Live from Trackside - Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix 2012

Friday, June 1
5:30 p.m.
The weather earlier prevented us from doing too many laps, but the second session gave us a reasonable foundation for the weekend. This place is pretty rough and we spent a good part of the day just trying to figure it all out. This is my first time here, so I really want to learn what it’s like all the way through. A gearbox problem kept us from running right at the end of the second session but we had some good information from the earlier laps. When the rubber goes down, each lap is quicker and quicker so we’ll see what it does tomorrow morning in practice and then in qualifying.

8:30 a.m.
It's a brisk morning here in the Motor City. Yesterday evening we had the track walk, which was a good chance for me and my engineers to get a sense of the course. The No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car goes on track for the first time today at noon, so we're looking forward to getting some practice time.

Here's the race weekend schedule (all times local/Eastern):

Friday:
12-1 p.m. Practice
3:45-4:45 p.m. Practice

Saturday:
9-10 a.m. Practice
11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Qualifying
1:45-2:30 p.m. Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel appearance (at the INDYCAR Fan Village)
2:30-3:30 p.m. Autograph session (at the INDYCAR Fan Village)

Sunday:
10:45-11:15 a.m. Warmup
3:30 p.m. Race! (live on ABC)

You can find live timing and scoring for all sessions here.


Thursday, May 31
10:40 a.m.
Good morning, Detroit! My race weekend started a little earlier than normal... I came into town last night and had an early morning interview at FOX 2. I'll have a phone interview here in a bit before the track walk this evening.

This will be my first time racing at Belle Isle but coming off of a strong finish in Indy, I'm confident in myself and the whole Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team. We've been building momentum week after week this season, and I'm more excited than ever to get back in the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car. I know the team and Honda will put together a great race car for me, and I'll be working extra hard to run up front in the top-10 again!

P.S. Check out the die cast I saw for sale at the IMS shop at the airport yesterday... pretty cool!

Only a smidge smaller than the real No. 83 car!

Live from Trackside - Indianapolis 2012

Sunday, May 27
4:43 p.m.
What a fun race! Really happy with today's finish. All credit goes to the whole Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team. I know they’ve worked really hard all month and they did a great job today. The No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car was quick from the word 'go.' Each time we got a re-start I learned a little more. We came through matching my career-best of eighth--so I'm pretty pleased. The guys in the pits did a great job. I have to give a lot of credit to the Honda Performance Development guys too.

All in all, we did what we could, we stayed smart, and we stayed out of trouble. I’ve got my head down, got my foot down, and I’m ready to do it all again! Thanks for the support, everyone!

Getting into the No. 83 on race day.

8:02 a.m.
It's race day for the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway... easily one of the greatest days of the year for drivers and fans alike! I can't even express how excited and humbled I am to be a part of this race, so I'll keep it short this morning. Thanks for the support this month!

P.S. I might get the chance to meet baseball legend Tommy Lasorda this morning before the race... so yeah, it's a good day. :)


Saturday, May 26
2:15 p.m.
What a fun (but scorching hot) day! I just got done riding in the 500 Festival parade downtown with Camille, a good friend from Novo Nordisk, as well as a young lady from Kansas City named Mary Clare. If you watch the ABC broadcast, you'll learn more about her! She has type 1 diabetes like me, and she is a ton of fun. Thanks to everyone who waved at us during the parade--especially for standing out in the heat!

After I grab a bite to eat, I'm headed to the Chip Ganassi Racing party then to a dinner with my sponsor. Tonight I'll relax and prepare for my favorite race of the season. I'm confident in my team, the No. 83 car and myself heading into tomorrow's race... can't wait for the green flag!

Mary Clare, me, Camille

Friday, May 25
1:30 p.m.
It was really good to get back in the car on Carb Day and go through the one hour practice. All credit to the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi racing crew for putting it back together in fine form. It’s quick and slippery. We have a really good set up. I'm back to being confident in our race car. We just have to stay smart on Sunday and there’s no reason the NovoLog FlexPen car can’t be up front at the end!

8:34 a.m.
Happy Carb Day! This is always one of my favorite days during the month of May at IMS. It's our last chance to get things all squared up for race day, and it means we're another day closer to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing!

Yeah, I know the term originally came from the time when teams tuned the carburetors, but I like to think of Carb Day as a good time to load up on carbohydrates... :)

Heading to a drivers meeting, then to the NovoLog FlexPen Tunnel (behind the IMS Museum) to meet fans from 9:45-10:30 am. Hope to see you there!

