And our #NameMyAxis winner is...

Congrats to Britany Kirshman Speas, the grand prize winner of the #NameMyAxis contest! Her boat name entry, "Open Wheel Escape," was selected last week as a semi-finalist for my new Axis A24, and with 62% of the fan votes, she is now the grand prize winner!

Thanks to the fans who submitted more than 100 entries, and thanks to the 250-plus fans who voted for the finalists! I appreciate the support and hope you enjoyed the contest. More fun to come this season!

Name My Axis!

Wednesday, March 12
UPDATE! 
Wow, I can't believe we received more than 100 entries! Thanks to all who submitted ideas for #NameMyAxis. I've selected four names... click below to vote for your favorite! And congrats to our four finalists: Nancy E. (Axis & Allies), Colene E. (Bittersweet Apex), Britany K. (Wheel Escape), and Mark T. (Tangerine Dream). The grand prize winner will be announced next Wednesday, March 19!

Wednesday, March 5

We're about 15 days away from the first day of spring... just that much closer to getting my brand new Axis A24 out on the water. But first, it needs a name and I'd like your help!

Want to win? Here's how it works:

1. Submit your entry via Facebook HERE by Tuesday, March 11 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
2. I will hand select four entries as finalists and announce on Wednesday, March 12 at noon Eastern.
3. Fans will vote on the four finalists' entries by Tuesday, March 18 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern... the name with the most votes will be announced as the grand prize winner on Wednesday, March 19 at noon Eastern!

Tell 'em what they've won, Johnny! 

• Four finalists will win signed a signed No. 83 1:64 diecast car.
• One grand prize winner will receive a bag of swag from Axis, a signed Charlie Kimball hat, and a signed helmet visor worn at the 2013 Grand Prix of Alabama (fourth place finish and all-around fun race).

Need some inspiration? Want to learn more about the Axis A24? Check it out here!

And now... #NameMyAxis is green, green, green! Submit your entries HERE now!

Fine print:

• You must be at least 13 years of age to enter and win (sorry--Facebook's rules).
• You may submit more than one entry but that does not necessarily increase your odds for winning. 
• We have the right to remove any public entries that are inappropriate or offensive... just keep it clean!
• This contest is not supported by or associated with my sponsors, Chip Ganassi Racing, or Novo Nordisk Inc.

Sparkles and connections

It's back down in the 20s here in Indy, so I thought it's a good time as any to "think warm" and talk boating! Last Saturday I hung out at the Indianapolis Boat, Sport and Travel Show with Mid-Indiana Marine and Axis Wake. As always, the folks at Mid-Indiana and Axis put on a really impressive display. I'm biased, but I think the best was to see this sparkly-orange Axis A24 when I arrived. Yes, I'll be taking this one out on the water this summer!

Being at the show with all of the beautiful boats made me really anxious to get on the water, so I'm already deep in planning a trip with friends for this summer!

Can't wait to get in the water!

Isn't she pretty?!

The boat show was really busy, and it was great to meet a lot of IndyCar fans and make some new connections. Thanks to the family wearing No. 83 shirts for stopping by! I even met a fellow type 1 named Britney. It always amazes me just how small all of my worlds are--from racing, to hobbies like boating, to the diabetes community--and how we're all connected!

Speaking of being connected, be sure you're following me on Twitter @racewithinsulin and on Facebook for updates from the track soon. This Saturday marks the first day of March which means it's almost time to go racing! Hope to see you at the track this season.

The best alternative to boating on the water? A boat show!

Thanks to our friend the Groundhog, it seems as though we've got at least six more weeks of winter before we can get back out on the water. Thankfully, I'll get my "boat fix" in a couple of weeks at the Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show! I'll be hanging out with the Mid-Indiana Marine and Axis Wake folks, and I hope to see you there too! I might even have some hats and goodies to sign and give away.

Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show
Indiana State Fairgrounds
Saturday, Feb. 22, 2-4 p.m.
Mid-Indiana Marine booth #402
For ticket information, please click here.

