James Simpson (born September 13, 1992) is an American racing driver from

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Racing career

Simpson began racing with a successful career in

karting Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...

, including two Kart Racers of America Junior Yamaha championships in 2007 at New Castle Motorsports Park. While at Purdue University, Simpson won the

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

Grand Prix and became the only driver to do so for four years in a row. Simpson won between 2013 and 2016. Simpson continued his success in karting with a win in 2014, and two runner-up finishes (2008 and 2012), in the RoboPong 200 endurance race at New Castle Motorsports Park in New Castle, Indiana, one of karting's most high-profile events. Simpson also competed in the USAC

Midget Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a Medical terminology, medical term like ''dwarf'' (for a person with d ...

National Championship from 2010 to 2012, competing in 25 races with multiple heat race wins but never a feature win. In 2009 Simpson finished 2nd in the USAC Ford Focus Midget Championship with multiple feature wins and was named USAC Rookie of the Year in the highly competitive Midwest Division. He also attended

Skip Barber Racing School The Skip Barber Racing School is an American racing and driving school. Skip Barber founded the school in 1975. History In 1975, Skip Barber started the Skip Barber School of High Performance Driving at Riverside International Raceway. In 19 ...

, tested a

Formula BMW Formula BMW was a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It was positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category. Like Formula Ford, it was intended to function as the young ...

car, and has on occasion competed in 410 non-wing sprint car racing at Indiana's well known dirt tracks. In 2013 Simpson began racing in

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross, Rallycross, High Performance Driver Education, HPDE, Time trial, Time Trial, Road racing, Road Racing, Regularity rally, R ...

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club ...

and captured a race victory in his first National Atlantics race at

Sebring International Raceway Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the Southeastern United States, southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S ...

in January. Simpson followed the Sebring victory with a win at the first Formula Atlantic event ever held at Circuit of the America's (COTA) in March 2013, and then wins at St. Louis's Gateway International Raceway in June and Watkins Glen in July. Simpson completed his first

Firestone Indy Lights Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Road ...

test at the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

on May 2 and announced his participation in the

Freedom 100 The Freedom 100 was an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, as part of the Indy NXT, Indy Lights. The event was a Card (sports)#Undercard, support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and ...

on May 21.Simpson joins Firestone Freedom 100
''IndyCar'', May 21, 2013, Retrieved 2013-05-22 He qualified eleventh and finished seventh in the race with Team Moore Racing. In 2014 Simpson competed full-time in the

Atlantic Championship The Atlantic Championship Series is an American open-wheel racing series with races throughout North America. It has previously been called Champ Car Atlantics, Toyota Atlantics (after its then engine supplier for sponsorship reasons), or just ...

finishing 2nd in the championship with two wins and track records at Watkins Glen and VIR, and also made an appearance in Indy Lights at the

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. It hosts a number of racing series such as IndyCar, IMSA WeatherTech Sportsc ...

double header for Team Moore. In 2017 Simpson participated in the Kart Racers of America series winning championships in both Tag Senior and 125cc Shifter. He was undefeated in both classes throughout the year. In 2020 he followed up with another Kart Racers of America championship in Tag Senior. After taking time off to focus on college and his karting business, Simpson had an opportunity to race Formula Atlantic again in 2023. In February Simpson entered the SCCA Super Tour race at Circuit of the Americas. Simpson raced a Swift 016 prepared by K-Hill Motorsports. He finished with victories both Saturday and Sunday against a field of 19 Formula Atlantic cars. Simpson continued in March with back to back wins in the Formula Racing Promotions Pro Series in the Formula Atlantic 016 class at Road Atlanta, again running for K-Hill Motorsports. In April he continued winning with two victories at Mid-Ohio in the Formula Atlantic Pro Series. In June the Pro Series traveled to Pittsburgh International Race Complex where he won on Saturday and placed second on Sunday. In late June, Simpson won the 75th annual SCCA

June Sprints The June Sprints are amateur sports car races held yearly on the third or fourth weekend of June at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The event was first held in 1956 as a round of the SCCA National Sports Car Championship, as a shorter-fo ...

at Road America in the Formula Atlantic class. The FRP Atlantic Pro Series was part of the 2023 Road America Speedtour July 7-9th. Simpson clinched the 2023 Pro Series championship with a pole position and win on Saturday. June Sprints 2023

Personal life

Simpson attended Cathedral High School in Indianapolis. He then attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

and earned his degree. At Purdue Simpson became the only four time (2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016) winner of the

Purdue Grand Prix The Purdue Grand Prix is a go-kart race that has been held annually by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, since May 17, 1958. It is known as "the Greatest Spectacle in College Racing." It hosts approximately 3,500 live spectators p ...

driving for the Electric Vehicle Club (2013) and Delts Racing (2014–2016). He also won numerous evGrand Prix races, including the International Intercollegiate Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 2013 and 2014 for electric race cars with the Purdue team. After graduating in 2016 Simpson won the 2017 alumni Grand Prix.

Racing record

Indy Lights

Atlantic Championship Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Jimmy 1992 births Racing drivers from Indianapolis Indy Lights drivers Living people Atlantic Championship drivers Team Moore Racing drivers