Thursday, May 24
5:20 p.m.
The No. 83 car is back at the Speedway after a couple of days at the shop. About to go chat with my engineers. Good day so far--the CARA Fashion Show went very well. I didn't trip or fall on the runway, and I talked to a good number of my media friends, so you really can't ask for much more than that, right?!

I'd say we clean up pretty well!

Shooting a piece for ESPN.

9:26 a.m.
Good morning! Another busy day off-track. No complaints, though!

First up is the CARA Fashion Show downtown. I'm usually much more comfortable dressing in a fire suit and helmet with pit lane as my catwalk, but it should be a good time. After struttin' my stuff, I'll head to the track for media day and a couple of meetings.

On track tomorrow!! Can't wait to get back in the No. 83 car. If you'll be out at IMS for Carb Day, make sure to stop by the NovoLog FlexPen Tunnel (behind the IMS Museum) from 9:45-10:30 a.m. to say hi!

Great turnout for Community Day!

Stoked to see so many fans out at IMS!

Wednesday, May 23
10:10 a.m.
Ah, sunshine at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May. Let's get to work!

It's Community Day here at IMS, so I'll be signing autographs at the Plaza Pavilion from 4:30-5:30 p.m today. A full list of today's events at the track can be found here. I've also got a busy day of media interviews and a sponsor dinner tonight.

Can't wait to get back in the car on Friday... the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team has been working so hard on the No. 83!

Don't forget... if we hit 4,000 followers on Twitter @racewithinsulin by the end of the day on Carb Day (Friday), I'll give away two race credentials for later this season! Tell your friends!

Tuesday, May 22

5:30 p.m.
Another day closer to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing!

After a fun and productive media day yesterday, I was able to relax with family a bit last night on the boat. This morning I got fitted for the CARA Fashion Show... yes, I'll be workin' the runway on Thursday! In the afternoon I taped a few interview segments with the IMS Productions team for an upcoming episode of IndyCar 36. They'll be shadowing me for 36 hours in Texas, so stay tuned for their feature on my race weekend!

If you'll be at IMS on Friday for Carb Day, be sure to stop by the NovoLog FlexPen Tunnel from 9:45-10:30 a.m. I'll be there signing autographs, and who knows, you might see yourself on TV later on! Hope to see you there.

Taping at the CGR shop

Monday, May 21
8:00 a.m.
It's Monday after Bump Day, which means the field of 33 are scattered across the country for media day. I'm headed to Birmingham with Scott and Will for a full day of interviews and a media luncheon. If you're in AL, be sure to check us out...

10:40 a.m.: WJOX Roundtable
11 a.m.: Fox 6 TV
11:20 a.m.: NBC 13 TV
11:40 a.m.: ABC 33/40 TV
1:45 p.m.: CBS 42 TV
2:15 p.m.: The Sports Czars on 97.3 FM The Zone

Follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin and the hashtag #500mediaday for updates all day!

Sunday, May 20
5:31 p.m.
First off, I'm OK, physically. It’s really disappointing to go out today and crash the car. Fortunately, the chassis is okay and the guys have plenty of time and are well into fixing it already. I just feel bad for the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew because we have been having a very good month. We still have a really good race car and I just made a mistake. I learned my lesson and we’ll go out and have a really good race next weekend. That's the day that matters at IMS--race day!

Tomorrow I head to Birmingham with Dixie and Will for IndyCar's media day, and then a busy week before Carb Day. I'll be looking forward to getting back in the car for some practice time for sure!


12:35 p.m.
It's Bump Day... But fortunately for the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team, we are able to use the time for practice runs and pit stop practice. We'll run a few full-fuel stints and do some hot pit stops once the track goes green in about an hour or so. The good thing about the heat today is that we should have the same conditions on race day, so it will be a good opportunity to see how the car runs in race setup!

Saturday, May 19
4:53 p.m.
Well, that was fun! I'm stoked to be in the top-15 for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing... I'll start from 14th, the middle of row five.

The goal coming into the Indianapolis 500 was to qualify in the top-15 and race inside in the top-10, so we’ve checked that first box. I have to give a lot of credit to the whole Chip Ganassi Racing organization. The Novo Nordisk team has been working so hard all month, giving me a car I can believe in. The No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car was a lot of fun to drive around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for those four qualifying laps today. I can’t wait to go race next weekend! Thanks for the support, everyone!

