Live from Trackside - Indianapolis 500

Sunday, May 26
6:45 p.m.
What a day... what a weekend! Really happy to have another top-10 finish at the Indianapolis 500. I spent Saturday in bed resting due to a 24-hour bug, but woke up today feeling fresh and ready to go!

The car was really good. We had a bit of a misfire at the start of the race, which is why I dropped all the way to the back in that first stint. Once we figured out what it was and got it fixed, the No. 83 car was really good. I think we really had a great car to go from 33rd to ninth. I don’t know if people were counting on weather, but by about lap 50 everyone began to put their game face on so we just had to take positions where we could and move forward when we could. I think if that last restart stayed green we probably had a couple more spots in us too. I have to thank the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team for a great race car and for their work in the pits!

Can we do this again tomorrow?

Pit stop for the 83 crew.

Pat on the back from the boss.

Friday, May 24
4:00 p.m.
I think the final practice today was really good. We made improvements, not only to the car but to pit stops and race craft. Through the course of the week, we looked at some data and have a good foundation of what we need to do come race day on Sunday. Obviously we’ll look through the data and maybe make a few small changes, but I’m really confident in the guys and in the race car. I think we’ll be in really good shape for the race!

After practice, I headed to the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel to meet some fans and winners from a recent JDRF contest. Always a lot of fun! I went straight from my appearance to pit lane for the pit stop competition. Unfortunately we didn't make it to the finals, but the No. 83 crew rocked it as always!

I'm headed into a team meeting, then tonight I'll make a stop at the Firestone Racing event before having a dinner with a few close friends and family members. My parents always host a small group for dinner on the Friday before the Indy 500, which is just a nice chance for me to relax and thank a lot of the people who have supported me from the beginning.

Hope to see you all out at the parade downtown tomorrow! 

Pre-practice

Leaving pit lane.

Before the pit stop competition.

Let's go No. 83 crew!

8:30 a.m.
Today is Carb Day. No, we will not gorge on pasta all day. "Carb Day" originally came from "Carburetion Day," named for the final practice session when teams could tune their carburetors before race day. Of course, we don't use carburetors these days but the name has stuck! We do still have one final practice session, so we'll see what we can do with the No. 83 car before Sunday's race. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Team will also compete in the Pit Stop Competition at 1:30 p.m. I have total faith in the No. 83 team that they will do a great job, as they always do in the pits during races!

I'm about to head to a drivers meeting, so here's a quick run-down of my Carb Day schedule for you to follow along:
11 a.m. - 12 p.m.  Final practice (live timing online here)
12:30 p.m.  Appearance in the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel (in the INDYCAR Fan Village)
1:30 p.m.  Pit Stop Competition

Also be sure to follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin for practice and pit stop competition updates!

Thursday, May 23
5:00 p.m.
Another good day at the track, though I'd much rather be in a race car! I had a lot of fun at the fashion show, but I think I'll keep my day job... modeling is not my forte! For media day, all 33 drivers are set up in their own booth while members of the media are welcome to come around and talk to us about the upcoming race, our season, the series, etc. It's a good chance to reflect on the month too.

Now I'm off to The Yellow Party for some fun for a good cause, then dinner with friends. Looking forward to getting back into the No. 83 car tomorrow for our final practice!

On stage at IFF's Fashion in the Fast Lane

Media day!

9:00 a.m.
It was an early start to the day for me, as the Mazda Road to Indy organized a group photo of current and past drivers who have participated in the development program. It was cool to see how many of us have gone through the ranks and even better to see so much young talent out there.

I'm about to catch a quick nap since I've got a busy day planned... the Indy Family Foundation's Fashion in the Fast Lane event, engineering meetings, IMS media day, The Yellow Party, and dinner with friends.

If you plan to come out to the track for Carb Day tomorrow, be sure to visit me at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel in the INDYCAR Fan Village at 12:30 p.m. Friday!

Road to Indy on the Yard of Bricks

Wednesday, May 22
4:30 p.m.
Just finished up some time with the No. 83 team, making sure things are set for Friday's final practice session.

I had WISH-TV's Anthony Calhoun at my coach for an interview on race weekend nutrition and managing my blood sugar while in the car. Tune in to WISH-TV 8 on Thursday at 5 p.m. (ET) to see the full piece!

After the interview, I headed to the Community Day autograph session. We had a great turnout, despite the somewhat rainy weather today. Thanks to everyone who came out!

Tonight I'm headed to a dinner downtown with a presentation for Novo Nordisk, then I'm headed to the Honda Performance Development tech center in Brownsburg. A good night ahead!

WISH-TV interview.

Community Day autograph session at IMS!

9:20 a.m.
Good morning! It's Community Day at IMS... always a fun day to see lots of fans and friends out at the track. I'll be signing autographs at the Plaza Pavilion from 1:30-2:30 p.m. so I hope to see you there!

Yesterday I took a bit of time off from work and recharged, as things will start to get pretty busy now as we gear up for this weekend. My new Axis Wake boat has arrived so I took it out on the water for the first time... so awesome! I'll be sure to get some photos soon to share.

