The 5 Senses of IndyCar

I frequently get the question, "So what's it like driving an IndyCar?" Let me tell you... it's not an easy one to answer. Honda has captured what we see, smell, hear, touch and even taste while out on the race track. Check it out!

Live from Trackside - Iowa Corn Indy 250

Sunday, June 23

5:15 p.m.

Overall, today was pretty good for the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew did a great job all day in the pits and made the car better every stop, so that the last half of the race I was able to really go racing.  It felt good. We were able to make up some spots and just keep making the car better along the way. We were able to build some momentum today and come out of this race smarter so we’ll be ready to carry that momentum to Pocono.

First pit stop.

Last stop--lap 205.

9:30 a.m.

It's race day! And a rainy one so far. Just made a dash from the car to the transporter. A warm-up lap, if you'd like to call it that! 

The No. 83 guys were here late last night working hard on the car, so we're looking forward to seeing what we can do in the race. I'll be working on finding the best line early on and using what I learned yesterday during the heat races to move up the field. 

Hope to see you at the IndyCar autograph session at 10:30 and the Novo Nordisk Tunnel at 11:30, both in the Fan Village! 

Saturday, June 22

8:07 p.m.

Tonight’s heat race wasn’t exactly ideal. We tried to go for it a little bit on the start and got chopped a little bit. We have some work to do tonight to be ready for tomorrow, but I have learned a lot. There were a couple hairy moments with as hot as it is and the wind blowing like it is. The car was sliding around a little bit but we’ll make it better for tomorrow and we’ll go racing. It looks like we'll start from 17th, so we'll make up spots from there.

1:15 p.m.
We had a decent practice session earlier today; we were happy with the progress we made throughout the session and I think the No. 83 car will be quick for the heat races later on.

We're on track next at 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) for qualifying. Check out this RACER article on the physical demands here at Iowa Speedway... featuring an interview with my engineer Brad!

Getting set for practice.

Looking over data while No. 83 crew makes changes.

Leaving pit lane at Iowa Speedway.

9:30 a.m.

Good morning! It's already a bit and humid day here in Newton for practice and the heat races... Gives a literal sense of "heat" to the heat races later today for sure! 

I had a great dinner last night and took a nice walk around Newton. Today I'm back in race mode and am in engineering meetings until our first practice at 10:45. Check racecontrol.indycar.com for live timing and follow @racewithinsulin on Twitter for more updates!

Need a refresher on how the heat races will work? Check out IndyCar.com's article here.

Friday, June 21
12:05 p.m.
I had a great time at the Novo Nordisk event last night in Mason City! Thanks to everyone who came out. We hope to see you here at the track this weekend.

Today is set-up day which means I get to spend a lot of time with my engineers going over data from last year and getting mentally prepped for the race weekend ahead. But first, it's time for lunch!

Thursday, June 20
2:00 p.m.
Hello from Iowa! I just arrived from Indy for an appearance later on today with Novo Nordisk. If you're in the Mason City area, come see me!

I'm really looking forward to getting back on track at Iowa Speedway. Last year we had a pretty good race weekend, running inside the top-10 with the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car getting better and better every lap. With the short ovals like this, it's all about navigating through traffic while keeping a good pace and making moves where you can. I think the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team is ready to get back out there and start building some momentum for the second half of the IndyCar season.

Here's a race weekend schedule so you can follow along (all times Central):
Saturday, June 22
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  Practice
3:00 - 3:45 p.m.  Qualifying
5:45 - 7:15 p.m.  Heat Races (live broadcast via IndyCar.com & INDYCAR 13 app)
Sunday, June 23
10:30 a.m.  IndyCar driver autograph session (in the INDYCAR Fan Village)
11:30 a.m.  Appearance at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel (in the INDYCAR Fan Village)
1:30 p.m.  Iowa Corn Indy 250 - Live on ABC
Timing available for all on-track sessions available via Race Control.

Halfway: Improvements and Opportunities

After the checkered flag at the Milwaukee Mile, the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series hit its halfway point. Eight races down, eight to go. Never enough for sure! The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team has made a lot of progress over the first half of this year... four top-10 finishes, a solid result at the Indianapolis 500, stronger qualifying efforts, and an overall better team confidence. There are definitely still plenty of areas where we're looking to improve such as consistency with qualifying, taking bolder yet smart opportunities on track, and recovering quickly from missteps.