Lining up for qualifying.

Team photo... thanks No. 83 crew!

7:29 a.m.
Happy Pole Day! I'm just about ready to head out to practice. Feeling good this morning... We'll be working hard to make the No. 83 quick for qualifying later today. Sounds like it will be a hot day do we'll see how it all plays out!

Catch live timing and video at racecontrol.indycar.com and follow my Pit Lane Reporter (PLR) on Twitter @racewithinsulin!

Friday, May 18
6:34 p.m.
Phew, what a day!

We made a big change in the middle of the afternoon. The car really came alive for us after that. It's a lot of fun racing around here in 224s and 225s. With more boost, it definitely accelerates out of the pit box a lot quicker. It's going to be a lot of fun tomorrow. The challenge we face is that the aerodynamic options aren't quite as available as last year so it's either a big step or no step. I think we have a pretty good car. The No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car is stout in race trim, and I think we have a really good qualifying car. We'll have to keep an eye on the weather but we'll go out tomorrow and get it done.

All in all, I feel much better now than a few hours ago!

I'm heading to the Indy 500 Club Casino Night in a few, then dinner with my family. Have a good evening everyone!

9:29 a.m.
It's Fast Friday! It's been a really good week of practice for the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi team, and today we'll hopefully be able to get some clean laps in to see how we're doing on qualifying speeds.

Thursday, May 17
6:25 p.m.
Today was really good... Another good day of race simulation stuff. We ran a couple of sets of tires and made some good progress. I had some good running with my teammates and other cars on track. I think we have a really good race car and I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow when we get a little more boost. It’s supposed to warm up tomorrow and be hot on Saturday... the hotter it gets, the quicker we go. I can’t thank the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi team enough. We just keep asking for more from them and they just keep giving me more. It's great to have a really good team behind me!

Interviewing WTHR anchor Jennie Runevitch after her 2-seater ride

That's a wrap! Another day of practice in the books.

Sweet! Check out my new die-cast car!

11:36 a.m.
I know I sound like a broken record... But it's another beautiful day to be at IMS!

This morning I had a little fun with members of the local media... They took 2-seater rides and I interviewed them! A little role reversal. Good to know that I have some reporter skills to add to my resume!

Just now grabbing some lunch then we'll head out on track.

Wednesday, May 16
9:00 p.m.

I'd say it was a really good day. We ran about 80 laps total, and we're still working on the race car. We figured out a lot about what it takes to race the car and also what the timing is like as far as the tools and the adjustments I’ve got in the cockpit. 

I’ve got to say, the views better from the front of the pack than the back of it! The plan is to do a good job in qualifying, so come race day we can be at the front of the pack instead of in the middle of it.

3:06 p.m.
A good early afternoon of practice here at IMS! Had a best lap of about 220 but we're making some changes to the car now, so we'll see how we run later on.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @racewithinsulin... My Pit Lane Reporter (PLR) is tweeting photos and videos, and if we reach 4,000 followers by the end of Carb Day I'll give away two race credentials!

Thanks to Adam and the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association for coming out to the Speedway today and for the t-shirts!

8:02 a.m.
Another beautiful day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

After breakfast, I'll be participating in the pit stop time trials at 9:20. We're shooting to be on track around noon, so be sure to check out the live video and timing and scoring all afternoon here!

And if you have a few extra moments, you might get a laugh or two from this IndyCar video with Hinch, JR and myself:

Tuesday, May 15
8:12 p.m.
It was good to be back on track today! It definitely felt a lot like race conditions this afternoon, with as hot as it was at IMS. We ran in a pack later in the session and I almost thought I was racing in the 500 already! I think we finished P6 today, but we'll really be working hard on our qualifying setup for the rest of the week. Our focus is definitely on Saturday!

Right after practice I quickly changed and headed to Riley Hospital for Children for their Indy 500 party. Thanks to everyone who joined us!

New friends at Riley

9:14 a.m.
Good morning! I arrived at IMS bright and early today, but it's a beautiful day here in Indy so no complaints!

On the agenda today is getting the primary No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car on track to work on qualifying speeds. I'll spend the morning prepping with my engineers. A big thanks to the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi crew for working so hard on the car yesterday. It's a true team effort.