We've still got a couple of days until we're back on track so if you are in need of some IndyCar action, check out the newly-released episode of INDYCAR 36: Long Beach online here!

Monday, May 20

5:40 p.m.

Finished up with my media day duties and now waiting on my flight back home to Indy! It was a pretty smooth day for me... We had a media luncheon in downtown Milwaukee (near where the Dodgers were staying for their game tonight, since we caught them loading their bus!) and then headed off for a quick tour of TV and radio interviews. All in all, a good day of promoting the 500, the series, and previewing the race at the Milwaukee Mile in a couple of weeks. 

Tomorrow I plan to have a relaxing day away from the track... Just a chance to recharge my batteries and get refocused for the weekend!

Time Warner in-studio interview.

WTMJ-4 at the media luncheon.

Having a rockin' good time! Get it?!

7:15 a.m.

I'm back at what feels like a second home, the Indianapolis International Airport, headed to Milwaukee for the Indy 500 media day. Today this year's 33 drivers will be all across the country, helping spread the word about the action on track this Sunday--the Greatest Spectacle in Racing! As always, I'm honored and humbled to be a part of it. 

Sunday, May 19
6:00 p.m.
Today was a great day, for not only the No. 83 team but the whole CGR teams. We mainly focused on the race car, going out for a few long runs. We tried a few things, and we worked with our teammates, trying a couple of things they did. Some stuff worked, some things didn't. In the end, we've all kind of circled back to similar setups. It's one of the great parts of Chip Ganassi Racing, having quality teammates to work with and learn from. Now we have a little down time, to get rested and get ready to go racing next weekend.

Tomorrow I'm headed to Milwaukee for the annual Indy 500 driver media day. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin and the hashtag #Indy500MediaDay for updates!

Practice pit stop.

Front wing changes.

Saturday, May 18

7:00 p.m.

I think today we maximized our opportunities. We did a really good job of working with our teammates today. We were able to get all four Chip Ganassi Racing cars qualified in the first day and once you’re in the race you can go racing. We spent a lot of time this week working on race setup and that’s really where it matters, getting it done in the race. I give a lot of credit to the Novo Nordisk guys. Today is a long, hard and stressful day for the crew and everyone involved. They kept their cool, they did the right things. We qualified 19th, so we’ll start there and get ready to go racing.

In line for qualifying.

Ready to go!

On deck.

Post-qualifying interviews.

Team photo.

Post-qualifying press conference.

8:00 a.m.

It's Pole Day! One of the most intense days of the season for sure, but also most exciting. 

Before we can get to qualifying, we have morning practice. I'm in group 2, so we can go out at 8:30. We'll likely go out when I can get some solo laps in. 

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin for updates from my Pit Lane Reporter while I'm in the car! Tune into live qualifying coverage on NBC Sports Network:

11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Eastern) Qualifying, P1-24

4:30 - 6:30 p.m. (Eastern) Fast Nine Qualifying 

Friday, May 17

10:30 a.m.

Just finished up with a media availability with my teammates. Today is Fast Friday, which means we get an extra boost of power from Honda. We like to go quick, so the opportunity to go quicker? Even better! We'll work a bit on our qualifying setup today and see what track time we get, with the possibility of rain later.

Thursday, May 16
6:30 p.m.
Today was another really good day of practice. We spent a fair amount of time working on race stuff. We did a couple of solid, full-tank, new-tire runs in traffic. The car feels really stable. I think we made progress and found a couple of things today that some of my teammates ran and liked, and I agree with them. So we went in that direction, as well. I think we’re in really good shape for next Sunday. Now our focus kind of shifts to qualifying on Saturday. Obviously with Fast Friday tomorrow, we’ll get a little more boost. As race car drivers we always like to go faster, and I think we have a good shot with the No. 83 car as we increase that boost. We’re going to trim out the car and see what we can get out of it.

Going out for the first laps of the day.

Pitting!

Talking to engineers during a yellow.

10:30 a.m.

Just finished up with a drivers meeting. It's a sunny morning here at IMS but it looks like we might have some rain later on today. We'll try to get out early and get some track time before the weather changes. 

Wednesday, May 15
6:25 p.m.
What a day! I had a couple of members of the Colts team as guests here at the track for a couple of hours. It was cool to show them my "office" and all of the behind-the-scenes action of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway! I totally become a football geek when I have the chance to go to games, so it was neat to do the same for them.

Moving to on-track... we ran through a lot of stuff this afternoon. We did nearly 70 laps in different conditions, both early in the afternoon and late in the afternoon. We worked on a lot of race stuff and are still focusing on next Sunday, for the race. We have to make sure that the No. 83 car is going to be happy in different situations and different conditions, whether we’re running in traffic or running by ourselves. We worked on some developmental stuff, just to make sure we have as many tools in our toolbox as possible come race day. I think the car is pretty happy. We just have to keep making adjustments and paying attention as things develop. Obviously, as we’re getting closer to the end of the week we’ll start looking towards qualifying. What’s really important is what happens a week from Sunday, not necessarily what happens on Saturday in qualifying. Saturday is important; it’s just not the only important thing ahead of us. All in all, today was a really good day for the No. 83 team.

