Chris Simmons (racing driver)
| Chris Simmons | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |
 American |
| Born |
May 1, 1973 Hartford, Connecticut |
| Retired | 1998 |
| Related to | Jeff Simmons (brother) |
| Indy Lights | |
| Years active | 1995-1998 |
| Teams |
Sotare Motorsports (1995) Team Green (1996-1997) Mattco Raceworks (1998) |
| Starts | 37 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 2 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| Best finish | 5th in 1997 |
| Previous series | |
| 1992-1994 1990-1991 1990 1980-1990 |
USAC Formula Ford 2000 East SCCA S2000 Skip Barber Formula Ford Quarter midgets |
| Championship titles | |
| 1992, 1993 1991 |
USAC Formula Ford 2000 East SCCA S2000 Northeast |
| Awards | |
| 1991 | SCCA Jim Fitzgerald National Rookie of the Year |
Chris Simmons (Hartford, Connecticut, 1 May 1973) is a former racing driver who competed in USF2000 and Indy Lights among other racing series.
Racing career
Simmons started out racing quarter midgets in the north eastern United States. He started his first quarter midget race at the age of seven.[1] After attending the Spenard-David racing school he started auto racing in 1990. The driver from Connecticut started out in the SCCA S2000 Northeast Division championship. Simmons won the 1991 championship after winning five out of seven races. Simmons also won the SCCA National Championship Runoffs in his class at Road Atlanta in 1991. The drove his Lola T598 from the pole position to the win. He won with advantage of more than eight seconds over Paul O'Kean.[2]
After his success in S2000 Simmons graduated into the USAC Formula Ford 2000 East championship for 1992. In 1992 Simmons won three out of seven races in his Van Diemen RF92. After winning the championship Chris Simmons returned in the series for the 1993 season.[3] He again won the championship after winning nine races. He ran a limited race schedule in 1994 as he started his mechanical engineering study at the University of Pennsylvania. Simmons won one race in the Formula Ford 2000, at New Hampshire International Speedway. Simmons was also involved in a deadly midget crash. During the USAC Hoosier Invitational X at the Hoosier Dome his car crashed into the pit area. One person got killed, eight others were injured. Simmons was uninjured.[4]
For 1995 Simmons again ran a limited schedule due to college obligations. In 1995 he graduated in mechanical engineering and management & technology at the University of Pennsylvania. Simmons made his debut in 1995 in the Indy Lights. At Bicentennial Park in Miami the young driver started 22nd and finished fourteenth. Simmons returned to the series full-time for 1996 to race for Team Green. He scored his best result at the start of the championship. At Homestead-Miami Speedway Simmons finished second, behind David Empringham. Simmons eventually ended up tenth in the championship standings. The 1997 was more successful for the driver from Connecticut. Simmons scored two pole positions, at Nazareth Speedway, Gateway Motorsports Park. He scored another three podium finishes. At the end of the season Simmons was classified fifth in the championship standings. A violent crash at Nazareth disrupted his 1998 season. In a crash at turn four Simmons was injured and transported to Easton Hospital. At the hospital it was determined that Simmons suffered a severe neck strain and a bruised shoulder.[5] Former teammate at Team Green, Mark Hotchkis replaced Simmons at Nazareth and the following three rounds.[6] Simmons returned to the series at Portland International Raceway where he finished fourteenth. At the end of the season Simmons scored 32 points and was placed nineteenth in the championship.
After not being able to secure a race seat for 1999 Simmons turned to his engineering passion. His brother Jeff Simmons had been racing through the ranks in previous years. After winning Chris joined his brother in the Barber Dodge Pro Series for 1999 as his engineer. Jeff Simmons won the championship and graduated into Indy Lights in 2000. Chris was again his engineer at Team Green.[7] Simmons would remain at Andretti Autosport while his brother moved on to other teams. Simmons was an assistant engineer to Tony Kanaan and Paul Tracy. As of November 2003 Simmons is a race engineer at Chip Ganassi Racing.[8]
Racing record
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
| Year | Track | Car | Engine | Class | Finish | Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Road Atlanta | Lola T598 | Ford | S2000 | 1 | 1 | Running |
American open-wheel racing results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Indy Lights
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Sotare Motorsports | MIA 14 |
PHX DNS |
LBH | NAZ | MIL | DET | POR | TOR | CLE | NHA | VAN | LS | N.C. | 0 | ||
| 1996 | Team Green | MIA 2 |
LBH Ret |
NAZ 4 |
MIS 12 |
MIL 5 |
DET 7 |
POR Ret |
CLE 11 |
TOR Ret |
TRO Ret |
VAN 7 |
LS 12 |
10th | 54 | ||
| 1997 | Team Green | MIA 3 |
LBH 4 |
NAZ 2 |
SAV 16 |
STL 5 |
MIL 17 |
DET 8 |
POR 13 |
TOR Ret |
TRO 15 |
VAN 4 |
LS Ret |
FON 2 |
5th | 88 | |
| 1998 | Mattco Raceworks | MIA 5 |
LBH Ret |
NAZ Inj |
STL | MIL | DET | POR 14 |
CLE 15 |
TOR 3 |
MIS 10 |
TRO 8 |
VAN Ret |
LS 13 |
FON 14 |
19th | 32 |
References
- ↑ "Racer Was Driven By His Dream Chris Simmons' Years Of Tenacity Paid Off. Today, He Brings His Talents To The Nazareth Raceway.". The Inquirer. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ↑ "SCCA RUNOFFS DRIVER HISTORIES S-Z" (PDF). SCCA. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ↑ "Year-By-Year Champion Drivers". USFF2000. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ↑ "Fatal crash probed". The Times-News. 31 January 1994. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ↑ "Chris Simmons Update". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ↑ "Hotchkis Subs for Simmons". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ↑ "His brother's keeper". The Argus-Press. 30 July 2000. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ↑ "Christopher Simmons". LinkedIn. Retrieved 11 October 2014.