A short month filled with action!

Sure, February is the shortest month out of the year, but I've packed in a lot of fun in that short time! Appearances, photo and video shoots, testing, birthdays, a mini-vacation, a major press announcement... phew, it's definitely been a quick yet busy month.

Yesterday I spent some time at the Ganassi shop shooting some video with the Novo Nordisk team. They're always a great group to work with, and they make the process easy and painless for me!

The Sebring test last week went really well. We were very quick in the morning session and had a few mechanical things to work on in the afternoon. Overall I was really pleased with the progress we made. We did a lot of work with Honda and Honda HPD, developing some adjustments and tunability as we get ready for the open test and first race. We ran a lot of miles during the last off-season, and with the decrease of testing time this year we just have to be more efficient and make the most of our on-track time. Big credit to the whole Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team. The engineers and mechanics have worked really hard over the winter, and we had some great directions to try at Sebring. I can’t wait to get back in the car for the open test in a couple of weeks… the first race is less than a month away now!

It’s always great to go out to an event here in Indianapolis. So many people here in town love IndyCar racing, so to go to the fairgrounds for the Indianapolis Boat, Sport and Travel Show with Mid-Indiana Marine and meet IndyCar fans was really neat. I’m an avid boater and I love my Axis Wake. It was great to hang out with the dealer and talk to prospective buyers and other Axis owners about my boat, and how I use it to relax and slow down a bit from the racing world. I had the chance to share with them the quality that I enjoy in my boat and how I spend my free time out on the water. Fortunately the days are getting a bit longer here in Indy, so there’s hope for warm weather soon. Most importantly that means the start of the race season, but also that it’ll be time to get back out on the water before I know it!

My new friend Luke at the boat show!

Oh yeah, I did some "racing" recently too... Enjoy.

Is it spring yet?

I heard Groundhog Phil didn't see his shadow this year... which means spring comes early, right?! I'm not sure about you, but that sounds like good news to me. Not only because spring means the beginning of the IndyCar season but also because warm weather means more time out on the Axis boat! 

I'll be hanging out with the guys from Mid-Indiana Marine at the Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show on Saturday, Feb. 23, drooling over the new models and getting even more anxious about getting out on the lake. They'll have special deals and I'll have a few cool giveaways, so come on out and visit!

Just add water...

Yesterday I spent the day at the Axis Wake Research and Malibu Boats factory in Loudon, Tennessee, and let me tell you... I had an absolute blast! A big thanks to Debbie for putting together the luncheon and to Adam for the awesome tour.

I went down for the company's annual luncheon and awards. For my part, I did a presentation on my job as an IndyCar driver, then showed a video highlighting how I unwind and spend time outside of the racecar... on my Axis A22! Once the awards ceremony part of the luncheon began, I was able to raffle off some IndyCar-related prizes to the factory employees. I'm excited to host two of them at Barber Motorsports Park next season for the race weekend and show off our machines!

Speaking to the employees about IndyCar.

After the luncheon, Adam took me on a tour of the factory. This is where I definitely geeked-out! The whole thing was just so impressive... the attention to detail is evident throughout the process. You see the employees fitting pieces by hand, stitching the seat covers, inspecting the product during each step. It's truly a hand-made boat. And in talking to the factory employees along the way, I could tell that they all take such pride in their jobs. Axis and Malibu seem to have a rewarding, inclusive company culture and everyone there "gets it" for sure.

It actually reminded me of visiting the Honda plant in Alabama last March, though of course there were some differences. At the Honda plant, everything was very mechanically efficient and had its own place on the production line. Honda can get out almost 1500 Odyssey vans per day (with a full inspection for each car) while the Axis boats are more custom, and more hands-on time is spent with each piece. However, at the end both produce such high-quality products. So cool to see it all happen in person!

Now all I need is some sunshine and warm weather... I'm ready to get back out on the water!

I think Spencer liked the No. 83 diecast!

Thanks for saying hi, Jane!

Another prize winner!