Early afternoon practice.

Jumping back in the No. 83 car.

Garage tour for our Colts guests.

Griff takes a seat in my office!

Hanging out in pit lane.

11:30 a.m.

A great job by the No. 83 guys... Ended up with the second quickest time in the pit stop competition qualifications at 8.950 seconds! Always can count on them to be fast on pit lane. 

We'll likely run as soon as the track goes green at noon, so I'm just grabbing some lunch before heading out. 

8:50 a.m.

Good morning! I had a lot of fun at Riley last night. The kids were so excited and had a lot of great questions about IndyCar Hopefully they'll all be rooting for the No. 83 on race day!

I got to the track just a little while ago and am headed out to pit lane now. This morning the No. 83 team will compete in the pit stop competition time trials, for a spot in the actual contest later on. I have total faith in the guys and I know we'll be quick! 

Keep following me on Twitter @racewithinsulin for more behind-the-scenes action! 

Tuesday, May 14

6:30 p.m.

Today was a good day. As far as weather conditions, it was the first time we really had warm on-track temperatures. A lot of times, race day temperatures are this warm and this windy so we tried to do as much as we could with the No. 83 car in race trim. We ran with my teammates on full tanks and did a long run to see how the tires were holding up and see how the car was going to do. We did a few hot stops and pit stops with launches to get the guys warmed up. Everything feels really good. Towards the end of the afternoon, we thought we may have lost it a little bit but we made some changes and put the car right back in the ballpark so everything is good. It’s just a question of what the weather does towards the end of this week and make sure we can keep it in that range and make sure we can be competitive as we trim it out for qualifying.

I'm just finishing up a meeting with my engineers, then I'll head to Riley Hosptial for Children for their annual Indy 500 party. It's always a fun chance to meet a great group of kids and hang out with them for a bit. 

10:15 a.m.
Good morning! It's a bright, beautiful day in Indy. Looks like we'll finally be getting some warmer track temperatures during practice later today. I just got finished doing a video blog with my teammate Ryan... stay tuned for the final product!

Interviewing Ryan this morning. Photo via @CGRteams.

The No. 83 team will likely be spending a lot of time on track today, so be sure to check out racecontrol.indycar.com for live timing and video. Also follow @racewithinsulin on Twitter for updates from my Pit Lane Reporter (PLR)!

In case you missed it, here's my interview from yesterday on WISH-TV's Indy Style:

Monday, May 13
6:30 p.m.
Another good day in the No. 83 car. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing guys were on it. We just worked through our program, went through a couple of engineering changes, and we will just keep working toward our program and the end of the week. We’ll have to see what the weather does but today turned out to be a really nice afternoon. There’s every likelihood that tomorrow will be beautiful so we’ll inevitably do a lot of running then and we’ll be in good shape for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We’ll just keep working in that direction.

I'm quickly changing then heading to dinner with the boss, Dario, Scott, and Ryan!

First laps of the day in the No. 83

Happy Hour practice

11:30 a.m.

Busy morning already! Earlier I went to the WISH-TV studios for an appearance on "Indy Style." Always a fun interview! Then I headed to the track for a quick photo shoot at the motorcoach, but first picked up Long's Donuts (a must-stop for breakfast in the Indy area) for the No. 83 team. A happy crew is a speedy crew, right?! 

Just grabbing some lunch before we head out to the track around 12:30 or so for practice. Catch live timing and video at racecontrol.indycar.com! 

Live on Indy Style

Photo shoot in the Monaco motorcoach

Sunday, May 12
6:30 p.m.
Today was a good second day at IMS. We shook the primary car down and went through a couple of changes. It's still early in the week and we're still trying to get a handle on where the track is going to be, especially as we get closer to qualifying at the end of the week. It was a good opening weekend. We're really happy with the pace of the car. As far as knowledge of what we've got heading into the week of practice, I think we feel pretty good. We've got a good foundation, and we'll keep working on the No. 83 car and get quicker all the time. The guys have been really good on practice pit stops.  We'll keep working on that too because I know they'll be rock solid on race day.

Tomorrow morning I'm headed to WISH-TV for an "Indy Style" interview. If you're in the Indy area, be sure to tune in! I'll be live at 9 a.m.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin for updates during on-track sessions from my Pit Lane Reporter!

First laps in the primary car.

Happy with today's progress!

11:00 a.m.
Happy Mother's Day to all of the IndyCar-loving moms out there! And especially to my own mom--can't thank her enough for her support. Can't wait to see you later this month, Mom!

The No. 83 crew is switching from the backup car to the primary car today, so we won't be on track until a bit later. It's another chilly day here in Indy, but the sun is out and we're at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway so life is good!

While we're off track, check out some news from earlier this week:
Diabetic race car driver visits children with diabetes
Race car driver visits kids at Memorial Hospital
Diabetes won’t slow Indy 500 driver

Saturday, May 11

6:00 p.m.

