Ganassi’s Kimball, Briscoe break through with pair of top-six results in GP of Indy

By May 12, 2014, 10:45 AM EDT
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This was one post I wanted to hit in the immediate aftermath of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis but between some of the other story lines, it waited a couple days.

But for the Novo Nordisk and NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing teams, the GP of Indy day was a needed result for both Charlie Kimball in the No. 83 and Ryan Briscoe in the No. 8 Chevrolet.

Both drivers sought to break through earlier this year and on Saturday, they ended fifth and sixth, respectively for their best finishes of the young season. And yet both could have been better if not for tough breaks.

Kimball had a shot at the podium if the Honda runners who ended 1-2, Simon Pagenaud and Ryan Hunter-Reay, needed to pit for a splash of fuel.

source: Getty Images
Briscoe and Kimball at Barber. Photo: Getty Images

“My engineer, Brad Goldberg, and my team manager, Tom Wurtz, gave me the right pit stops at the right times and just let me go race the car,” Kimball said. “There were so many different strategies going on and all of those yellows made it challenging for our strategy because we had to run hard towards the end just to get back up into the top five after that last stop.”

And Briscoe had a drive-through penalty for a pit safety violation assessed earlier in the race, but he was able to rebound.

“It’s a really exciting result for us,” Briscoe said. “I wasn’t confident after we got the penalty in pit lane early on in the race, but we had a couple of really strong restarts and the car just came to us as the rubber went down on the track. The No. 8 NTT DATA Chevrolet just got better and better as we went through the race.”

Both made huge points gains, with Kimball jumping from 23rd to 16th, and Briscoe from 16th to 11th.

Keep an eye on these two the rest of the month. Briscoe and Kimball are both in the “sneaky good” category at IMS – Briscoe having won the 2012 Indianapolis 500 pole and Kimball having finished in the top-10 each of the last two years.

They worked together as teammates for the first time at this race one year ago, and with the resources of the entire Chip Ganassi Racing organization (the Target pair of Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan are involved in debriefs) and Chevrolet’s record on fuel mileage the last two years, here’s two guys who would not surprise if they wound up in victory lane on May 25.

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
IndyCar video game 2024
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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”