Racing into December

OK, I apologize for the bad pun in the title, but I just couldn't help myself! It's almost December... which means I'm another month closer to the start of the 2013 season and being in a race car every weekend! While I'm counting down the days until St. Pete (113 days, if you were wondering), I'm staying busy with appearances, training and testing.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I was the keynote speaker for the "Stop Diabetes @ Work" event on Tuesday hosted by the Indiana-area chapter of the American Diabetes Association. It was really cool opportunity to be in the company of Mayor Greg Ballard,  Dr. Joan Duwve (Chief Medical Officer for the Indiana State Department of Health) and Gerry Dick (host of Inside INdiana Business) while sharing my story on behalf of Novo Nordisk.

If you're in Indy, come by the Big Ten Fan Fest today from 6-8 p.m. I'll be on Georgia Street downtown for a Q&A and autograph session (at the Pan Am Plaza). Hope to see you there!

Tomorrow morning I'm heading to Phoenix for an event with Novo Nordisk. It's about 30 degrees warmer in AZ than here in Indy... no complaints from me! Make sure to follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin for updates from the road.

P.S. If you missed my interview on WPIX, you can check it out here or below!

Throwback Thursday - 'Vintage' Interview

Hope you are all having a great week! For today's Throwback Thursday post, I found an interview from 2009... so maybe not "vintage" or "classic" per se but it's an older one for me at least!

This interview is from the website racinginside.com, and I had just finished up my first stint in Firestone Indy Lights. A few things have changed since 2009, but one goal remains the same... win the Indianapolis 500! Click here or on the image below to read the full interview.

Click the image above to read the full interview!

Hey NYC... tune in!

If you're in the NYC area, be sure to check me out on WPIX-TV tomorrow (Wednesday, Nov. 28) at 7:45 a.m. Eastern! I filmed a segment for their morning show last week, talking about IndyCar and diabetes.

I'll also appear on the Dr. Steve Show on Sunday, Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on WPIX-TV, as well as various markets around the country. Click here for air times in other markets.

Hope you can tune in! Thanks for the support.

A busy week... with more to come!

It's been a busy week or so since I last posted. We had a great time at the Ganassi holiday party. Turns out, the guys clean up nicely! It was fun to spend some time with everyone while not talking about race setups or looking at race data (OK, maybe there was a bit of setup talk...).

With artist Jeff Moses at the gala

After the party, it was time to pack for a five-day trip around the East Coast. I started in Boston for the Joslin Diabetes Center's High Hopes Gala. It was a ton of fun to be around people who all share such enthusiasm for the same cause. But to be honest, I'll take wearing a firesuit and helmet over wearing a tux and bow tie any day!

Following the gala it was on to Princeton, NJ, home of Novo Nordisk, for our annual media training sessions. I'm always humbled to be a part of that group... chatting with legends like Will Cross, Jay Hewitt, Kendall Simmons, Marcus Dupree, Lou Brock and Rosa Rosen is pretty cool! I stayed an extra day and met local high school students in Princeton.

On Wednesday I was in the Big Apple and put that media training to good use right away, filming segments for the WPIX morning show and the Dr. Steve Show. If you're in the NYC area, be sure to tune in this week!

I traveled back to Indy and spent my Thanksgiving here with good friends who are like family to me. I'm very thankful to be able to do what I love and have the support to do so! I even got a head start on working off those calories on Thanksgiving morning by running the Drumstick Dash with some fellow IndyCar drivers and PitFit owner/trainer Jim Leo. Thanks to Jim for getting me the No. 83 bib number!

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving! For me, it's back to work now... daily PitFit training sessions, a presentation at an ADA event tomorrow, an autograph session at the Big Ten Fan Fest on Friday, and another presentation in Phoenix on Saturday.

Hinch, Scott and Jim

Throwback Thursday - My first race car

I had a great day in Milwaukee yesterday for World Diabetes Day! I had the chance to speak at both Wheaton Franciscan and the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, and I even got to see some friends who live in the area and came out to the event. Tonight, I'm back in Indy for the annual Ganassi holiday party. It should be fun to see everyone in one place again... while not wearing firesuits or grease stains!

For today's Throwback Thursday post, I found some old photos from my very first open wheel race car... a Van Diemen Formula Ford 1600. Everyone has fond memories of their first car, right?! I started driving it in 2001, raced it in 2002 (with my first win and track record!) and had sold it by June of 2002 before moving up to Formula Ford 2000 Zetec.

Click here for more photos!

World Diabetes Day

Wearing my blue circle pin for diabetes awareness in Chicago last week!

As you may know, today is World Diabetes Day. November 14 is a special day to make one small change toward a healthier future. Today I urge you to reach out to just one person and ask them to talk to their doctor about diabetes. Many of you took part in our Race With Insulin campaign this past season by signing my show car at the track... click here to "Take the Pledge" online today!

IndyCar fans who signed my car to "Take the Pledge"

A trip to Seattle... complete with rain!

Seattle this past weekend was a lot of fun! I got to hang out in the Touchdown Village during the Seattle Seahawks pre-game. Fortunately it was indoors because it was quite chilly and threatening rain (as it tends to do in Seattle). We were right inside the front door, which was cool because most people probably weren't expecting to see an IndyCar--especially the Race With Insulin car--at a football pre-game. It was really neat to meet all of the Seattle Seahawks fans. Russell Wilson, the quarterback for the Seahawks, has a family connection and has been deeply affected by diabetes, so to be able to go and represent not only Novo Nordisk but also diabetes awareness month and the whole Race With Insulin program was pretty rewarding.

Right when I was walking into the stadium, a guy came up and asked for a couple of autographs for his son. I looked at his name tag and realized it was Mack Strong, the ProBowl fullback that had played his entire career for the Seahawks! It was really cool to be a part of the event and connect with other athletes like that. By the way, the Seahawks totally destroyed the Jets... it was fun to be with the home crowd there!

Now I'm looking forward to visiting Milwaukee, one of my favorite cities with one of the best race tracks in the country, for a couple of hospital visits for World Diabetes Day tomorrow!

Meeting Seahawks fans before the game!

Throwback Thursday - Back to 2009

Happy Thursday! Today I'm in Chicago for a couple of appearances with Novo Nordisk. Looking forward to meeting some new friends at the La Rabida Children's Hospital later this evening!

For today's Throwback Thursday post, I found highlights from Watkins Glen in 2009, my rookie year in the Firestone Indy Lights series. Spoiler alert: I finished fourth, my best finish of the season. I miss racing at The Glen!

Feeling nostalgic...

Yep, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic on this Throwback Thursday. Today I'm sharing the press conference announcing my first year in the IZOD IndyCar Series with Novo Nordisk and Chip Ganassi Racing. December 16, 2010 was an amazing day and one that we worked toward for so many years! I'm so thankful I can live my dream.