Live from Trackside - Honda Indy Toronto

Monday, July 9
11:38 a.m.
Wow, what a race. It was a great day for the whole team!

I know that there were only 25 of us out there, but the amount of times I passed people there felt like there were about 50 cars, so a lot of credit to the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew. The No. 83 NovoRapid FlexTouch car was quick and all I had to do was turn and make a couple of moves when they were there. That last restart got pretty busy, but at the end of the day we came home with a clean result and all credit to Ryan. They worked the strategy, started up front and stayed there. I think today, ‘conservative’ was maximum attack. When you’re going for it, the thing was sideways everywhere. You really had to push. What they did on the repaving made for great racing. I don’t know about everybody in the stands, but I sure had a lot of fun in the cockpit. And I can’t wait to get back, not only here next year, but to Edmonton in two weeks.

Thanks for all of the support and messages! Much appreciated. Now, the work starts for Edmonton!

Sunday, July 8
9:45 a.m.
We had an early start to the day, but I was excited to get on track for sure. It was bright and sunny for warm-up, and I felt really good about the No. 83 NovoRapid FlexTouch car. We tried a few different things, did a few hot pit stops, and finished up P5. I think the car is even better than in Sao Paulo or Detroit, so I feel comfortable going into the race later today.

For now I'm about to meet with the team to discuss race strategy, then I have a meet and greet with the Novo Nordisk Canada folks before pre-race.

Tune into the Honda Indy Toronto on ABC at 12:30 p.m. ET!

Saturday, July 7
5:30 p.m.
Just finished up with the autograph session. I think it was a really good qualifying session. We made progress all weekend. The No. 83 NovoRapid FlexTouch car was pretty quick. Even though we qualified 15th, we’ll start at least 13th with the grid penalties. We have some good tires for the race. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew will work the strategy in the pits and hopefully I can make some moves on-track so we’ll be in the top-10 tomorrow.

11:25 a.m.
We had a pretty good practice session this morning in Toronto. It started raining on the way to the circuit, but it held up for the most part during practice. The sun came out about halfway through the session, so the track started to dry quickly and we got some fast laps in. I'm feeling good about the No. 83 NovoRapid FlexTouch car for qualifying! Follow along live at 1:05 p.m. ET at http://racecontrol.indycar.com.

Friday, July 6
3:41 p.m.
It was a really good first day here at Toronto. The Honda Indy is always a fun event and it’s great to see the Canadian fans out. I think the No. 83 NovoRapid FlexTouch car is good shape. We missed a little bit on new tires in the second session as the track rubbered in. I think the whole Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew is working really hard, having good pit stops, and having a lot of fun today. It’s great to be here in Toronto and the fans are really good to have.

10:20 a.m.
I had a great dinner with friends last night here in downtown Toronto... always one of my favorite places to visit. There were already tons of fans out this morning when I walked into the paddock! First on the agenda today is an engineering meeting with my team before practice at 11. It's already pretty hot out here, but I'm really looking forward to being back in the No. 83 NovoRapid FlexTouch car!

Thursday, July 5
5:00 p.m.
Hello from Toronto! I hope you all (or y'all, as my good friend would say) had a fun 4th of July holiday. I arrived in town this morning and headed to Novo Nordisk's Canadian headquarters for a meet and greet with their employees. One thing I love about Novo Nordisk is that no matter where you go, their enthusiasm for their work is always high! Thanks to them for having me.

I just finished up with the track walk and a bit of time with my engineers. Headed to have dinner before getting some rest for tomorrow's sessions!

Here's a quick rundown of the race weekend (all times Eastern):

Friday:
11:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m. Practice
1:55 p.m.-2:55 p.m. Practice

Saturday:
9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Practice
1:05 p.m.-2:25 p.m. Qualifying
4:15 p.m.-5:15 p.m. Autograph session (at Victory Circle)

Sunday:
8 a.m.-8:20 a.m. Warmup
12:30 p.m. Honda Indy Toronto (live on ABC)

Timing and scoring available for all sessions here.