Kimball on Rolex 24: "You will see something you've never seen before"
Charlie Kimball had a lot to say as he prepares to go after another Rolex watch.
Daytona Beach, Fla - In this interview with Charlie Kimball, he sounded more like a strategist than a race car driver, and that's probably a good mentality to have going into a 24 hour race. Of course, Kimball is an IndyCar driver who does this on the side, but he knows the feeling of winning this twice around the clock endurance race, a sensation many full-time sports car drivers can only dream of.
You will see something you've never seen before and something will happen where never in a million years would you have written that.
Charlie Kimball on Rolex 24
"It's going to be fun, always is," Kimball told Motorsport.com. "Any time you get to race for 24 hours, that sounds like 24 hours of fun to me. It's a good group of guys. Not just the mechanics, the engineers, the drivers ... Everyone involved from the truck drivers to the tire guys, the runners. They are all so committed to getting the result this team deserves. It makes it easy for us."
It's not always the fastest car...
The fact DPs, P2s and even the DeltaWing are running within half a second of each other is going to make this race interesting, but the 24 hour aspect throws an extra kink into the plans of teams like Michael Shank Racing, who've led every session run thus far. "The funny thing about endurance racing is that in the entire history of 24 hour races, I don't know how many have been won by the fastest car. These races aren't just about getting home, they're about getting home after 24 hours of sprint racing. We got to have a quick car, but one you can drive. We got to have a group of guys and/or girls that can pedal it."
All of it! With the aero kits coming out, you'll grow that visual identity between manufacturers
Charlie Kimball on what he is looking forward to in IndyCar 2015
"Michael Shank Racing does a really good job," Kimball added. "When it comes down to us beating them, we've got to beat them on speed, consistency, on pit lane, on the spotter stand, on the bus when we're resting. And it's not just them, all the prototypes out there have the ability to do it, we just have to do every phase that little bit better."
"One of the best pieces of advice I got from a team manager years ago was that you will see something you've never seen before and something will happen where never in a million years would you have written that. You just have to be prepared for the changes and how the race is going to work."
Looking forward to 2015 in IndyCar
So what aspects of the 2015 IndyCar season has Charlie Kimball excited? "All of it," he declared without hesitation and a laugh.
"With the aero kits coming out, you'll grow that visual identity between manufacturers. I really enjoyed working with those Chevy guys last year and I can't wait for them to continue development on the aero kits. We've talked a lot about opportunities missed last year and we can't afford to do that again this year. There are a whole lot less excuses but it's all about this weekend right now and trying to end up with a watch on both arms.
New Indy Lights car
"It's awesome,it's a great looking car," Kimball said of the new Indy Lights car to Motorsport.com. "They've done a lot with the safety on it and things I think will translate into the next evolution of IndyCar. Being a member of the safety committee, I kind of get to see what's coming down the pipe."
"That Indy Lights car ... They've done a nice, nice job. It will be interesting to see how it races. They've been out testing and it sounds like it runs really well and everything is pretty healthy on it. We just have to see what it does when they go wheel-to-wheel through corners."
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