Chad Sims is a graduate of Mount Vernon High School and the owner of the family-run Sims On-Site Sanitation, LLC, but there is one thing that sets this seemingly regular business owner apart from the rest. Sims recently served as a spotter for Chip Ganassi Racing, for whom driver Marcus Ericsson won this year's Indianapolis 500 on May 29.
“Winning the Indianapolis 500 as one of the spotters was an amazing feeling,” Sims said. “I’m very blessed and fortunate to be a part of such an amazing team, Chip Ganassi Racing. None of it would be possible without my great friend and co-spotter at CGR, Mark Gregory. Mark and I met several years ago spotting NASCAR races and have been friends ever since. He serves as the primary spotter for Marcus Erricson at all the Indycar races throughout the season.”
Sims has been a spotter for the past 17 years and this was his second Indianapolis 500, with the first coming in 2020. Last year, he had a scheduling conflict with the 2021 race and his NASCAR spotting assignments.
He explained that his history in racing goes back to when he attended the Hooters Pro Cup race with friends Larry Williams and Bob McVay, who are both from Mount Vernon. Sims was a rear tire carrier for three races. The beginning of the next season he went into a race thinking he was still going to be a carrier for Lonnie Rush, Jr. The spotter wasn’t able to make the race and they gave Sims a shot, and he has been doing this ever since 2005.
“The biggest thing is to get on the same page and see what information the driver I’m working with wants and needs,” Sims said. “I enjoy spotting because it puts me in the middle of the action from the start of the race until the checkered flag.”
In auto racing, a spotter updates the driver with information throughout the race about what is going on in the track by using a radio to communicate. Spotters are usually positioned higher so they can see the whole track and will let drivers know about any potential accidents, where other drivers are on the course and more.
Sims said the key is to have the right equipment and know the tendencies of the track and the drivers involved.
“Being able to communicate quickly and precise is vital,” Sims said.
The Indianapolis 500 is one of the most well-known races in the world, attracts more than 300,000 people, and is in its 106th year. Erricson became the 74th winner of what is dubbed “The greatest Spectacle in Racing” and only the second racer from Sweden to take home the win, according to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway website.
For the rest of the 2022 season, Sims will be setting all of the road courses on the NASCAR schedule. He will be the second spotter for Kurt Busch in the Cup series, Josh Berry in the Xfinity series and multiple other drivers in the 30 Truck in the Camping World Truck Series races. The primary spotter, he said, will be Jason Jarrett, who he said is great to work with and helps with continuity.
Sims will be spotting for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IMSA program later in the season. He also spotted for Chip Ganassi Racing at the Rolex 24 hour race in Daytona this past year and came away with a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring race. Sims has high praise for his team.
"Chip Ganassi Racing is a great organization to work with,” Sims said. “The mindset is always one team with several cars. CGR had five cars at this years Indianapolis 500 and ran two cars at all the IMSA races.”
When Sims isn’t at the race track, he serves as the owner/operator for On-Site Sanitation in Knox and Licking counties. The company, which was started by his parents, Ed and Sue Sims, in 1975, was taken over by Chad and his wife, Trina, in 2010. He said he is thankful that those who work for him and alongside him allow him to be able to continue the family business and continue to spot at races.
“We provide a septic tank pumping service to the area and have done so for many years with me being the third generation,” Sims said. “I’m very thankful to have a wife, daughter and family that helps me juggle this along with my racing career. The amount of friends and memories that I have made from California, Idaho, Texas, all the way to the East Coast are too many to count. God has truly blessed me and been part of my journey though the years.”
On-Site Sanitation is at 18001 Murray Road in Mount Vernon and for more information log onto on-sitesanitation.com or call 740-393-1181.