Today was a great start to the month of May. The No. 83 backup car gave us a good baseline to work from. We made a couple changes, and I think that made a lot of sense. We were able to work around the weather a little bit and work around rookie orientation practice. The crew has been working really hard, so I think that we’re going to try and focus on the rest of the month now and run the primary car. We still have to see where the track is going to grip-up. Right now, there’s very little rubber down and we’ll see where we go. Hopefully, it’s not 60 degrees on race day, and it’s closer to 80, and we’ll be in good shape.

Heading to an engineering meeting before a nice dinner out. Looking forward to day 2 tomorrow! 

2:15 p.m.

Not a bad start! We did an install lap and a couple of baseline runs in the No. 83T car. The guys are making a few changes to the car now, and we'll likely go back out after the rookie laps are done. 

Already meeting a ton of fans here at IMS today! Thanks for coming out, even in the chilly weather! 

10:00 a.m.
Good morning from the greatest place on earth... no, not Disney. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway! Though this is considered "Opening Day," it's hardly Day 1 for us. The Indianapolis 500 is one you work for all year and think about every single day!

I think my favorite part of living in Indiana is being part of Indianapolis during the month of the May. That excitement, that enthusiasm it brings to the whole city the town of Speedway, all of the different events, the chance to interact with fans, and most importantly going 225 mph around the greatest race track in the world.

We'll be on track early today, get the No. 83 car shaken down, get ready to go, and start working through our program for the rest of the month. About to head to our first drivers meeting of the month.

Check out live timing and scoring (AND... live streaming video!) for all practice sessions at IMS at racecontrol.indycar.com! More info and an on-track schedule here. If you're in Indy or plan to be during the month of May, click here to find all of my public appearances! Hope to see you soon.

INDYCAR 36: Long Beach

Yes, the full episode of INDYCAR 36 from Long Beach is now online! Check it out below.

Live from Trackside - Sao Paulo Indy 300

Sunday, May 5
5:00 p.m.
Just about to head out from the hotel to the airport. Happy to be leaving Sao Paulo with a 10th-place finish!

It was a really solid day for the No. 83 Novo Nordisk car. I really can’t say enough about the Chip Ganassi Racing guys, not just the help from my teammates but these guys in pit lane were rock solid.  We had great pace; we were able to get quicker all day long, pass cars, and move forward. We were able to take advantage of a pretty aggressive strategy. Heading into Indy we needed another good result. Another top-10 will really help our momentum and confidence as we head toward the big one!

Pre-race on the grid.

The No. 83 guys in action!

9:45 a.m.
Well, the No. 83 Novo Nordisk car was way better for warm-up this morning! We definitely made some improvements overnight. Thanks to the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team for their hard work, as always. It will be interesting to see how the track develops throughout the race. It looks like it should be dry all day!

Taking some time to focus before lunch and engineering meetings, then it'll be time for driver intros!

Race day ready!

Hot practice pit stops.

7:30 a.m.
It's race day! Looking forward to getting started here in Sao Paulo for the race today. The weather looks great, the track will be quick, and most importantly... the No. 83 Novo Nordisk car will be fast!

I missed out on watching the premiere of "INDYCAR 36" last night, so let me know how it turned out!

Heading out for morning warm-up in a few. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin for on-track updates!

Saturday, May 4
4:00 p.m.
Qualifying was a little disappointing for the No. 83 car today. We'll start P17 tomorrow. We were struggling a bit with the feel here; this place is really low-grip. In qualifying we didn't quite get the best out of the tires and maximize that one lap on sticker reds. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team has a good plan for tomorrow. I think we've got some changes to make to the car overnight. The guys will go back and look at it, and I'm going to work a bit on the sections where I'm losing time. We'll be in good shape when the race starts tomorrow!

I've got a bit of time with my engineers before the drivers meeting. Then it's dinner and early to bed! Thanks for the support everyone.

Practice 2.

10:15 a.m. 
Good morning! Just finished up our first practice session here in Sao Paulo. It was pretty good for the No. 83 team. We focused on getting the car better, just trying to catch up with the changes to the track this year. The track was rubbering in, with some guys on new tires while we were on used. The next session at noon (local) will be closer to qualifying conditions for us, so we'll be ready for that.

Pre-practice

Practice pit stop

Friday, May 3
2:45 p.m.
My engineer Brad and I walked the track earlier before lunch. It looks like the improvements they made will make for a good race on Sunday. I'm looking forward to getting out on track tomorrow in the No. 83 to see how the changes feel in the car.

Just finished up an interview here in the paddock. More updates later!

9:45 a.m.
Good morning! We had a slightly later start than normal today, as we have all day to prep the cars before practice tomorrow. I ended up finding a movie in English on TV (my Portuguese is still not quite up to par) last night before bed. The whole No. 83 team (including me!) got some much-needed rest so we're ready to go today.

Today's schedule includes the track walk at noon and a quick video shoot for IMSP. And of course, lots of time working with the team! We started a good streak of top-ten finishes here in Brazil last year, so hopefully we can do that again.