This evening, I'm headed to Riley Hospital for Children for their annual Indy 500 party. I've met so many fun, brave kids the past few years at this event, so I know it'll be a good time today. After their party, I'm hoping to have some downtime with friends. Might as well take advantage of this sweet weather and get the grill out!

One more note... if we reach 4,000 followers on the @racewithinsulin Twitter account by the end of Carb Day, I'll give away two race credentials for any race after the 500. So tell your friends!


Monday, May 14
8:22 p.m.
The whole Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team is having agreat start to the month of May. The weather has been almost ideal—a littlesurprising for Indy—and we’re already making a good amount of progress. We werepleased with how the backup car ran in race setups the past couple of days, andhopefully we’ll improve from here.

The guys worked hard today to make sure thetransition from backup to primary car goes smoothly, and we’ll be working onqualifying setup to get all of the little things that make a big difference atIndy just right.

Since we didn't practice today, I spent some time in the spotters stand in Turn One, getting a different perspective of the track and race lines. Though the view was great, I can't wait to get back in the car tomorrow!

Turn One

12:08 p.m.
Happy Monday! It's another beautiful, sunny day in Indy... doesn't get much better than this!

I had dinner downtown last night with the boss, Mike, Scott, Dario and Graham. We talked everything from books, to drivers, to Indy, to the racing business in general. It was just a great experience to learn from Chip and Mike’s years at the Speedway, and soak up some of the wisdom of my more-experienced teammates too.

As you can tell, I'm not yet on track for practice. We've been running the backup car the past couple of days, so the crew is working hard to switch over to the No. 83 primary car this morning. I'll probably be on track by 3 p.m. Remember, you can catch the live video and timing all week here!

Sunday, May 13
6:30 p.m.
Today was another really good day at the Speedway. It got hotter and windier this afternoon, which was good, because it allowed us to work on our race car a little bit preparing for a couple Sunday’s from now. I think we’ve got a pretty good race car and we’ll continue to work toward qualifying later in the week. We’re going to change over to the primary NovoLog FlexPen car tonight. We’re being smart about our approach this month. Practice is important but not nearly as important as qualifying or the race.

If you're in Indy, tune into WISH-TV tomorrow morning... I'll be live on Indy Style around 9 am!

Saturday, May 12
5:09 p.m.
I had a really fun day back at the Speedway! The weather was absolutely perfect for Opening Day. The No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car had a good starting point and we are ready to make progress moving forward. We will run the backup car again tomorrow and work on a race car until the middle of the week, before working on a qualifying setup.

All in all, a good first day! Back tomorrow for more.

Day one in the books!

9:31 a.m.
Yes, it's finally the day we wait for all winter long... Opening Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway! I was here yesterday for a little bit checking everything out and even though I've been here so many times before, I still got goosebumps when I drove in.

Our first practice session begins at noon, so I'm going to head into the engineering office then hopefully get out on track! Click here for live timing and scoring updates.

Calm before the storm...

Good news: I’ve been hired!

It’s true, I have a new part-time job… I’m the new @IMS Twitter Reporter for the month of May!

So what does this mean? Basically I’ll keep you updated on the all of the happenings throughout the month, from how I feel after a practice session to off-track activities… maybe even some fun “behind-the-scenes” exclusives. I’ll also be participating in a live chat via Twitter as well as a tweetup in the garage (stay tuned for dates on these).

How can you take part? Easy! Just follow me (@racewithinsulin), @IMS and @IndyCar all month long on Twitter. Also keep an eye on the #Indy500 hashtag to see what other fans are saying.

I told my friends at IMS that I’m willing to do the reporter’s job for a few extra laps before Indy 500 qualifying. Seems fair, right?!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It’s May—the greatest time of year. I couldn’t be more excited and anxious to get on track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway! No matter how many times I drive into the Speedway, or take a walk down Gasoline Alley, it never gets old. And to have the opportunity to take a shot at winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing is priceless.

It’s only the first week of May, but things are already ramping up. Yesterday I went up to Ft. Wayne, Indiana to visit a group of families at Lutheran Hospital. I had the chance to share my story, talk about racing, and hopefully give the kids motivation to chase their own dreams. Click here to watch a quick video, and click here to see a couple of pics. Tomorrow I head to Memorial Hospital in South Bend and St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Mishawaka to meet more fellow type 1 diabetics.

