Kimball's career spanned 16 seasons across single-seater and endurance categories. He began in Formula 3 competition in Europe, taking four podiums and a win across 21 starts for Prema Powerteam in the Formula 3 Euro Series between 2006 and 2008. After Formula V8 3.5 competition in 2007, he moved to Indy NXT in 2010, where he earned five podiums in 13 starts for KV AFS Racing before stepping up to IndyCar. In IndyCar, he accumulated six podiums across his decade-long tenure, with his best season finishes ninth in both 2013 and 2016. His only indexed IMSA start, a one-off in a multiclass endurance entry with Chip Ganassi Racing, came in 2015.[2]

Kimball spent the bulk of his racing career against established IndyCar professionals. He was closely matched with Graham Rahal, an FIA Gold driver and regular midfield competitor, but typically finished behind Scott Dixon, a five-time IndyCar champion and elite professional who dominated the grid throughout Kimball's tenure. In the broader context of IndyCar competition, Kimball occasionally prevailed against drivers who would go on to elite standing; he finished ahead of Alex Palou, who became a multiple-time IndyCar champion, seven times across their head-to-head meetings, and beat Pato O'Ward, an elite professional and Indy NXT champion, three times in direct competition.