Sao Paulo! The track runs parallel to the highway, where those cars are currently driving!

Thursday, May 2
6:00 p.m.
It's been a good first day here in Brazil. I was able to do a bit of work with my engineers, get in a quick workout, and catch up on a few emails. We stay in a hotel inside the actual race circuit here in Sao Paulo, which makes all things needed for a race weekend just a quick walk away! We'll have the track walk tomorrow but we won't get the cars on track until Saturday morning. It looks like the rain will stay away this weekend!

Heading down for some dinner then getting a good night's rest!

2:00 p.m.
Ola from Sao Paulo, Brazil! After a long evening of travel, we arrived here in Sao Paulo around 10 a.m. local time (just an hour ahead of Indy's Eastern time), and went straight to the track to get the cars unloaded and prepped for the race weekend. With only two on-track days and a somewhat light schedule otherwise, I have lots of time to spend with my engineers and team for qualifying and race strategy.

We had a pretty good result here last year, and I think the No. 83 Novo Nordisk car will be fast again through the streets of Sao Paulo. With the off-weekend, we had a bit of extra time last week to spend debriefing from Long Beach and preparing for the upcoming race weekend. We'll be looking for another top-10 in qualifying, and then we'll work hard to stay consistent throughout the race and move up from there. With good strategy and a bit of luck, we'll have a strong start to the month of May.

Here's a quick race weekend schedule. Follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin, and check out live timing and scoring here.
Saturday, May 4:
  7:30-8:45 a.m. Practice
  11:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m. Practice
  1:35-2:45 p.m. Qualifying (on NBCSN Sunday, 1 a.m. Eastern)
  6:30 p.m. INDYCAR 36: Charlie Kimball on NBCSN
Sunday, May 5:
  7-7:30 a.m. Warm-up
  11 a.m. Sao Paulo Indy 300 race (live on NBCSN)
All times Eastern.

INDYCAR 36 Premieres Saturday!

If you saw me walking around the paddock at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, you may have noticed a camera crew following a few steps behind me. This weekend you'll see what they were up to on the 2013 premiere of "INDYCAR 36!" Tune in to NBC Sports Network on Saturday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. as the show goes behind-the-scenes of an IndyCar race weekend. Click here for more information.

Visit IndyCar.com for more info!

Live from Trackside - Grand Prix of Long Beach

Sunday, April 21
5:15 p.m.
It was a little disappointing result but there were a lot of positives. The No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen team did a great job in pit lane. We ran up front. We had the speed and the pace to run consistently up front. We’re looking forward to taking what we learned this weekend to the Texas test and Brazil. We have a good pit lane position from qualifying for Brazil. From here, we’ll go back to qualifying consistently and staying up front.

8:00 a.m.
It's race day! It's a foggy morning here in Long Beach, but hopefully it will lift before morning warm-up at 9. Feeling good today... I think the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team will be fast, and with starting in the top-10, we have a good opportunity to move up the field with a few strategic moves here and there.

Congrats to my Ganassi teammates Scott and Memo, and the No. 01 team on their GRAND-AM win at Road Atlanta yesterday! Well done.

Make sure you're following me on Twitter @racewithinsulin today for updates during the race from my Pit Lane Reporter (PLR). Tune in to the Grand Prix of Long Beach at 1 p.m. (PT) on NBCSN! Thanks for the support!

Saturday, April 20
5:30 p.m.
Phew, long day! The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew worked super hard last night and I think it started to show this morning in practice. Thanks to them for all of their work, as always.

Overall, it was a pretty good day for the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car.  It was nice to bounce back today after shaking off some of yesterday’s difficulties. We had a couple of good sessions and finished in the top-10 both times. We have the car for it and it was good to show results. It was a really good way to pay the guys back after working late last night. It’s great to start ninth. We have a really consistent car and we'll be able to work our way up from there.

Pre-qualifying

After qualifying, I went over to the IndyCar Fan Village and met some fans at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel. I even had a special visitor--my grandmother! Always nice to see family when I'm racing here in California.

Hanging with Grandee

I'm finishing up some engineering meetings, then headed to dinner with some family and friends. Be sure to tune in to the Grand Prix of Long Beach tomorrow at 1 p.m. Pacific on NBCSN!

9:00 a.m.
It's a beautiful morning here in Long Beach! I just had breakfast and walked over to the track. On the agenda today: morning practice and afternoon qualifying! We had some mechanical issues yesterday, but the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team will be ready to go today.

Tune-in! You can find live timing and scoring for qualifying (2 p.m. PT) here, or you can watch on NBCSN at 3 p.m. PT.

If you're here at the track, be sure to come see me at the NovoLog FlexPen Tunnel (in the Lifestyle Expo) at 3:45 p.m.!

Friday, April 19
5:15 p.m.
Just finished up the autograph session here in the paddock. Long Beach always brings out a great crowd!

