Inspiring Driver Looks for Repeat Victory at Mid-Ohio this Weekend

Cambridge, ON - July 30, 2014

This weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, one of our favourite inspiring drivers will be taking to the track looking to repeat his victory last year in the Verizon IndyCar series race.  Charlie Kimball, who drives the Novo Nordisk sponsored 83 car for Chip Ginassi Racing, is a Type 1 Diabetic and has become a hero and role model for many people, both young and old, that deal with Diabetes as part of their everyday lives.

Kimball spends time off the track visiting hospitals, talking to kids living with Diabetes, and attending medical conferences, as well as other related events.  Kimball has also made the trip to Washington, D.C. to testify in front of Congress about Diabetes.  All that said, Charlie Kimball's real power as an inspiration shines through in a brief meeting he had at the 2inTO race with a young four-year-old fan of his.

That young fan had been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes the year prior and his mother had tried to give the young boy the message that having Type 1 Diabetes made his life a bit different but that he could still do anything he wanted.  She introduced Kimball and his career to the young boy in slow increments and was surprised by the positive affect it had on the young man's life, particularly the day they found a picture of Charlie Kimball checking his blood sugars on the pit wall before a race.  That picture was enough to make the young man decide he wanted to check his own blood sugars going forward because if Kimball could do it, so could he.

When the chance came to visit Kimball at the Toronto IndyCar weekend, they jumped at the opportunity.  The young man got to meet his hero, get a signed hero car, and a picture with Kimball.  More important than all of that, Kimball gave the young boy a very important message.  When it was mentioned the young boy was going to go have lunch and take his insulin after the meeting, Charlie replied back with the best message the young man has heard from anyone.

"I have to go eat my lunch and take my insulin too.  You know why?  Because we're part of the cool kids club."

The message pure and simple - It's okay to have to take insulin.  That the message comes from a guy who has to live the same way and do the same thing means everything to a four year old boy struggling to understand why he has to take insulin when his friends and classmates don't.  The power of that message defies words.

This Sunday, tune into the Verizon IndyCar Series race on the NBC Sports Network at 3:00pm EST, to see if Charlie Kimball will take his second career victory in the IndyCar Series.  We'll certainly be cheering for him.

The Highlights of Last Year's Win By Kimball At Mid-Ohio