INDIANAPOLIS – With 35 entries for the 33-car starting field for the 105th Indianapolis 500, two drivers were destined to suffer the heartbreak of missing the field for the world’s biggest race.
Charlie Kimball of A.J. Foyt Racing didn’t think he would be one of those two drivers.
Prior to Sunday’s Last Chance Shootout, Kimball had started 10-straight Indianapolis 500s, a streak that began as a rookie in 2011. He finished third behind race winner Juan Pablo Montoya and second-place Will Power in 2015 and fifth in 2016.
He was back with A.J. Foyt Racing for the second year in a row at Indy, but this year the driver of the No. 11 Tresiba Chevrolet struggled to find consistent speed.
On Sunday, Kimball’s four-lap speed average of 227.584 mph wasn’t fast enough to make the field of 33.
“How am I feeling? The overriding emotion is pain,” Kimball revealed. “It hurts so much to miss this race that means so much, knowing that my next chance to try and race in the Indianapolis 500 isn’t until next May. A year’s a long time and it feels like forever right now.
“At the same time, there is a solid amount of pride for the No. 11 crew, the Tresiba car, Chevrolet, A.J. Foyt Racing,” Kimball continued. “The amount of different colored crew shirts working on that car in the last 36 hours to try and get it to where it needed to be and be in the show, I will never fault the effort. Those guys worked so hard and put so much into it, and they are feeling the exact same pain I am.”
Kimball emerged from the cockpit and hugged every crew member to thank them for their effort. The pain was evident once Kimball removed his helmet before speaking to the media about this huge disappointment.
“This last year has been hard on a lot of people and the world has been very different, but the one great thing in the last week has been seeing all of the fans here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Kimball said. “I said it on the radio, and I’ll say it again, the race cars may be the heart of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the fans are the soul.
“The race in August last year just felt soulless and I’m glad to have people back in the stands because this place comes alive when they’re here.”
Kimball will be a spectator, instead of a participant for the 105th Indianapolis. But the popular driver impressed his fellow drivers and the fans with the class and dignity in which he handled this tremendous disappointment when he failed to crack the 33-car starting lineup.