Live From Trackside - Baltimore

Sunday, Sept. 2
6:11 p.m.
It was a really great run for the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car all day. The car was quick and the guys in the pit lane did an awesome job. The team not only made the right strategy calls to keep me on slicks when it was damp but also the second stop they did a really good job. It’s a shame to have something behind me go wrong around lap 65 but we proved we have the speed all weekend. We’ll carry that on to Fontana, finish the year out with a really good result and head to 2013 looking to come back stronger than ever.

On the grid during pre-race.

9:15 a.m.
Happy race day! I feel really good about the race today. We were so close to getting into the Firestone Fast Six during qualifying yesterday, and I know the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car is quick. We'll work on getting things set during this morning's practice then work our way up the field later today.

Saturday, Sept. 1
4:30 p.m.
It was a really good qualifying session today. It was a little busy in both groups I ran in. The No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car was quick. With as limited practice time we got, it felt really good to get a nice lap in like that. The race will be good tomorrow. We’ll use some new strategy and some new reds to move forward.

I'm having dinner with some of my friends from Novo Nordisk tonight... They have quite a few guests coming to the race tomorrow (more than 400, to be exact!), so I'm excited to show what we can do on track!

A rainy morning start.

Pit stop practice for the No. 83 crew.

8:07 a.m.
I can't believe it's already September... This season has flown by! Time flies when you're having fun, right?

It was great to be back in the top-10 during the afternoon practice yesterday. Now the challenge is finding that little bit of extra speed for qualifying. I know the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team is working super hard to get it done, so I'll be working just as hard for a good qualifying spot here in Baltimore.

Friday, Aug. 31
5:30 p.m.
It was a good start to the weekend. It was nice to see the track and the series come up with a solution that works for a little bit of practice today. The No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car is pretty good. I think the weekend is looking up. We’ll see how tomorrow goes. I think that qualifying is going to be pretty important here, even though there are some passing opportunities.

Thursday, Aug. 30
12:30 p.m.
It's a beautiful, sunny day here in Baltimore! I've finished up with my media interviews this morning, and I'm off to the track to meet with my engineers and do a quick track walk after lunch. We're actually staying right inside the circuit, so I can basically roll out of bed and into the car!

Here's a virtual lap of the track, courtesy of IndyCar.com. Can't wait to get the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car out there tomorrow!

Wednesday, Aug. 29
3:00 p.m.
I'm really looking forward to racing here in Baltimore with the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team. Not only was the racing exciting last year, but so was the entire atmosphere of the event. The fans made it a special and fun inaugural event, and I have no doubt it will be even better this year. Novo Nordisk has a ton of guests coming out, so I'm excited to put on a good show for them. We had a really good run at Baltimore last year, running inside the top-10 before an incident caused us to lose a couple of laps. With the track changes and experience, I think the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car will be racing up front again this weekend.

I arrived in town a bit early for a Novo Nordisk dinner this evening, where I'll be presenting about my racing program. Always fun to meet the field reps and share my story! Tomorrow morning I'll be on WBFF FOX and WMAR-TV ABC here in Baltimore before starting my race weekend prep at the track.

Here's my race weekend schedule for those attending and those following along at home...

Friday, Aug. 31:
9:30-10:30 am Practice
1-1:45 pm Appearance at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel (in the INDYCAR Fan Village)
2:45-3:45 pm Practice

Saturday, Sept. 1:
9-10 am Practice
12:05-1:20 pm Qualifying (on NBC Sports Network at 6 pm ET)
2:30-3:30 pm IndyCar Autograph Session (in the INDYCAR Fan Village)

Sunday, Sept. 2:
9:45-10:15 am Warm Up
2:30 pm Grand Prix of Baltimore (live on NBC Sports Network)
Timing and scoring for all on-track sessions available here.

Hope to see you out here this weekend!