Chilton, Kimball taking pride in 'start-up' project with Carlin

When Carlin announced that it would make its Verizon IndyCar Series debut in 2018, high expectations quickly followed.

With the organization's long history of success in every series it entered and two solid, experienced drivers in Max Chilton (No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet) and Charlie Kimball (No. 23 Novo Nordisk Chevrolet), it's easy to understand why many thought Carlin would be an instant contender.

It hasn’t turned out that way, with only three top-10 results for the team in the first 11 races of the season before Kimball scored the outfit's first top-five on Sunday in the Honda Indy Toronto.

Although he understands the expectations that come with the Carlin name, Chilton insists there needs to be a bit of patience, too.

“Carlin will always do a good job and it's won championships and races in everything they've entered, so fingers crossed that in the coming months or years we will get some wins,” said Chilton, whose best finish this season has been 11th in the second race of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear weekend.

“We are working on it, but we are not where we want to be yet — obviously (team owner) Trevor (Carlin) won't be happy until we are leading regularly. But every time we go out, we get better, so if we keep doing that, we'll have a good finish to the year. I know we will get there.”

Simply put, the team's experience and past success helps, but even when a team with Carlin’s shining resume arrives every Verizon IndyCar Series race weekend without any previous track data as a staring point, sometimes things click and work out … and sometimes they simply don't.

“Every racetrack we go to, it's the first time we are seeing it as a team,” said Kimball, whose fifth-place finish in Toronto marked his third top-10 result in the last five races.

Kimball and Chilton came “home” to Carlin this year since each drove for the British-based team in junior open-wheel formulas along their career paths. Both drivers spent their entire Verizon IndyCar Series careers – seven seasons for Kimball and two for Chilton – with Chip Ganassi Racing before making the move to the new team.

“As much as my experience and Max's can help as drivers, we don't know how many things were done (with Ganassi) because they were handled by the managers or the team and drivers never touch that,” Kimball said. “But it's been fulfilling. Max and I really enjoy being part of this start-up and we have really punched above our weight when we've had the opportunity.”

One of the world's most successful racing outfits in the past two decades, Carlin focused exclusively on junior categories from its founding in 1996 until it moved to the Verizon IndyCar Series this year, it's first top-level professional series. In the past 21 years, it has played a role in honing the talents of more than 200 drivers, many of whom went on to success in the professional ranks.

Names once affixed to a Carlin junior cockpit include Verizon IndyCar Series champions Josef Newgarden and Will Power, 2017 Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato and Formula One world champions Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.

In addition to Newgarden, Power, and Sato, the list of current Verizon IndyCar Series drivers who raced for Carlin in lower formulas includes Conor Daly, Zachary Claman De Melo, Jack Harvey, Ed Jones, Jordan King, Matheus Leist and Robert Wickens.

When Chilton and Kimball are included, about half of the grid at most 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series events raced for Carlin at one time or another.

While part of the team’s slow start can be chalked up to being a rookie team, Chilton insisted that Carlin also chose a path that might not be conducive to immediate success. Carlin brought in all of its crew from the United Kingdom and started the season with no engineers with Verizon IndyCar Series experience. On top of that, the team is based in Florida rather than Indianapolis.

“It's hard enough for a team based in America that has lots of employees who have done it before,” Chilton said. “We made it as hard as possible for us, but we've done it for a specific reason: We wanted the right people, a younger crowd that has worked for us for a number of years, and there is definitely a different mentality with the work approach from Europe to America, so we've tried to bring that across.

“It's made it bit harder for ourselves, but I think it will pay off in time.”

Carlin, Chilton and Kimball get their next chance in the Honda Indy 200 on Sunday, July 29 from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The circuit in Lexington, Ohio, is the site of Kimball’s sole Verizon IndyCar Series win, back in 2013.

Verizon P1 Award qualifying airs live from Mid-Ohio at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, July 28. Live coverage of the race the following day begins at 3 p.m. on CNBC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network, with an encore telecast at 6:30 p.m. on NBCSN.