As far as practice this afternoon, it wasn’t an ideal start to the weekend. I think we have a pretty good car but we just have a couple mechanical things to look at. We have some things to change and try in the morning in set-up. We’ll be alright come tomorrow. We know what we need to fix.

For now, I'm spending some time at the transporter with the engineering team before dinner with some friends and family here in town.

Afternoon practice.

12:25 p.m.
Not a bad first practice session. We didn't spend a lot of time on track, so we're not yet ready to gauge our times or speeds with others. Looking forward to going back out at 2:30!

Via @CGRteams

10:00 a.m.
Good morning! I had a relaxing dinner last night and got some good sleep ahead of this race weekend. I just finished up a TV interview and a quick piece for INDYCAR 36. On track soon!

In case you missed it, check out this AP piece on my Dodgers experience earlier this week!

Thursday, April 18
1:30 p.m.
Just finished up with my live chat with the Long Beach Press Telegram. If you missed it, you can check out the full transcript here! My friend Charlie (who I met last year here at the race) even jumped on to ask a question! Hope to see you again soon, Charlie!

Live chatting with fans!

I'm headed over to get some lunch, then I'll be walking the track around 2. Taking it easy tonight and getting some rest before the on-track sessions start tomorrow. Looking forward to getting the No. 83 car on track here in Long Beach!

10 a.m.
It's not every day you get to realize one of your dreams. I was lucky enough to check one thing off of my bucket list in 2011... racing in the Indianapolis 500. Yesterday I had the opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Dodgers game, and I am still speechless. There are just no words to explain how cool that was for me. In case you didn't know, I'm a huge Dodgers fan (understatement, perhaps) so I was stoked not only to be there for batting practice but also be on the field and throw the first pitch. Thanks to everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing and the Dodgers for making it happen!

So cool!

With Matt Kemp before my big moment.

I'll talk more about that later, but now I'm focused on this weekend: the Grand Prix of Long Beach! I'm really looking forward to the race here in Long Beach. It's always one of my favorite stops of the season--both because of the on-track competitiveness and because it's a race close to home for me. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team had a good weekend at Barber and we were fast at Long Beach last year. I think we know what we have to do to make a bit more progress with the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car so we're on the podium this time around.

I'm hanging out before jumping on a live chat at noon, with the Long Beach Press Telegram. Want to join me? Click here to learn more!

Here's a quick race weekend run-down (all times Pacific). Live timing and scoring for all on-track sessions available here. Make sure you're following @racewithinsulin on Twitter, too!

Friday, April 19:
  10:30-11:15 a.m. Practice
  2:30-3:15 p.m. Practice
  4-5 p.m. Autograph session (in the paddock)
Saturday, April 20:
  10:40-11:25 a.m. Practice
  2-3:10 p.m. Qualifying
  3:45 p.m. NovoLog FlexPen Tunnel appearance (in INDYCAR Fan Village at the Lifestyle Expo)
Sunday, April 21:
  9-9:30 a.m. Warm-up
  1 p.m. Grand Prix of Long Beach (live on NBC Sports Network)

Chat with me on Thursday!

Have a question you've always wanted to ask an IZOD IndyCar Series driver? Want to know how I manage my diabetes while racing through the streets of Long Beach? Here's your chance. Thanks to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, I have the opportunity to chat with YOU this Thursday!

Click HERE to join my live chat on Thursday, April 18 at 12 p.m. Pacific. You can also send questions in advance via email to CharlieKimball@scribblelive.com.

Hope to chat with you soon!

In case you missed it: Highlights from the 2013 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Live from Trackside - Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Sunday, April 7
5:45 p.m.
The whole team did a great job this weekend, from the guys in the pits to the engineering staff working on race strategy. I just had to get it done on the race track. We started to see some real improvement at St. Petersburg, but didn’t really get the result we deserved. But it all came together for us today and it feels great. I'll have to talk to Novo Nordisk into letting me run the Race With Insulin paint-scheme all year! To have all the Chip Ganassi Racing Teams represent blue rims this weekend meant a lot. Jamie McMurray finished top-10 in Martinsville today and the GRAND-AM boys finished top-five yesterday. It’s been a great weekend for diabetes awareness and the whole Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew.

I'm just now heading out of the track to get some BBQ before taking a flight home tonight. Thanks for the support all weekend long! I appreciate it.

Pre-race on the grid.

Post-race interviews

8:15 a.m.
Happy race day! I think it's going to be a good day for the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team. It's been a special weekend, both with on-track results and having the support for the Race With Insulin Unites initiative from the whole Chip Ganassi Racing organization. On that note, congrats to Steve (@Zabel311) for being named "Honorary Crew Chief" for the No. 1 Race With Insulin car, driven by my Ganassi teammate Jamie McMurray in today's NASCAR race. Good luck to Jamie and all of my Chip Ganassi Racing teammates running the blue circle wheels this weekend!

I also have some special guests from Axis Wake Research here this weekend, who I met while taking a tour of their factory late last year. They are taking a lap of Barber Motorsports Park this morning in the Honda Civic IndyCar Pace Cars, so they'll get a sense of what I'll be experiencing during the race later today.

