LEXINGTON, Ohio – Charlie Kimball’s personal prognosis for returning to the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car: “As soon as possible.”
The sophomore IZOD IndyCar Series driver underwent surgery last week to repair the fractured fifth metacarpal in his right hand suffered while testing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 26. He’s sitting out the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio this weekend, and has the benefit of a three-week break in the schedule to heal and strengthen the hand through physical therapy.
Giorgio Pantano, who filled in for the injured Justin Wilson in three late-season races in 2011, is driving the No. 83 entry at Mid-Ohio and likely would continue until Kimball is cleared by the INDYCAR medical team.
Kimball’s car rounded the undulating Turns 4-5 complex midway through the morning session of the test when the car veered to the left and slid through to grass to the tire barrier.
“I was in the process of retracting my hands to the belt when the left-front tire caught the tire wall and spun the steering wheel aggressively counterclockwise, and it just happened to collect my hand,” Kimball said. “It’s frustrating because it wasn’t dramatic, it wasn’t impressive and I end up with a broken bone to knock me out of a race weekend.
“It’s hard, but it’s one race out of a long career. So if I can focus on getting back, getting full strength of my hand, I’ll pick right back up when I get back in the car.”
Kimball has recorded five top-10 finishes in the 11 races this season, highlighted by a career-best second on the streets of Toronto. The former Firestone Indy Lights competitor has seven top-10s in 28 races over two seasons. In November 2011, Novo Nordisk announced a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Chip Ganassi Racing.
“We’ve been building a legitimate foundation and taking solid steps forward,” Kimball said. “We’ve really grown as a program.”
Kimball, who said his blood glucose management is not affected by the injury, added that while he’s eager to return to the competition, rushing the process (which on average is about six weeks) would be a disservice to him and the team.
“I’m really focused on doing all that the doctors are telling me, all the physical therapy exercises, making sure I have full range of motion and then rebuild conditioning and strength,” he said. “This weekend it will be difficult because I want to be involved but I have to focus on healing for the next race. There’s a balance between full recovery and recovery to the point where it’s stable and strong enough to drive the car at a level I’m expected to.
“It’s great to have Giorgio step in. I have a lot of faith that he’ll continue to move the peg forward so that we’ll be further ahead and have more momentum when I come back.”
Pantano, 33, the 2008 GP2 champion, made his first two IndyCar Series starts with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2005 at Sonoma, Calif., and Watkins Glen, N.Y., (started second, finished fourth). He recently moved to the States to focus on securing an IZOD IndyCar Series ride for 2013, and has been coaching E.J. Viso of KV Racing Technology this season.
“Everything was very quick,” Pantano said of the deal. “They just called me and I was ready. I hope Charlie’s recovery is very fast. I have to say thanks to Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing because this is a wonderful opportunity for me to start showing what I can really do and working with sponsors.”