IndyCar’s Charlie Kimball an inspiration to other diabetics

Via San Francisco Chronicle
August 22, 2014

When Charlie Kimball drives in an IndyCar race, as he will Sunday at the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, he has a huge fan club rooting for him.

“I’m biased,” he said, “but I think the diabetes community is one of the strongest in the world.”

Kimball, 29, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes seven years ago. He was racing open-wheel cars in Europe and went to a doctor to check on an unrelated skin rash.

“I realized I had lost 25 pounds in just five days,” he said, “and my sugars were 5-6 times what they should have been. I guess my blood sugar was so high, I wasn’t really thinking clearly.”

Six months later, he finished second in his first race. “I remember standing on the podium thinking, not only am I the same competitor, but I’m a better athlete because of this rather than despite it,” he said.

When he joined Chip Ganassi Racing in 2011, Ganassi told him not to worry about winning while he learned the ropes from teammates Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti. Just finish the races, he was told.

Last year he had had enough seasoning. The training wheels were gone. He celebrated his first win at Mid-Ohio, and a lot of fellow diabetics celebrated with him. Winless this year, he stands 13th in the standings.

Novo Nordisk, which makes the insulin he uses and the insulin-delivery systems, has sponsored his car from the start. He monitors his blood sugar during each race. He carries not only a bottle of water like the other drivers, but also a bottle of orange juice and uses a valve to switch between the two.

He said he loves to hear the stories of other diabetics, many of whom have been inspired by his own. “To prove that you can still live your dream has been extremely rewarding,” he said. “I hear people say, ‘I’ve always wanted to run a marathon, and I can do it if Charlie can drive a race car.’ ”

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