I'm heading to chat with my engineers for a bit before the drivers meeting at 9:30. Check out warm-up at 11 a.m. Central at racecontrol.indycar.com!

No. 1 honorary crew chief! (via @EGRTeams)

Saturday, April 6
2:30 p.m.
It was a pretty good day for the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team! We had a lot of traffic during the practice yesterday afternoon and this morning, and we didn't get the lap in that we wanted. But looking at the sectors, we knew the car was pretty good. In the first run, I got the gap where I needed to, got a good lap time in, and came in. I was a little surprised that the round of 12 wasn't tighter lap time-wise. To only have done a 67.2 lap time, I think the track got hotter. The No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car was pretty good. We spent yesterday working mostly on race day setups. Come tomorrow, we have a bunch of tires on hand and we'll be in pretty good shape when the race starts.

After qualifying and the post-qualifying press conference, I headed out to the Fan Village to meet some fans at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel. We always have great support here in Barber, so thanks for coming out!

Tonight I'm headed to a dinner with local Honda dealers, and I'll get to bed early for the race tomorrow. If you're watching from home, tune in at 2 p.m. Central on NBCSN!

Pre-qualifying, via @CGRteams

At the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel

9:25 a.m.
Not a bad start for morning practice. We made a couple of adjustments so didn't get a lot of laps in, but I think we'll be ready for a good qualifying run later on.

7:00 a.m.
It's an early morning start for us today, with practice beginning at 8. A bit chilly but I know it'll warm up later today. I'm grabbing breakfast with my friends at Honda hospitality then a quick chat with my engineers before we head out on track.

Make sure you're following me on Twitter @racewithinsulin for more updates!

Friday, April 5
5:30 p.m.
We had a really good day. It was awesome to talk about the Race With Insulin Unites program with my teammates and show off the inverted color-scheme for this weekend as well as the blue wheels across the Ganassi cars. I think, overall, we were pretty good in practice. We had the fourth-quickest time this morning and then in practice two we got caught up with some yellows and some traffic. We have a couple of different directions with the car setup to go over tonight. I’ll think we’ll be in good shape when it comes time to qualify tomorrow morning.

I'm off to do a couple of interviews this evening before dinner. Join me in cheering on the entire Team Ganassi this weekend as we show off the blue wheels for diabetes awareness!

Team Ganassi talking diabetes awareness

Blue wheels looking good!

Learn more at racewithinsulin.com!

10:30 a.m.
The sun is trying to come out here this morning at Barber! I got here a couple of hours ago for an fun interview with Fox 6. Can you pick me out in this photo? Yes, Josef and I had a few props from the Honda H-Block and played a little joke on James.

What's wrong, James?!

I'm spending some time with my engineers this morning before a press conference with my Ganassi teammates and Novo Nordisk at noon.

If you get a chance, check out this piece from the Birmingham News!

Thursday, April 4
2:00 p.m.
Good news--the rain (mostly) let up for the track walk! It looks like we'll have better weather for the rest of the weekend, so we're in for a good race. Hopefully we'll be able to use what we learned in testing here at Barber last month and make even more progress.

If you haven't yet, check out this video below to learn more about the Race With Insulin Unites initiative. The whole Ganassi team has some cool stuff coming up this weekend that will showcase the program! Can't wait to see it all come together.

8:00 a.m.
I’m really looking forward to getting back to Barber Motorsports Park. We had a pretty successful open test there, made some improvements to the car, and found a good direction. Coming off St. Pete, we were encouraged by the pace and performance of the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car and I know that the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team is ready to take that momentum and build it into a really good result this weekend!

I'll have some guests here this weekend from Axis Wake, who won a trip to the race when I visited their factory in Tennessee last December. I hope they enjoy seeing an IndyCar race weekend from a behind-the-scenes view as much as I enjoyed taking a tour of their facility!

Heading into the track now to spend some time with my engineers before the track walk at noon. Here's a schedule of the IndyCar action this weekend. Make sure you're on my race updates e-mail list (sign up here) to get a tune-in reminder each weekend!

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
All times Central. Timing and scoring for all on-track sessions available here.
Friday, April 5:
12:45-1:45 p.m. Practice
3:45-4:30 p.m. Practice
Saturday, April 6:
8-8:30 a.m. Practice
10:25-11:35 a.m. Qualifying (on NBCSN at 4 p.m. CT)
12:15 p.m. Appearance at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel (in the Red Diamond Fan Zone)
1-2 p.m. IndyCar driver autograph session (in the INDYCAR Fan Village)
Sunday, April 7:
11-11:30 a.m. Warm-up
2 p.m. Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (live on NBCSN)

Live from Trackside - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Sunday, March 24
3:45 p.m.
It was a hard-fought race all the way through. I give a lot of credit to the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen guys in the pits. They put a new wing on the car when I needed it. The strategy was right; it was just a question of having to come from too far back at certain points. The pace is certainly there. We were quick when we needed to be. We have to find that balance but we’ll be in good shape come Barber.

