Charlie Kimball ‘extremely excited’ for 2017 IndyCar season

The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season is a brave new world for Chip Ganassi Racing’s Charlie Kimball, who told FanSided about what’s ahead (and gift wrap).

The upcoming Verizon IndyCar Series season is full of possibility for Charlie Kimball and the No. 83 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda team. Charlie just tied his career best finish in the championship while also celebrating his 100th career start, and CGR switched engine manufacturers from Chevrolet back to Honda. The charismatic Californian is looking forward to a bright 2017 campaign.

FanSided spoke to Charlie ahead of this weekend’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to discuss the importance of a strong start, what the drivers are curious about going into the new season and how difficult it was for him to gift wrap Christmas presents wearing his racing helmet.

“We were busier this off season than I’ve been in a long time,” Kimball said to FanSided. “The switch to Honda put a lot of work, both in the engineers’ camp and in my camp, learning about how we’re gonna make the most of it this year.

“I was pretty busy with [primary sponsor] Novo Nordisk doing a lot of speaking events over the winter, so I feel like the offseason’s just flown by. There have been a couple of days that have dragged and been cold and gray, and I wish I was at a racetrack, but overall I feel like the winter’s been pretty quick.”

Charlie notched 11 Top-10 finishes over 16 races last year, including back-to-back fifth place results at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. That consistency led him to ninth place in the championship — his best result since 2013. He credits the success to earning better spots on the starting grid.

“We took a step forward last year in qualifying. I wasn’t having to pass five or 10 cars to be in contention,” he said. “We were running up front and staying up front, and so to be able to keep taking a step forward with that, to me, is the goal.

“I think the racecraft has been pretty good,” he added. “The guys have been doing an awesome job working over the winter on the pit stops. As we get to the first race, for me it’s about practicing faster, qualifying faster, and then staying up there.”

He’s not tempering his expectations because of the manufacturer swap.

“I think we know that we’re facing a lot of new challenges, a lot of differences,” Kimball said, “But I also think that as a team, everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing — especially on the 83 car and the Novo Nordisk side — we are extremely excited. We’re enjoying working back with our partners at Honda. I won my first race and so far only IndyCar race with them, so it’s nice to be back in their camp, and it just makes us more excited about getting ready for the year.”

He’s also happy to have the band still together. Teammate Max Chilton re-signed with CGR for his second season, rejoining Charlie, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan on the grid, and the No. 83 crew is also returning for more.

“It is nice to have the same four drivers all working together,” Kimball said. “On 83 currently, the engineering staff, all the personnel is pretty similar. Coming into this year, there’s been a little less upheaval as far as personnel and preparation … We understand each other, we work well together, we’re pretty friendly. It’s nice to have that foundation so that when you get to the racetrack, you don’t have to relearn anyone. You can just go to work.”

Of course, it’s easy to be excited about going to work when you get to begin your season in Florida. St. Petersburg has served as the first stop on the Verizon IndyCar Series calendar since 2011 and Charlie told us he enjoys beginning the campaign in the East Coast sunshine.

“It’s pretty nice,” he reflected. “It’s a little like the first day of school. Everyone’s back together for the first time. I’ve seen different mechanics and drivers at different tests, some of the sponsors and some of the IndyCar crew, but when you get to St. Pete that’s when everyone shows up, so I always look forward to it. It’s one of the highlights of the year.”

What matters most, though, is getting a solid result to begin the season.

“It is important coming out of the gate strong,” Kimball said. “It sets the tone and sets the personality of the season right away. Not saying that if it doesn’t go right, we’re going to give up. It just means that we have to work a little harder to catch up, dig ourselves out of the hole a little bit. For us, going into St. Pete we’ve worked really hard. We’ve spent a couple of days doing street circuit work. I think we’ve got a reasonable setup.”

While things look the same for Kimball and his crew, they look different for a lot of teams going into the new IndyCar season. Drivers like Josef Newgarden and Sebastien Bourdais have left for new organizations, and others such as Jack Hawskworth and Juan Pablo Montoya won’t be on the grid at all. Are there any storylines going into the season that Charlie is watching?

“I think that there have been a lot of changes up and down the paddock,” he reflected. “It’ll be interesting to see how the Foyt guys adapt to the Chevy package because that’s new for them.

“I think having Takuma [Sato] at Andretti might stabilize some of the stuff there. I know they’ve added personnel on the engineering side over the winter, so I think that definitely will push things forward.

“It’s good to see JR [Hildebrand] back in the paddock full-time this year,” he added, quipping, “Now at least there are as many California drivers as there are South American. It’s nice to see the West Coast represented well.”

The last time Hildebrand was a full-time IndyCar driver, though, it caused a bit of a headache for Kimball. People were so incapable of telling him, Hildebrand and James Hinchcliffe apart that the three of them actually had to make a YouTube video explaining their differences. Now that it’s been a few years, does Charlie think people will be able to distinguish them this time around?

“I hope so,” he laughed. “Last I saw JR, he’s got a pretty long haircut. He almost has hockey hair going on, the sort of long, swept back look. Hopefully, people can tell us apart. If not, James, JR and I are gonna have to do another one of those [videos] … And when people mistake us, we correct them and hand them a business card with the YouTube video address. That’s what we did in Indy Lights!”

Speaking of YouTube videos, fans may have noticed more of Kimball in IndyCar’s offseason content. One of the highlights was that Charlie and his wife Kathleen invited fans into their home for Christmas. Charlie attempted holiday baking and tried to beat Kathleen in a gift wrapping competition. How hard was it for him to try wrapping presents while wearing his helmet?

“To be honest, my gift wrapping skills are slightly better than the video portrayed, but it was all about speed versus quality in that,” he laughed. “That was a lot of fun. It was nice to be able to bring some of the IndyCar fans into our home and share some of our holiday traditions.

“I did a video of me cooking ribs because I love using my outdoor space and cooking outside. Maybe that’s the Californian in me, being able to barbecue year round. But also going to get our Christmas tree and things like that.

“It’s nice to be able to show a side of us drivers that isn’t always seen,” Kimball added. “At the office, I’m wearing a helmet and a fire suit, I’m sitting in a car, and it’s a little harder to put a face to the name.”

Now it’s time for Kimball to get back to the office, and he’s ready to turn the page and make some more moments to remember on the racetrack.

“I’m just really excited to get this season started,” he reflected. “Start my next century of IndyCar races, having run my 100th IndyCar start at Sonoma last year and done them all with Chip Ganassi Racing. It’s nice to start 101 with Chip and the 83 crew as well.”

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Keep your eye on Charlie Kimball when the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season begins Sunday, March 12 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The race will be televised on ABC starting at 12 p.m. ET. For more on the entire 2017 IndyCar season, follow along with FanSided’s Motor Sports category here.