So, what's next? We're all working hard toward the podium and getting back into the top-10 in championship points. And that started as soon as I stepped out of the car on Saturday. On to Iowa!

Starting off the season in sunny St. Pete.
(Photo copyright LAT Photo USA)

Team effort at Barber--and a 4th place finish for the No. 83 team.
(Photo copyright LAT Photo USA)

Blue wheels for diabetes awareness at Long Beach.
(Photo copyright LAT Photo USA)

Getting suited up in Sao Paulo.

"Quiet" moments (in front of thousands) before the Indy 500 with crew chief Mark.
(Photo copyright LAT Photo USA)

Deja vu -- a few laughs with the No. 83 team before race 2 at Detroit.

Under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway.

Checking data during practice in Milwaukee. Always looking to improve.

Want to see more photos? Click here.

Live from Trackside - Milwaukee IndyFest

Saturday, June 15

6:15 p.m.

There are definitely a lot of lessons to be learned that we’ll take from today, finishing up 17th after a rough race. We just have to figure out what they are and make the most of them moving forward. We’re looking forward to making our way to Iowa so we can make the changes and we’ll go racing.

Pre-race at The Mile.

Pit stop.

11 a.m.
It's race day! It's a bit overcast at the moment here at the Milwaukee Mile. It rained earlier this morning but it looks like we might get lucky and have a dry track for the race later on today.

Because of engine changes, we'll actually start P21. I think with good strategy, pit stops and a consistent car, we'll be able to move up and get a good result out of this weekend. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team is always working hard, so I know we'll be ready to go at the green flag.

I just got out of the drivers meeting and I'm headed to meet with my engineers before the autograph session at noon. Be sure to tune into the Milwaukee IndyFest on NBC Sports Network at 3 p.m. Central. Follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin for updates from my Pit Lane Reporter, too!

Friday, June 14
6:00 p.m.
Overall, today’s been pretty good. We had a pretty good qualifying run, and we spent a lot of time focusing on the race car today in practice. It wasn’t great but we made a lot of progress with it and I think we’re in really good shape heading into tomorrow. I know the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing guys will do a really great job in the pit lane, both in our strategy and in our pit stops, so we’re in a good position to go racing tomorrow starting from P22.

Off to dinner with some great friends from Novo Nordisk!

Practice pit stop.

Making changes during practice.

Checking data during a yellow.

9:05 a.m.

It's a beautiful morning here at the Milwaukee Mile! Yesterday evening I did a video shoot for NBC Sports Network on the track's tight pit lane space, airing during their coverage this weekend. After that, I had a great time catching up with family and ate some amazing pizza (try Balistreris if you're in town)!

I just finished up with a media availability. One of the reporters asked about what I would do if I go back to college, and I said "something cool like math or science." In a room full of journalists and English majors, I got quite a few blank stares!

We'll have two practice sessions, at 10 and 1, before qualifying at 4:15 (Central). Check racecontrol.indycar.com for live timing and scoring, and catch NBC Sports Network's coverage of qualifying at 7 pm Eastern.

Shooting a piece for NBC Sports Network on Thursday.

Thursday, June 13
1:45 p.m.
Hello from the historic Milwaukee Mile! I got to the track about an hour ago, after taking some time to relax this morning before the No. 83 team arrived from Indy. The event with Novo Nordisk last night went really well--they had tons of people come out to the health fair, despite the rain, and I think the kids had a good time. I also got to see a family that is really special to me who live up here in Wisconsin, the Heaths. They always brighten my day!

On another note, it was tough to hear the news of losing Jason Leffler last night. This sport we all love so much can be so cruel. I'll definitely be thinking of his family today.

On today's agenda is time with my engineers and crew, a video shoot for NBC Sports Network, then dinner with family at a really great local pizza place. Can't wait to get on track tomorrow!

Wednesday, June 12
11:00 a.m.
My race weekend is starting bit early... I'm driving up to Milwaukee in a bit for an appearance with Novo Nordisk and JDRF later today. If you're in the area, I hope to see you at 7 p.m. tonight at the State Fair Park! Details are here.

