Brack

Hello everyone.

My first race as a member of Team Target was disappointing, to say the least. We struggled at the beginning of the weekend to find the speed we were looking for. We qualified eighth Friday, but I was hoping to go a little bit faster. We made some changes to the car before Saturday's session and I felt like that was going to help us challenge for the pole.

It started to rain shortly before qualifying and we decided to wait and see if the rain would stop. Unfortunately, the rain only got worse and weren't able to get any good laps in. I felt pretty good about the car going into the race Sunday. We kept working on the car, and were able to arrive with a good setup for the race. I took a ride around the track in the parade truck, and the crowd was amazing! There were thousands of screaming fans who were waving and chanting. The fans here are incredible! They are extremely knowledgeable and have a great passion for our sport.

When the race started, I was comfortable to just settle in and get through the first lap. A few corners into the race, I was hit from behind by Townsend Bell. Also involved was Jimmy Vasser and my teammate, Bruno Junqueira.

That contact bent my rear suspension and we had to call it a day. Obviously, I am not very happy about my first race for the team. I was hoping for a better start to the season. But it is a long year and we can get right back in the championship race at our next race in Long Beach, Calif.

I'm on vacation in Cancun, Mexico this week. I've been very busy since the end of last year. I have spent some time back in Sweden, but most of my time has been devoted to testing and moving to my new place in Indianapolis. It's great to take a few days off and just relax. We have had a very busy off-season testing schedule and we'll do some more testing before the next race in Long Beach.

Many people have asked me if I consider myself a favorite for the championship at the end of the season. This is such a competitive series and there are 20 drivers that have a legitimate chance to win each week. You can't say that for any other racing series in my opinion. I think we have a good shot at it, but to say we're the favorite? No way. You have to prepare yourself each day and each week to be a champion and that is how you do it. Day by day.

There are some new rules in our series and it is going to take a while to get used to it. We are going to be qualifying Friday and Saturday, where last year we just qualified Saturday. We don't have as much track time to prepare like we did last year, but it's the same for everybody so we'll have to get used to it.

Things have been going well so far with my new team, Team Target. The guys are working very hard and are extremely driven to succeed this year. You can see it in their eyes that they want the championship as much as I do.

It is going to be an exciting season, I can guarantee you that. I need to go and get some sun now, so I'll talk to you next time!

Kenny Brack, the driver of the No. 12 Lola for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, will be providing a diary to ESPN.com throughout the CART season.