Start your engines… the 2012 season is finally here!

After a good amount of on-track testing and even more fun with friends and family, the off-season has come to an end. By this time next week, we’ll have the first race of the 2012 season under our belts. I’m excited to return to St. Petersburg and get the party started!

IndyCar open test at Sebring

This off-season was similar to last winter in that I was getting used to a different car and just about starting from scratch. Having a new car like the DW12 to develop has been both fun and challenging, and we’ve only really just begun. From the carbon brakes to the new Honda engine, it’s been a lot of hard work experimenting along with my crew and engineers.

I spent some time this winter thinking about goals for this season. As a rookie, 2011 was a good building year, and I feel like I have the skills and knowledge behind me to move up the field. My main goal is consistency for good performances. If you want to talk numbers, I’ll be working to be in the top-10 before the middle of the season… hopefully with a couple of top-5 finishes in there too.

This weekend’s race in St. Pete will be the first real chance we’ve had to see how the car (and driver, of course) performs in a race setting—26 new IndyCars, multiple engine manufacturers and tons of talent out on the course! I can’t wait!

Keep an eye out on my blog during season. I’ll be updating it live during the race weekends, after on-track sessions and fan events. If you can’t make it to the track, this is the place to check on my progress! As always, make sure you’re following me on Twitter @RaceWithInsulin for race weekend updates too.

Thanks for the support!