On the agenda for today is a seat belt fitting at the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing shop, then later this evening I’m going to a concert with friends. Should be a fun time! This Sunday I’ll fly down to Texas for the open test on Monday… a little bit of seat time is always a good thing! After I get back, it’s full-speed ahead (pun intended!) for the Month of May!

Hope to see you all at the track this month!

Race Results - Sao Paulo 2012

Sao Paulo Indy 300
Finishing position: 8th
Starting position: 15th
Championship standings: 15th
Click here to read the full race report.

Click here to sign up for my email list to receive "Keeping Up to Speed with Charlie" in your inbox!

Live from Trackside - Sao Paulo, Brazil

Sunday, April 29
3:50 p.m.

It was a really interesting race—a lot happened for sure! It was a ton of fun, especially in the end. We had a great racecar, so I have to thank the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew for everything. All I had to do was drive the wheels off the car!

Strategy-wise, they worked really hard on the pit stand to give me the opportunity, and when I had clear track they gave me the best tires so I was quick and could push. We got caught up in a couple of reds; I have to thank the Holmatro Safety Team for working hard to keep me on the lead lap there.

We made the most of it today. To come through reasonably clean and with a career-best eighth, it feels really good. I’m looking forward to taking this momentum into the whole month of May and from there, building on it for the rest of the season.

9:41 a.m.
Just finished up our warm-up here in Brazil. It rained overnight and it started to rain right as we started our session. All of those days racing in the wet in England just might be helpful today!

The biggest challenge in the wet is always going to be vision. The vision’s really tough with the spray. When it stopped raining there and we moved some of the water off, instead of a sheen of wet race track, it was sort of semi-matte so there was a little bit of grip. The brake was pretty good; this car’s always pretty impressive on the brakes. Firestone brought a pretty good rain tire for us.  It looks like the clouds are breaking up now. If it thunderstorms again, it could be standing water out there. It will be really interesting. It sound like INDYCAR might start the race a half hour earlier to try to get as much in before the storms come in this afternoon. I don’t think I’ll be able to see anything going into turn one at the start, but we’ll make the most of it and see where we shake out come the checkered flag.

Be sure to tune in at 11 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Network!

Saturday, April 28

3:48 p.m.
We had a pretty good qualifying session and I think our best on a road course so far this year. Our lap time was so close to the top 12 and that was our goal. When you’re a tenth and a half off of that and hundredths from seventh, it’s frustrating. If it rains, the vision back there from 16th is going to be pretty tough. But that also means if it goes wrong up front, I’ll hopefully have enough time to avoid everything. The weather’s the big question, but I think we have a really good car if it stays dry and a really good car if it rains. We are making good progress and getting there. Looking forward to tomorrow with the Novo Nordisk team here in Brazil!

12:31 p.m.

It was a better second practice session. The track stayed dry and the sun even tried to come out a bit. We got a little caught out there at the end with the red flags—a lot of people going off, just really trying hard. I think with a clean lap, we would have been higher up on the charts, maybe 10th. We’re in really good shape come qualifying. The car’s pretty good, so thanks to the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team. I’m still figuring out the track a little bit. We’ll get it better. There’s every chance we’ll be in the top-15, shooting for the top-10, for qualifying. 

Time for lunch!


9:58 a.m.

Woke up to a cloudy and humid, but dry, day here in Sao Paolo. It didn’t rain overnight so the track was pretty dry before we got out there for our first session.

It was a good first practice. The track was really, really dirty to start with. By the end it started to rubber up. Now I remember how fun this place is in the dry! I hope the weather holds up and stays dry so the fans get to see a great qualifying session this afternoon. In general, I think we’re in pretty good shape. We have a few optimizations for the car but the engineers are working hard for the next practice in a couple of hours.

Friday, April 27
12:30 p.m.
Hello from Sao Paulo! I just arrived and got to the hotel. Guess what?! It's raining! Yes, it looks like it'll be another wet weekend here in Brazil. No matter the forecast, we'll be ready to give it a shot for another top-10 result.

I'm headed to the garage soon, but here's a quick run-down of the weekend schedule (all times local; that's one hour ahead of Eastern). Live timing & scoring all weekend here.

Saturday, April 28:
8-9:20 a.m. Practice
11:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m. Practice
2:05-3:20 p.m. Qualifying (also on NBC Sports Network at 6 p.m. ET)

Sunday, April 29:
8:30-9 am. Warm-up
12 p.m. Race (Live on NBC Sports Network!)

I'm on a boat!

