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

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Racing career

Simpson began racing with a successful career in

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with 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 f ...

, including two Kart Racers of America Junior Yamaha championships in 2007. While at Purdue University, Simpson won the Purdue Grand Prix and became the only driver to do so for four years in a row. Simpson won between 2013-2016. Simpson continued his success in karting with a win in 2014, and two runner-up finishes (2008 and 2012), in the Robo-Pong 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 term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...

National Championship from 2010 to 2012, competing in 25 races. In 2009 Simpson finished 2nd in the USAC Ford Focus Midget Championship with multiple 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 1976, ...

, 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 k ...

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 road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional 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 o ...

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, located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S., its first race being run i ...

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, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

test at the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

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 Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. The event was a support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and since 2 ...

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 Team Moore Racing was an auto racing team that competed in the Firestone Indy Lights series. It was owned by former racer Tom Wood and Mark Moore and is based in Pittsboro, Indiana. The team was formed in 2007 with Wood driving. However, after t ...

. In 2014 Simpson competed full-time in the

Atlantic Championship The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It has been called Champ Car Atlantics (after its former name), Toyota Atlantics (due to the series' previous history of using Toyota-powered engines) ...

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. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...

double header for Team Moore.

Personal life

Simpson attended Cathedral High School in Indianapolis. He then attended

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

. 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 on Purdue University's West Lafayette, Indiana campus since 1958. A primary function of the event is to raise money for scholarships for Purdue students under the aegis of the ...

driving for the Electric Vehicle Club (2013) and Delts Racing (2014–2016). He also won numerous

evGrand Prix The Electric Vehicle Grand Prix (stylized as evGrand Prix) is an electric go-kart race held at Purdue University and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. History Purdue University, in conjunction with University of Notre Dame, University of Indian ...

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

* 1992 births Racing drivers from Indianapolis Indy Lights drivers Living people Atlantic Championship drivers {{US-autoracing-bio-stub Team Moore Racing drivers