Kimball denies any wrongdoing in Power, Rahal incidents
Charlie Kimball has defended himself after being part of two major incidents during Sunday's IndyCar race at Watkins Glen International
Charlie Kimball, Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
IndyCar Series
The first took place on Lap 20 at the exit of Turn 1 when Graham Rahal bounced off his right side pod and went nose-first into the inside barrier.
After exiting the infield care center, he said, "Kimball decided to not give me any room on the exit. (That's) probably the hardest hit I’ve taken in my life, but I have to take blame too. I shouldn’t have put myself in that position. I should know better than to race him like that. He's a character."
The incident was investigated, but no action was taken.
Post-race, Kimball dismissed claims that he was responsible for Rahal's race-ending crash, saying "I didn’t think we had a lot of contact with Graham. I felt like I gave him plenty of room around the inside."
But 19 laps after the Rahal contact, a much more significant moment took place coming out of the esses. Championship contender Will Power moved across the nose of Kimball's machine and slammed into the armco. Again, there was no action taken by race control.
"If he knew I was there, then he shouldn't have driven me into the grass ... I felt like I gave him plenty of room on the inside," Kimball said in his own defense.
He then added, “We came up the hill and everyone else that I passed I got to the left, everyone stayed right to block, and Will -- It’s like he had no idea I was there."
Power was checked and released after the wreck, but has not been cleared to drive due to concussion-like symptoms. However, Will believes he'll be fine in time for the test at Sonoma.
Obviously, Power's 20th-place finish gives points leader Simon Pagenaud some much-needed breathing room going into the finale. He will have a 43 point buffer over his Penske teammate.
And unlike Power, Kimball doesn't have a title to worry about. "I don't have anything to lose. You have to take everything you can."
Kimball's efforts earned him a sixth-place result, telling Motorsport.com, "Man it was upside down. That first yellow -- We were coming in that lap and it really split the field.
"We had some guys who were maybe not as quick as us, but they were quick in different spots, making overtaking really tough.
"To come home sixth ... I never thought with ten to go we'd be sixth. It was nice to get a solid result out of it."
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