As some of you may know, I love being out on the water almost as much as I like being in a race car. On Friday, I got to see my new Axis Wake A22 boat for the first time! It was love at first sight. I was able to take it out for a bit, and the great guys at Axis and Mid-Indiana Marine showed me everything it can do. Growing up, I always enjoyed surfing in California as a way to relax and still be active. Hard to find good waves in the Midwest, but now at least I can wake surf behind the boat. I’m super pumped for the summer here in Indy… relaxing on the boat after a good race weekend sounds like the perfect plan to me!

Isn't she pretty?!

On Thursday evening, I head down to Sao Paolo for IndyCar’s third annual event in Brazil. I felt really good after Long Beach, despite our bad luck late in the race. I'm excited to head to Brazil and see what I do there with all of the experience I gained running in the top six in Long Beach. Last year Sao Paulo definitely gave us a wild race and honestly some of the most difficult driving conditions I've ever experienced. That said, the NovoNordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team did a great job keeping me in the race and we had a decent finish under the circumstances. This year I'm going to Brazil with more experience, more confidence and even more drive to get a top-10 finish.

Keep your eye on this blog for updates during the race weekend! I might be a bit delayed with not knowing my connectivity abilities down there, but I’ll do my best! My PLR (Pit Lane Reporter from @racewithinsulin) won't be making the trip so there won't be as many live, 'behind the scenes' tweets, but you can always stay clued in here on my blog!

P.S. Check out this blog post by Brett, a race fan living with diabetes since age 9. I’m honored to be included in your blog, Brett!

Friday greetings, congrats and updates!

Happy Friday!

The big news of the day... congrats to Ambre Morley on her promotion at Novo Nordisk--extremely well-deserved! Ambre has been a major leader and advocate for our partnership program from day one, and I can't thank her enough for lending her expertise, time and support!

After a busy week out on the West coast (you know, the Best coast), I'm laying low for a few days and resting up for Brazil. I stopped by the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing shop on Wednesday to pack up all of my gear for the shipment to Sao Paulo--triple-checked the list, don't worry. Yesterday I spent the afternoon with some elementary school kids at IMS for the 500 Festival Education Program. Hopefully they learned a bit about IndyCar and will come back to see us in May!

The always-popular question: What if you need to go to the bathroom while in the car?!

Race Results - Long Beach 2012

Grand Prix of Long Beach
Finishing position: 18th
Starting position: 9th
Championship standings: 20th
Click here to read the full race report.

Click here to sign up for my email list to receive "Keeping Up to Speed with Charlie" in your inbox!

Live from Trackside – Grand Prix of Long Beach

Sunday, April 15
4:20 p.m.
I think it was an encouraging race even though the result didn’t show it. We had a gearbox problem at the end of the race and just couldn’t get a finish out of it. I’m encouraged by the fact that we ran up front all day, in the top six consistently. Strategy maybe played out a little differently than we had hoped, but the car was easily quick enough for a top six. All credit goes to the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew all weekend; they made my job easy. We probably had a better car than all of the guys I was racing around me. It’s a shame not to get the result but we’ll learn from it, make it even better, go to Brazil, and hopefully head into May with a great result!


10:11 a.m.
It was a really good warm-up session. The track is still a little cold. The sun's out, so it's warming up now. With the temperature, it took a litte while for the tires to come in. Obviously this place is biting people, especially in turn five. The No. 83 team has a really good race car, so I'm looking forward to starting inside the top 10 and hopefully converting that into a top-10 result. It's going to be interesting to see what people do for tire and fuel strategy--I think it will be different for a lot of guys, but we'll be in good shape. I got a couple of extra laps on blacks; between red flags, we didn't even run the red tires so we'll see what it does at the green flag!

I'm about to do a quick meet-and-greet with all of my friends and family that came out this weekend--I can't thank them enough for their support!

Tune in to the Grand Prix of Long Beach at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC Sports Network!

Ready for race day warm-up!

Saturday, April 14
3:34 p.m.
I think that was a good qualifying session. We made some progress. I'm a little disappointed to not be inside the top six; a few tenths would have put me right there. But we did make progress, and we were a lot closer in lap times to my teammates which is big. It looks like, with the others' penalties, I'll start 9th. I'm really excited for tomorrow's race. I think we have a great race car in the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen car. We're in shape for a good race and hopefully a top-10 finish tomorrow.

