Can you believe it's November already? November is American Diabetes Month, a time to bring more awareness to the diabetes pandemic. It's the perfect opportunity to encourage your friends and family members to take steps toward a healthier lifestyle and learn more about the risk factors for diabetes. Click here to learn more!
As always, you can join the Race With Insulin Crew at RaceWithInsulin.com and show your support for friends and family who have diabetes by sharing my story. Follow me at @racewithinsulin and Novo Nordisk at @NovoNordiskUS for more throughout American Diabetes Month!
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)
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:
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.
What a whirlwind of a week! I’m finally back home after some
globetrotting. I’ll do my best to catch you up.
Madrid was a lot of fun! On behalf of Novo Nordisk, I went
overseas for a presentation to doctors from all over the world. It was neat to
tell my story because all of the other presenters were people who had letters
after their names—M.D., Ph.D., that sort of thing—so I was the only non-doctor
and only patient perspective. I was able to give them an idea of not only how I
manage my diabetes but also I integrate diabetes management with physical prep
and race prep.
I went straight from Madrid to Birmingham for IndyCar’s
annual “spring training” of media day and open testing. On Monday we shot a lot
of cool promos you’ll start to see soon on NBC Sports Network. The test went
well. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team made some progress and did a
lot of development with the 83 car. We made a step up over the winter and made
some progress competition-wise and just continued that throughout the open test
last week. To finish off the second afternoon in sixth was pretty good. We’ve
got a little ways to go, but we know where that time needs to come from and
we’re working hard to make gains.
Dario and I went from the test to New York City for media
day for the Race With Insulin Unites program. It was a fun day—busy and long,
but fun! I appreciate the TODAY Show having us on, and talking to BrianSullivan on CNBC’s Street Signs was cool. As cheesy as it was, Dario and I
agreed with Brian… racing drivers may be fast on track but can be slow and safe
on investments! I filmed a segment with NBC Sports Network’s The Crossover,
which was a little edgier than I’m used to but a great experience. There are
still some pieces in the works so I can’t wait to see how it all ends up. Plus,
I applied to NBC’s page program so hopefully I’ll make it and they let me come
back and wear my firesuit under the page jacket!
Outside 30 Rock with Dario (via @CGRTeams)
Now it’s back to training at PitFit for a couple of days
before heading down to St. Pete for the first race of the season. I hope you’re
as excited as I am to get started! Thanks for the support!
Tune into TODAY on NBC at 8:30 a.m. ET tomorrow, Thursday, March 14! I'll be a guest with my teammate Dario to talk about the Race with Insulin Unites initiative and the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season.
Be sure to check your local listings for additional broadcast information.
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