In May, Charlie Kimball‘s Indianapolis 500 hopes were dashed when he failed to qualify for what would have been his eleventh start in the race. Five months later, he will return to the seat of an IndyCar for the NTT IndyCar Series season finale at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, where he will once again drive the #11 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. It will be his second start of the season.
Prior to the 500, he finished twenty-second in the GMR Grand Prix with Foyt, whom he joined for the full 2020 season. After an eighteenth-place points finish, his schedule was scaled back to just the Month of May events, though he remained involved in the organisation and worked as a colour commentator for Indy Lights races.
“I cannot wait to get back behind the wheel of an A.J. Foyt IndyCar mostly because I love racing,” Kimball stated. “[…] Working with the team at A.J. Foyt Racing, both in and out of the cockpit, has been very rewarding and I look forward to continuing that work in Long Beach.”
Long Beach returns to the IndyCar calendar after being axed in 2020 due to COVID-19. The street course holds sentimental value for Kimball, who grew up in Camarillo, California, located approximately seventy miles away from Long Beach.
“Long Beach is my favorite event outside of the Indy 500,” added Kimball. “I spent my childhood coming to this race and dreaming about being on the other side of the fence. The chance to compete at this track, so close to my hometown, three and a half years since my last time behind the wheel there has been one of my biggest personal motivators.”
In eight career starts at Long Beach between 2011 and 2018, his best finish is tenth in his most recent attempt. He finished runner-up in the 2010 Indy Lights race there as part of a three-round streak of second-place runs. Kimball’s lone IndyCar win came at Mid-Ohio in 2013.
