Thanks for your support in IRR’s fourth season!

So many people to thank…If I forget anybody, I apologize.

Thank you to Bloguin for allowing Indy Racing Revolution to have a home and continue to serve the most loyal motorsport fans in the world. It’s great to be on the team.

Thank you to Jorge Mondaca and Fox Sports for your guidance, which has been invaluable as I continue to evolve as a journalist.

Thank you to IndyCar public relations and new media, as well as the teams and drivers’ PR crews, for your assistance throughout the year. It isn’t easy covering this sport when you’re far away from its heart.

Thank you to the rest of the IndyCar blogosphere for your support. I’m lucky to be part of such a fun group. You’re all good writers. You’re all even better people.

Thank you to my family, friends and colleagues for making sure I never give up on my dream, no matter how tough it’s been to make it come true.

Thank you to all of IRR’s readers for still ridin’ with me after four seasons. You have no idea how much I appreciate you guys.

And lastly, I thank God and the Lord Jesus Christ for giving me the strength to go on…

May next season be the best one yet.

— Chris Estrada

The new schedule for the Indianapolis 500 has made fans wait a little longer to hear the roar of IndyCars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

But when the action starts today at Noon ET – with two hours of veteran practice, followed by four hours of rookie orientation – they’re likely to have plenty to keep an eye on. The sense of urgency should ramp up quickly amongst the assembled IZOD IndyCar Series’ drivers and teams, as they’ll only have one week of preparations to whip themselves into shape for next weekend’s qualifying.

That features plenty of new wrinkles, such as a “Fast Nine” format to determine the pole sitter, bigger amounts of prize money for front-row starters, and series championship points on the line as well. And after the grid is set, it’s all downhill to Race Day on Sunday, May 30 (1 p.m. ET, ABC). It’ll certainly be different from past build-ups to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but in the end, it’ll still be about men and women trying to find the path that will lead them to Victory Lane, the glass of milk, and racing immortality.

IndyRacingRevolution.com will be following all the action, starting from this afternoon all the way to the 94^th running of the world’s greatest race. I’ll be in Indy helping to cover the event for FoxSports.com as well, so if you spot me walking around the track, feel free to say hello.

Thanks for your continued support of Indy Racing Revolution. I hope you enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoy creating it.

— Chris Estrada