Live from Trackside - Indy Dual in Detroit

Sunday, June 2

6:40 p.m.

A good day! What a great job by the No. 83 guys in the pits. They ran two solid pit stops and I couldn’t have asked for more. They played the strategy dead-right as far as I was concerned. The communication was really good and they let me know what I needed to do through the restarts. The Novo Nordisk car has been producing all weekend. We’ve had so little track time that we were able to take the experience from yesterday’s race and put it into a top-10 for today’s race. I’m looking forward to going to Texas, Milwaukee and Iowa. Coming off the car and the race we had in Indy, I think it will show really well. It looks like Honda and HPD have taken a good step forward today, sweeping the top-5 in the second race and that will be good as we get going in the season.

9:00 a.m.

It's race day! Again! I had a good dinner last night, got some rest and am ready to go today for race 2. We'll have a 30-minute warmup session at 9:30 (live timing: http://racecontrol.indycar.com), so we'll see how the No. 83 car feels this morning heading into the race. We had a quick car at the end of the first race yesterday--and kept getting quicker--so we'll be working on getting that speed earlier on in the race this afternoon. 

Saturday, June 1

6:45 p.m.

It was a struggle again for the No. 83 car but a lot of credit to the guys in the pits. They did a green flag nose change that was super quick. I think it was almost as fast as a regular stop. The Novo Nordisk boys have been working hard on that all year. The car was good. I think we can make some big improvements tomorrow as it looks like it’s going to be dry all day. The car was really good at the end. We just have to figure out how to get there from the beginning, but overall I’m pretty happy with a 14th place finish.

Same time, same place tomorrow! Tune in at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC for Dual 2! 

10 a.m.

Just finished up our qualifying session for Dual 2. We'll start the second race in P18. We could have had a few tenths more in the end, but I think with all things considered, we'll have a good shot from there. 

I hope to see you out at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel at 11! Tune into the first Dual in Detroit at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. 

Friday, May 31

4:30 p.m.

It was challenging to see this track for the first time in the wet during qualifying. I knew it was the last lap, so I was trying for it and just spun, hit the wall a little bit and bent up the left front of the car. We’ll have a grid penalty in this race already so we’ll learn what we can and be ready for qualifying tomorrow morning and then the race tomorrow and on Sunday. Starting from the back of the grid will be challenging but I know the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team will be ready to race! 

2:00 p.m.
Taking a quick break from engineering for lunch. Duck is not on the menu, in case you were wondering...

We had a pretty good practice session earlier. We tried a couple of different things, made some changes to the No. 83 car, and just got a feel for the new track layout. We'll be in group 1 for the first qualifying session today. Because of an engine change in Indy, the No. 83 team will have a 10-spot grid penalty for the first race. As always, we'll work on prepping a good race car and work our way up from there!

Catch live timing and scoring for qualifying at 3 p.m. Eastern today at racecontrol.indycar.com.

Ready to go in Detroit.

No. 83 crew practicing  pit stops.

9:15 a.m.

Good morning! I had a productive set-up day yesterday at the track. After the live interview and a phone interview, I spent some time with my engineers and walked the track. I think the improvements they made will suit us well... They've taken a good event and added a great race track. The longer straight headed into turn three will encourage more passing. It will be a lot of fun to compete on this track!

So far so good on the weather today! We had quite a downfall yesterday and not sure about tomorrow... Might get some good use out of those Firestone wet tires!

Live on WXYZ yesterday!

Thursday, May 30
10:00 a.m.
Hello from Motor City! I just arrived here this morning and am hanging out at the hotel before an interview at WXYZ-TV ABC 7, live at 12:15 p.m. today. Be sure to tune in if you're in Detroit!

I'm looking forward to the double-header races in Detroit this weekend. It will definitely be a challenge, coming right from Indy as well as considering the physicality and mental toughness of two races in one weekend but I know the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team can handle it. Right after stepping out of the No. 83 car on Saturday, we'll have to be ready and focused on Sunday's race. I think we've got some good momentum going with a couple of top-10s the past few races, and with a bit of luck and prep we'll be able to gain some good points toward the championship.

Here's a quick run-down of the weekend (all times Eastern):

Friday, May 31
11:10 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. IndyCar Practice

3:00 p.m. - 4:10 p.m. IndyCar Qualifying #1

Saturday, June 1
9:15 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. IndyCar Qualifying #2

11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Appearance at Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel (Fan Village)

3:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. IndyCar Race #1 - 70 Laps - Live on ABC 

Sunday, June 2

9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. IndyCar Warm-Up

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. IndyCar autograph session (Fan Village)

3:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. IndyCar Race #2 - 70 Laps - Live on ABC

Timing and scoring for all on-track sessions available here.