Live from Trackside – Chevrolet Dual in Detroit
Sunday, May 31
8:30 p.m.
We had just really tough conditions throughout the entire weekend in Detroit, especially today. I feel really badly that I made contact with my teammate – I honestly didn’t even know he was back there and if I would’ve known it was him there would have been a completely different outcome than what happened. I understand the importance of the one team mentality here at Chip Ganassi Racing Teams and I hate that the race ended that way for Scott because of me. It was a rough weekend for the whole team and I think we’re all ready to move on to Texas and have drastically different results there.
1:40 p.m.
Well, we did make an attempt at qualifying but unfortunately it was called off due to weather conditions. Group 1 was able to get just about the full session in, but Group 2 (me included) only got out there for about 4 minutes before it was red flagged. The rain just wouldn’t let up so the field for race 2 will be set based on entrant points. That means I’ll start P12 this afternoon. So far we’re on schedule!
8:40 a.m.
It’s race day! And it’s raining… a lot. Pretty sure I saw some cats and dogs out there actually. It will make for an interesting day at the track. At least yesterday we were able to start out with some sunshine, but we’re not as lucky today!
Major props to the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew for “putting Humpty back together” as my mom says. They work so hard as it is, but having to repair a car on a double-header weekend makes for an even longer day.
No matter the weather, it’s a full day here at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix starting with a drivers’ meeting before qualifying at 11:25 a.m. (live on INDYCAR Race Control). After quals, I’ll have a couple of meet-and-greets then it’s race prep time: engineering and strategy meetings, lunch and a bit of downtime. Tune in for race 2 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC!
Saturday, May 30
6:05 p.m.
Today was just one of those days for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing. We made a call to come in and go from wet tires to slicks, and on my first out lap I hit a puddle and just couldn’t catch it. The No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet ended up in the wall and the damage was too extensive for us to get back out there. I think there’s a fine line between being aggressive and not going for it, and unfortunately today just didn’t go in our favor.
Thanks for the notes–I feel fine, just disappointed and bummed for the No. 83 crew. The good thing is, we get to try again tomorrow.
On a better note, we had a special guest with us this weekend, Matthew. He’s a fellow type 1 and his name was featured on the No. 83 car! You can read more about him in this Detroit News piece.
9:50 a.m.
It’s race day! Well, the first of two! We didn’t have a great morning practice session, but we did make an improvement toward the end. This track is definitely a tricky one–it will take a couple of laps to settle in later this afternoon, but I think we’ll be able to make some moves. The weather is also a big factor today. It was dry and sunny for practice, but it looks like there’s a good chance for rain after the green flag. We’ll just have to wait and see.
I’m headed to the IndyCar autograph session at 10:15. Be sure to follow my Pit Lane Reporter (PLR) on Twitter @RaceWithInsulin during the race for on-track updates, and tune in to ABC at 3:30 p.m. for live coverage!
Friday, May 29
5:20 p.m.
Obviously I’m disappointed that the No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet wasn’t able to transfer, but we were so close to moving into that next round. We really struggled this morning in practice and I just didn’t get the job done in qualifying.
Belle Isle is just a tough track and it’s really challenging for me. At the same time the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Team guys gave me the car I needed, but we just weren’t able to get it done. I think we might’ve been a little better prepared for more grip, but after the rain washed away a lot of that grip we just couldn’t get the lap times we needed. So, we’ll start P17 tomorrow and work our way up from there!
My mom and sister are both here this weekend, so hopefully I’ll be able to spend some downtime with them this evening. My sister came all the way over from England for the races so I’ll be working extra hard to do well for her!
9:40 a.m.
Good morning… it’s Friday and qualifying day! We’ll have qualifying for race 1 later this afternoon after a morning practice session. We’re really focused on improving our qualifying sessions so we’ll definitely be doing a lot of that during this first session. I know the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team will always give me a fast car, so we’ll do what we can to get to the most out of it.
Click here for the full race weekend schedule and tune-in reminders. If you’re here at the track, come out to the Team Chevy display at the INDYCAR Fan Village at 2:15 p.m. today to see me and my Ganassi teammates!
Thursday, May 28
12:45 p.m.
Hello from the Motor City! I arrived early this morning for an appearance with Novo Nordisk at Beaumont Hospital. I had the chance to meet some cool kids and show them my IndyCar helmet.
Even with a quick turn-around, I can’t wait to get back out in the No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet this weekend for the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit. It’s not only a challenge for the drivers to switch from an oval to road course mentality, but it’s also a lot of work for the Verizon IndyCar Series crews and engineers to be ready for the doubleheaders. I had the chance to do some hot laps on the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix track last week for Indy 500 media day, and I really think we’ll be able to put on two great shows for the fans. As for the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team coming off two strong top-five finishes, we’ll work hard on building on that momentum. Our focus is definitely improving qualifying so we can start up front and stay up front. It took a couple of races, but we’ve hit our stride and will work hard to keep the good results coming.
I’m headed into a couple of engineering meetings before the track walk this afternoon, then I’m off to a dinner with Novo Nordisk this evening. Thanks again for all of the messages this week! I’m truly overwhelmed by the support and congratulatory notes sent via email, text, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… the list goes on. I’m working hard to do even better this weekend!