I'm looking forward to going back to the Milwaukee Mile this weekend. Last year we didn't have the best luck on yellows and pit strategy, but the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car was fast and I think with another good qualifying effort we can race up front again. The Mile is just one of those tracks where anything can happen, and it's always a great show for the fans too. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team will be ready to go for a good result!

Here's a race weekend schedule (all times local/Central):
Friday, June 14
10-11 a.m.  Practice
1-2 p.m.  Practice
2:30 p.m.  Appearance at Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel (in INDYCAR Fan Village)
4:15-5:30 p.m.  Qualifying (broadcast on NBC Sports Network at 6 p.m. Central)
Saturday, June 15
12-1 p.m.  IndyCar driver autograph session (in INDYCAR Fan Village)
3-6 p.m.  Milwaukee IndyFest race (broadcast live on NBC Sports Network)
Catch live timing and scoring for all on-track sessions here.

Follow my Pit Lane Reporter (PLR) on Twitter @racewithinsulin for updates during on-track sessions too!

Live from Trackside - Firestone 550

Saturday, June 8

10:15 p.m.

It’s a little disappointing for the No. 83 team tonight because we had a great car and the crew did a really great job in the pits. I have no complaints with where we are, we just didn’t quite catch the yellows. We have had a lot of races where strategy and yellows have worked to our advantage, but tonight it just didn’t quite work out. We had a really good car, we just struggled a little bit with stuff out of our control. That’s fine. We’ll focus on the fact that we had a really good car. There was a stint we went past the car leading and drove away. I think it bodes well for the future, so I’m looking forward to going to Milwaukee next week since we had a really good test there and we’ll go racing.

Pre-race

Pit stop by the No. 83 crew

1:30 p.m.

It's race day! Just arrived at Texas Motor Speedway after a good nights rest and a good lunch. Beautiful weather so far... I think it will be a nice evening for the fans. 

This afternoon I have a couple of appearances and an autograph session before I jump in the car for the race. We'll have a good start from 8th, but as we know anything can happen here. It will be interesting to see how the cars handle toward the end of each stint to tonight. 

Be sure to tune in today at 8:30 pm Eastern live on ABC, and follow me on Twitter (@racewithinsulin) for updates during the race from my Pit Lane Reporter (PLR)! 

Friday, June 7

4:30 p.m.

I’m reasonably happy with qualifying today. We spent the whole hour and a half of practice working on the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car for the race tomorrow night, when it really counts. So, we kind of knew what we had but weren’t exactly sure. Overall, I’m pretty happy with that. We can continue to work on the race car tonight and be in good shape for tomorrow, starting from P8.

For now, I'm headed into an engineering meeting then hanging with fans at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel in the INDYCAR Fan Village at 5:30 pm. We'll go back out for a half-hour practice under the lights at 6:45. 

Practice 

Pre-qualifying

Thursday, June 6
10:30 a.m.
Just landed here at DFW and am heading into the track. Looks like we'll have some pretty decent weather this weekend... any time the temps are under 95 degrees at Texas Motor Speedway, it will be a good weekend for those of us in firesuits!

Coming off of two recent top-10 finishes, the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team has some good momentum going as we head to Texas this weekend. Texas Motor Speedway is always a challenging track for us drivers, but that's what makes it a great race for fans. Last year we had a good race car but unfortunately just got caught up with issues in traffic. I think the No. 83 car will be fast again, and hopefully we can continue moving up the field to gain some more points toward the championship.

If you haven't yet, check out this piece on my engineer Brad on the Texas Motor Speedway site!

Here's your race weekend schedule (all times local/Central):
Friday, June 7
12:30-1:45 pm  Practice
3:30-5 pm  Qualifying
5:30 pm  Appearance at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel in the INDYCAR Fan Village
6:45-7:15 pm  Practice
Saturday, June 8
3-4 pm  IndyCar autograph session in the INDYCAR Fan Village
7:30 pm  Firestone 550 race, live on ABC
Timing and scoring for all on-track session available here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin for updates from my Pit Lane Reporter (PLR)!

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.