Jeff Simmons Double-Dipping for Indy Success

Team Moore Driver Plans Carb Day Freedom 100 Ahead of Indy 500 Run

by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com

Jeff Simmons. Photo: SteveSnoddyIRL

Team Moore’s Jeff Simmons moves up in class this week with his fourth attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

Simmons put the rumors to rest last weekend by announcing his intentions to join the A J Foyt Racing operation, where he got his start in 2004 as a Firestone Indy Lights rookie; and where he posted a runner-up finish in the Freedom 100 race of the same year.

If all goes well, Jeff will contest both events this year: the Carb Day (May 23rd) Freedom 100 Indy Lights race and the 92nd running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing on Memorial Day.

“I’m excited to be back with A J,” said Simmons from the Economacki Press Room at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Media Center on Wednesday (May 14th) morning.

“I’m looking forward to practicing this week, and hope to get lots of track time,” he continued. “Right now we’ve got to concentrate on qualifying, in addition to starting to get a handle on what we want of a race setup.”

There was no hesitation, though, when asked if he intended to compete with Team Moore’s Indy Lights outfit in the season’s single biggest contest on Carb Day.

“I’m going to do the double,” Jeff said of answering the call to the post of the Freedom 100 and the Indianapolis 500 two days later. “All I need is a NASCAR ride and I can do the triple!”

“I did it in 2004 and then did a ‘bump day’ qualifications that year,” he continued. “I have even more experience now, and am very excited about it. Not many guys have done it before.”

Opportunity to Return to IndyCar a Boon to Simmons' Career

The opportunity to return to IndyCar after a nine-month layoff gives Simmons a unique perspective on the challenges ahead.

“It’s a chance to get back and show what I can do,” he said. “I think maybe if there’s a team that needs a driver later this year I could be first on their list. I don’t see more cars coming into the series right now, but IndyCar will build on the momentum from merger and there’ll be more opportunities in the future.”

"I'm still improving and have years ahead," says Foyt's Jeff Simmons

“I’d love to get another opportunity to race full-time in IndyCar,” he said, “but if it’s not there I’ll return again to Indy Lights.”

At 31 years of age Simmons does not yet feel the window of opportunity narrowing on his racing career.

“I don’t feel old,” he said. “All the years seem to have just flown by.”

“People talk about experience but I’ve taken years off at a time without a ride,” he said of his periodic absence from an open-wheel cockpit. “I can still improve a lot and I have a lot of good years ahead of me.”