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On March 25, at the historic Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina, Jimmy drove in his first National Midget race as the youngest driver in a field of 25 professional drivers which included Tracy Hines, Brad Kuhn, Jason Leffler, Dave Darland, and Brad Sweet. Jimmy qualified 2nd in this prestigeous field!
On April 11 in Anderson, Indiana, at his second National Midget Race, and in a field of 28 drivers, Jimmy's driving and car handling was quite impressive as he out drove and out lasted most of the field in the 100 lap endurance race to finish 6th. |
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USAC National Midget Car – January 2010 |
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I’m now looking forward to 2010 more than ever with the acquisition of a 2006 Beast National Midget with Esslinger power. The sale of the Ford Focus Midget cars, with some help from Mom (stands for #1 money sponsor) allowed Jimmy Simpson Racing to purchase a good car to take the step up to the Mopar USAC National Midget Series for 2010. Go to http://www.usacracing.com/midget_index/schedule_m and look for pavement races to find the race schedule. I hope to do all of the pavement events starting with Hickory, North Carolina on March 24th and 25th. Once again, I am fortunate to have my midget racing mentor and team leader, Brian Gerster, help me get the car and the program in top shape for the upcoming season.
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Daytona WKA Manufacturers Cup Nationals - December 28-30th, 2009 |
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Over the holidays I had the opportunity to race at Daytona International Speedway in the World Karting Association Manufactures Cup event. It's exciting to compete at the famous Daytona track. Dan Wheldon of the Indy Racing League along with Jamie McMurray and AJ Almendinger of NASCAR raced in my class. My teammate was James Winslow, a Formula 3 driver from Europe. James is a top talent in open wheel racing and it was exciting to learn from him. I ran the Tag and Parilla Leopard classes using the awesome new 2010 Zanardi chassis with Comet power. This was my first full course race with the newest Zanardi, and I found it just as fast as the 2009 kart I set the pole on for the 2009 Robopong 200. I consistently ran in the top 15 out of 50 karts all weekend as we tuned the kart for the tricky track surface. When I finished the prefinal Sunday in 8th I was optimistic for the final. Jay made a change on the grid I should have listened to him and made earlier in the weekend. The kart was a rocket and was a sure podium, but I could not avoid a couple of crashes leaving me with a 14th place finish. I'd like to thank Jay Vormwald for his support and patience with me as I worked to figure the kart out. Also, it was another good weekend for Brandon Jenkin's reliable Comet race
motors.
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USAC Midwest and UMARA Ford Focus Rookie of the Year – December 18, 2009 |
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The United State Auto Club named me 2009 Ford Focus Midget Midwest Series and UMARA Series Rookie of the Year. I’m very proud to be chosen for this award and thank my midget racing mentor, Brian Gerster, along with my crew consisting of my parents, TC, Eric Batt, and Sam Chastain for their help during the long tough season of racing. We all worked very hard to finish 2nd in both series behind veteran midget driver, Joe Liquori. Joe is an excellent racer and, along with his crewchief, Wally Sexton, were very generous with advice that helped me become a better driver. |
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Orlando Professional Racing Industry Show - CKI Race - December 11, 2009 |
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It was an honor to be able to participate in my 2nd PRI Karter's All-Star race at the PRI show on December 11th. This is a huge event and we get to race with professionals from all over the world. Thanks to Jay Vormwald of Zanardi USA for giving me with opportunity to run with teammates Josef Newgarden, Brandon Newey and Matt Jaskol. Visit https://www.zanardiusa.com/ for more information on Jay’s products and services. This was my first ride on the 2010 Zanardi and it was fast from the first lap. Unfortunately the rains came off and on, and I made a bad decision in qualifying resorting to rain tires when slickers were better. But qualifying 3rd to last (29th), after running in the top 5 in practice, presented an exciting challenge. The new Zanardi powered by a Brandon Jenkin's Comet Leopard was fast and I moved easily through the pack to line up 14th for the final. Unfortunately my starter failed and when the green flag flew I started 23rd. I managed to pass 12 karts and was the last kart on the lead lap in the end, holding off eventual winner, Gary Carlton, for an 11th place finish. I was disappointed because they only transferred the top 9 for to the Pro division race. I also felt bad for my good friend, Josef Newgarden, who was following me to the front when he was involved in a last lap crash. Josef is a top talent rising in the ranks of open wheel racing in both Europe and the U.S. Both Josef and I will likely put the PRI show on our "To Do" list for 2010. |
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