Charlie Kimball makes new fans at Miller Children’s Hospital
Via Long Beach Press Telegram
April 11, 2014
Racecar drivers have their own pre-race rituals. Some isolate themselves to block out all distractions, some prefer to go out and blow off steam a few nights before the action.
Charlie Kimball has a pre-race ritual, too. He heads to the local hospital.
That’s exactly what he did Wednesday afternoon in Long Beach, spending the second half of his day with the patients and staff at Miller Children’s Hospital. If that sounds like a unique way of getting prepared for a race — and it is — it’s because Kimball is a unique racer, having been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes seven years ago, at the age of 22.
“I had a lot of fun,” said Kimball of his trip to Miller. “It’s always neat to get that chance to interact when you’re in town.”
Kimball visited the hospital last year as well, and has made a habit of stopping in to talk to local kids around the country. He admitted it’s a little different way of getting focused.
“It’s fulfilling for me,” he said. “The job I do on the track is very similar to other drivers — put my helmet on and go to work. But because having diabetes is so personal to me, the work I do as a driver with diabetes rather than just an IndyCar driver, it’s important to me.”
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