I'm off to the Best (West) Coast for a couple of days with family. Thanks for watching and thanks for the support!

Morning warm-up.

Pit stop for the No. 83!

10:00 a.m.
Pretty good warm-up session. We did a couple of pit stops at the beginning--great job by the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi guys, as always--and ran for a bit on blacks before putting on reds for the last couple of laps. Finished up P2 so hopefully we'll keep that speed for the start of the race, make some early passes, and start the season with a good result!

7:30 a.m.
Good morning! It's race day! We have an early start today, with warm-up at 8:45. It should be interesting to see how the weather changes things.

Last night I has a nice dinner with the Novo Nordisk folks. Always appreciate their support and company!

Saturday, March 23
3:40 p.m.
It was a pretty good qualifying effort. It was the first time we’ve run the red Firestone tires this year. We have a really good race car and we’re further ahead than where we were this time last year. The field is so competitive I think it’s going to be about strategy, running smart laps, and getting the fuel mileage you need in the race tomorrow. I have a lot of confidence in the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen crew, especially in pit lane, so we’ll be good.

Watching group 1 during qualifying

Heading out with group 2.

Around noon, I went to the NovoLog FlexPen Tunnel to meet some fans. Check out racewithinsulin.com to find the Tunnel at each race, or join my crew online here to win a VIP to the season finale!

At the NovoLog FlexPen Tunnel

Debriefing with my engineers now before heading to the IndyCar driver autograph session at 4:15. Then it's off to the drivers meeting and a dinner with some of my friends from Novo Nordisk. Looking forward to the race tomorrow!

Friday, March 22
4:00 p.m.
It was a good practice. The weather is changing and it got hotter so the track is coming in inconsistently, and everyone is going quicker all the time. The way the tires are specced for the weekend, we had to be a little careful because we’re going to start on that set tomorrow. I feel pretty happy with today’s result. We’re working on our program and we have a plan coming in. We had good momentum heading in and we’re making good progress, so I think we’ll be in good shape tomorrow for qualifying when it all counts.

1:50 p.m.
We had a pretty good first practice session. We have a few things to make better, but we've made some improvements since we were here last year for sure. We just need to make up a bit more time but I know the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing guys are working hard to make that happen, and so am I. Not just for this afternoon's practice session, but for when it really matters tomorrow for qualifying.

I just had some lunch, and then talked to Bay News 9 for a piece on driver fitness that will be featured online soon. Headed back to the engineering office now before another practice at 2:40.

First practice session of the season.

8:30 a.m.
Good morning! It's a beautiful day here in St. Pete to start the 2013 IndyCar season. On the agenda today: practice time in the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car! Make sure you're following me on Twitter @racewithinsulin for updates during on-track sessions. Nope, I don't tweet and drive... my Pit Lane Reporter (PLR) will help me out while I'm in the car!

Heading to the track now for some time with my engineers before practice.


Thursday, March 21
8:30 p.m.
Just got back from a good dinner with my parents. Looking forward to getting out on track tomorrow! If you missed NBC Sports Network's The Crossover earlier tonight, check out my appearance on the show below:

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

2:30 p.m.
It's a beautiful day here in St. Pete. Hopefully it sticks around for the full race weekend! I had a great time this morning with Jerome and Holley at Studio 10. They're always a fun stop on the media tour while we're here for the race. If you missed it, you can watch it here.

After the interview, I headed to the circuit to meet up with the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew, who got into town from Indy earlier today. With all of the work we did over the winter and taking into consideration last year's data, it's nice to be able to really focus on one thing at a time.

I just spent some time chatting with Meesh about all things 2013 and the off-season (including taping #TheOffSeason videos!), so be sure to check OpenWheelWorld.net soon. Now it's back to the engineering office before the track walk at 4.

Can't say it enough... It's great to be back at a race track!

Interview time in the transporter.

7:50 a.m.
Good morning from St. Pete! I got in last night as I'll be on WTSP-10 around 10 a.m. today. Tune in if you're in the Tampa Bay area!

I'm really excited to kick off the season in St. Pete with the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team this weekend. The whole team has been working so hard over the winter. We had a pretty good test at Barber, making a lot of progress and developments both on the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car itself and competition-wise. We had a strong start at St. Pete last year, with a top-10 finish, so I think with a whole year of data on the DW12 under our belts and a lot of prep over the offseason, we'll go into the season very strong.

Here's a quick rundown of the weekend...

Thursday, March 21:

  7 p.m. INDYCAR Welcome Party (Mahaffey Theater)

Friday, March 22:

  11:10-11:55 a.m. Practice

  2:40-3:25 p.m. Practice

Saturday, March 23:

  10:25-11:10 a.m. Practice

  12-12:45 p.m. Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel appearance (INDYCAR Fan Village)

  2:05-3:15 p.m. Qualifying

  4:15-5:15 p.m. Autograph session (INDYCAR Fan village)

Sunday, March 24:

  8:45-9:15 a.m. Warm-up

  12 p.m. Race coverage begins on NBC Sports Network

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