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Charlie Kimball interview: Moving into new IndyCar chapter with Carlin

By Brittany Frederick

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 11: Charlie Kimball, driver of the #23 Carlin Racing Chevrolet, prepares to climb into his car for practice for the IndyCar Grand Prix on May 11, 2018, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 11: Charlie Kimball, driver of the #23 Carlin Racing Chevrolet, prepares to climb into his car for practice for the IndyCar Grand Prix on May 11, 2018, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Charlie Kimball is starting a new chapter of his IndyCar career as he returns to Carlin, and told FanSided about his 2018 IndyCar season.

Charlie Kimball turned the page for the 2018 IndyCar season when he joined Carlin, but it was both moving forward and looking back simultaneously.

After flying under the radar with Chip Ganassi Racing, Kimball left CGR this season to help Carlin start its Verizon IndyCar Series effort. But it was less a move and more a homecoming, as Carlin helped Kimball launch his career well before he got to IndyCar.

FanSided sat down with Charlie Kimball ahead of last Saturday’s IndyCar Grand Prix to talk about the transition, what it takes to get a new team off the ground, and coming back to an organization he knows very well.

FanSided: You earned Carlin’s first Top 10 finish in the Verizon IndyCar Series at Long Beach. You haven’t won yet, but the team is definitely moving forward; so how do you evaluate your 2018 IndyCar season so far?

Charlie Kimball (CK): The way the cars have run for a brand new team is something to be really proud of and the guys should be really proud of. From my side, we’re learning every section every time we get on the racetrack.

Where we were from St. Pete to the next street circuit at Long Beach, we were so far ahead. We were light years ahead of where we were in St. Pete. That progress is really an indication of how quickly we’re making ground up and learning. With being a new team in IndyCar, there’s so much for them to learn, and we’re getting there. We’re learning every time we’re on the racetrack, but there is so much to learn.

FanSided: Changing race teams is a huge decision for any driver, but you went to a team you know and you have the same teammate in Max Chilton. So how much of a transition has this season been for you personally?

CK: It was easier coming back to a car on a team I raced for in ’05 and ’07. It definitely feels like family working with [team owner] Trevor [Carlin] and all of the guys here. The work ethic, the culture is exactly the same as when I raced for them years ago. It’s very comfortable in that sense and I have a huge amount of confidence in their ability to learn and be competitive very very quickly.

I think part of it is the way we’re learning. We’re working through things methodically and intelligently so when we learn these things, we don’t forget them and they are lessons that continue to apply to the rest of the year.

FanSided: For IndyCar fans who don’t know, explain your history with Carlin, because it was quite successful.

CK: I started racing for Trevor back in 2005 and then raced for them in World Series by Renault through their Victory Engineering squad [in 2007], and it was amazing. In ’05 we had a really good team; we won a bunch of races [and teammate] Alvaro [Parente] won the championship.

And then in ’07, this is the team that was there with me when I was diagnosed with diabetes. So we had a lot of really good results, and a lot of progress and positive history — as well as some challenges and some history overcoming challenges.

FanSided: Since you have more experience in the Verizon IndyCar Series than the team, are you able to lend your knowledge to them? Are you having more of a voice in what goes on?

CK: As much as I can. I am trying to shorten all of our learning curves as much as possible, based on my experience. I try to apply everything that I’ve learned and things that have come up in the last seven-plus seasons, different problems or mistakes or weather. Things we’ve done in the past that have worked, things that haven’t worked as well. That’s been a big part of it.

FanSided: We’re seeing a lot of the smaller organizations be real contenders this season. Is it encouraging for you as a two-car team to see that success and have a more level playing field than in IndyCar seasons past?

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CK: The fact that it is a universal aero kit, for me, definitely makes a lot of sense to move to a new team. It makes sense for a new team like Carlin to get started in the IndyCar series, because we’re all learning. Every team is learning the dynamics.

In our case, we’re learning the mechanical side [as well], but the fact that we’re on a level playing field aerodynamically, I think that was a big part of Trevor’s thought process of choosing this year to do it.

FanSided: With a new car and a new team, how much has Charlie Kimball had to change as a driver? Do you have to adapt your driving style to all these variables?

CK: I think you have to apply your historical knowledge, you have to apply your experience and make the most out of the team operation. I don’t think you change a whole lot honestly. I still want the car to react in a certain way, I still want the car to be how I’m comfortable with and can get the most out of it. At the same time, I’m going to try and adapt to how the team works. They have a different way of doing things and I’ve got to learn and adapt to that as well.

FanSided: Is there any other driver who’s particularly impressed you this season?

CK: Robert Wickens is a prime example of someone with a lot of experience in a lot of different racing, especially in Europe, coming over and getting comfortable pretty quickly and being competitive. It’ll be interesting to see over the next couple of years to see [with] Jordan King and Wickens, if that draws more racers from Europe.

FanSided: What’s the biggest thing Charlie Kimball has come away with so far from this first season with Carlin?

CK: I’ve even heard from other drivers after Long Beach that you guys took a step forward and that was way better at Long Beach than what you had at St. Pete, and that’s 100 percent true. We made a massive step forward and big progress with the car and the team.

We’re still learning each other as driver to engineer, and engineer to teammate, and all those different personal interactions. A lot of these guys have worked together but none of them have worked with me before. We’re learning a lot of that. They’re not just learning stuff on the track but off the track — the media commitments and autograph sessions and appearances and meet and greets and hospitality and IndyCar PR.

There’s so much that goes into running an IndyCar team, and there is no doubt in my mind, if you told someone who didn’t know IndyCar racing there was a brand new team and if they could pick out what team that was, I’m pretty sure they would not have picked Carlin Racing. Not just on track but off track, the level of performance this team has brought and the hours the guys have put in to get here has been amazing.

Next: Read our IndyCar interview with Graham Rahal

The 2018 Indianapolis 500 takes place Sunday, May 27. For complete coverage of the 2018 IndyCar season, follow the Motor Sports category at FanSided.