Live from Trackside – Pocono

Sunday, August 23
6:35 p.m.
Wow, what a long day… and really, a long weekend! I have to give a lot of credit to the mechanics, the engineers, the whole Chip Ganassi Racing team. From lap one, the car was really good. With it being a backup car and not having done a full lap in anger, it was incredible to go out in the backup engine and just go racing. It took me a little while to find my feet but when I did, the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet was there. It was unfortunate to have the incident during the race, but we’ll go back and learn from it. After that, the car just wasn’t quite right. We had to be smart with it, try to take spots when they came to us, but really we weren’t able to get into the thick of the race at the end.

Thinking good thoughts for my fellow competitor and an all-around good guy, Justin. Thanks to everyone for the support this weekend.

Pre-race.

Checking for damage.

8:45 a.m.
Good morning… it’s race day! The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team worked hard last night to (as my mom would say) “put Humpty back together,” and we’ll be ready to go for 500 miles this afternoon. Major props to the entire Chip Ganassi Racing team for helping out. I’m headed to the autograph session at 9:15, then I’ll have a meet-and-greet with some guests from Novo Nordisk before the install check at 11.

For your Sunday morning reading:
The Morning Call – Ganassi IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball knows how to overcome adversity
IndyCar.com – Kimball connected to car in monitoring diabetes

Tune in to the race live from Pocono Raceway at 2 p.m. Eastern on NBC Sports Network, and follow my Pit Lane Reporter on Twitter @RaceWithInsulin for more at-track updates! Thanks for the support.

Race morning… ready to go!

Saturday, August 22
7:10 p.m.
I’m all right after the incident during qualifying, just a little disappointed. Well, really disappointed. When I went into Turn 1, the car caught me out a little bit with the handling so I made some adjustments. I don’t know if it was the wind but something caught me going into Turn 3. Maybe I was a little aggressive, but it’s qualifying… you have to go for it. I’m just really disappointed for the whole Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team. I know a lot of guests from Novo Nordisk are coming up for the race tomorrow, and the car was really fast this morning. That’s the good thing about having a crew like Chip Ganassi Racing behind you–I know that the car they pull out of the trailer will be just as good.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to get back out for practice 2 this evening, but we’ll do the install lap tomorrow morning to get back up to speed. A big thanks to the No. 83 team for working so hard on the backup car. And thanks for all of the notes on Twitter, Facebook, etc. I really appreciate the well-wishes and support!

Photo via INDYCAR

Ready for morning practice.

No. 83 team making a few changes.

Friday, August 21
10:30 a.m.
Good morning from Pocono! It was nice to have a bit of time off, but I have to say it’s nice to be back at it. I came in with the team this morning and am now getting settled in at the track. On the agenda today: a bit of media, lots of time in the engineering office, and an event this evening.

It’s hard to believe the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season is winding down already, but the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team isn’t letting up. We’re 100 percent focused on a good result this weekend. We’ve done well here in the past and I know we can do it again. It’s not called the “Tricky Triangle” for nothing–it always throws something at you when you least expect it. Turn one is always a challenge, even just physically, and it’s tough to predict how these cars will handle at each different segment. But I have confidence the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet will be quick and we’ll be up front on Sunday.

Click here for a full race weekend schedule and tune-in info, and be sure to follow @RaceWithInsulin for on-track updates from my Pit Lane Reporter!