On another note, here's a great pic of me and the other Charlie (from Friday at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel)!

Mini-me?!

11:55 a.m.
The No. 83 team had a pretty good practice session. After watching it rain yesterday, it was nice to get on track to get some laps in. We made a few changes to the car. It was kind of a scrap session with all of the yellows, but in the end we kept it clean and made some progress. We got quicker yet there's still a little bit more to go. We know what we need to do, and we can look at our teammates' data and we've got some good information ourselves. I'm excited for qualifying on this beautiful California afternoon!


8:59 a.m.
It's a beautiful day at the track! I have a somewhat straight-forward day, with practice at 10:25 a.m. Pacific then qualifying at 2 p.m. Because of the rain yesterday, we only have this morning's practice to focus on our qualifying setup, but I have confidence that the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team will get it done!

Be sure to track live timing and scoring here, or watch qualifying on NBC Sports Network at 6 p.m. Eastern.


Friday, April 13
5:30 p.m.
It's just about been a wash-out with the weather today unfortunately. But that's racing. We'll just have to maximize the time we get on track tomorrow morning for practice. It looks like it should be sunny, so we'll make the most of it before qualifying. We'll focus on getting a good spot and then get the car ready to go during warm-up before Sunday afternoon.

Despite the rain, we have quite a productive and fun day off the track. I got to meet a ton of awesome fans at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel this afternoon, including a four-year-old fellow Type 1 named Charlie (a mini-me!). Charlie is a big racing fan, and he said his bedroom is covered in racing memorabilia. He even has a life-size poster of me on his wall! Later on, his dad Jason was talking to one of my team members and said that Charlie told him he wants to be like me--not because I'm a race car driver, but because he wants to make other kids with Type 1 happy too. So cool (and extremely humbling). It's fans like Charlie that totally make the long days worth it! I can't thank everyone enough for the support!


9:01 a.m. 
Well, Cali is obviously getting back at me for moving to Indy... Nothing like a walk to the track in the rain!

I got an early start today for a live shot on KTLA. Depending on the weather, we'll be on track for practice at 10 a.m. Hopefully it will dry out for the afternoon practice so we get some good time in before tomorrow.

Here's a quick story and photos from my hospital visit with Novo Nordisk on Tuesday: IndyCar Driver Charlie Kimball Visits Miller Children's Memorial Hospital in Long Beach

Live on KTLA!

Thursday, April 12
5:16 p.m.

Talking with the folks from ABILITY Magazine

Just finished up with the track walk. Even if you've driven here a few times, it's always good to refresh your memory and check out any changes. For example, they've moved a couple of walls and repaved the hairpin since last year. That will change how we approach the hairpin, which we'll work on figuring out tomorrow. It looks like rain is in the forecast for tomorrow's practice, so we'll just have to play it by ear.

One thing that struck me this morning when talking to the local radio stations was their excitement for the grand prix. It's always one of my favorites so it's great to hear that the fans and media in SoCal share that excitement when we come to town.

I'm going to have a chat with my engineers, then head to dinner with the family. More tomorrow!

12:01 p.m.
Hello from a (relatively) chilly Long Beach! Yeah, it was only in the low 50's earlier today... which is practically freezing for this part of the world.

This morning I talked to KLAA Anaheim, KTLK 1150 AM and COX TV. I'm just getting some lunch now and then I have an interview with ABILITY Magazine. The fun begins at 2 for the track walk. We didn't have a whole lot of luck here last year, but I think we're starting to get a better feel for the new car. We'll see what we can do on Friday for the first practice!

Here's a quick run-down of the Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend schedule (all times Pacific):
Friday 10-11 a.m. and 2:15-3:15 p.m. -- Practice
Friday 12:30-1:15 p.m. -- Appearance at the Novo Nordisk FlexPen Tunnel (Fan Zone)
Friday 4-5 p.m. -- IndyCar autograph session (Paddock)
Saturday 10:25-11:25 a.m. -- Practice
Saturday 2-3:20 p.m. -- Qualifying
Sunday 9:15-9:45 a.m. -- Warm-up
Sunday 12:30 p.m. -- Grand Prix of Long Beach, live on NBC Sports Network
Live timing and scoring at racecontrol.indycar.com.

P.S. Don't forget to follow @RaceWithInsulin on Twitter -- my new Pit Lane Reporter (PLR) is back and will take cover my feed during practices, qualifying and the race!