On-Track incidents relegate Kimball to 20th at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. – Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing (NNCGR) driver Charlie Kimball finished 20th in Round 15 in the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway.

Charlie Kimball, Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing

Photo by: Brad Fox

For the start of the 85-lap race, the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team lined up from the outside of row three in sixth position. On the opening lap of the 2.385-mile course, Kimball was taken off course in an incident where the No. 83 car went into anti-stall mode and stopped in Turn 2.

Kimball then restarted the NovoLog FlexPen car and headed to pit lane to top-off on fuel, where he continued one-lap down and in 24th position. Through the course of the first 16-laps on the 12-turn road course, the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team would battle through the middle of the field in 24th position and waited for its chance to return to the lead lap. Kimball got his lap back on lap 17 when several cars went for their first pit stops of the race under the yellow flag.

Kimball made his way from 24th position to 11th, ready to reposition himself in the top-10 in the final laps. With only eight laps remaining, No. 83 was involved in a second incident, when the No. 4 car dive-bombed three cars and took out the No. 83 in the process of not making the corner.

The No. 4 car was eventually issued a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact. Due to the late incident, Kimball came to pit lane for a new front wing and exited as the sole car on his lap in 22nd position. On the race’s final caution occurring on lap 79, Kimball advanced two positions and crossed the line in 20th.

With the result in Round 15, Kimball moved from a tie for seventh position to 10th in the IZOD IndyCar Series point standings with 335 markers, -144 points behind leader Helio Castroneves.

Honda is now second in the manufacturer point standings with 111 points, trailing Chevrolet with 114.

Up next, Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing will compete in Round 16 of the IZOD IndyCar Series with the Grand Prix of Baltimore in Baltimore, Md., on Sunday, September 1 (2:00pm ET on NBC Sports Network).

Charlie Kimball: “Overall, it was a just a tough day for the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car. The Novo Nordisk crew did a great job both in pit lane and in recovering from the incident at the beginning of the race. We fought our way through and gained a lap back on a road course, so that’s pretty impressive.

The car was that quick and we were able to make some passes. We felt strong on both primary and alternate tires, so we feel pretty good about the car, especially on a road course package. We’re looking forward to Baltimore and we’ll move forward from here.”

Chip Ganassi Racing