In 2005, Indy racecar driver Charlie Kimball, from Camarillo, was the first American in 13 years to win a British Formula 3 race. In 2006, he was the first American ever to win a Formula 3 Euro Series race. And just when his winning streak was hitting top speed, in October of 2007, Charlie was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Game over—at least that’s what some would think. But Charlie learned to control his diabetes and stayed behind the wheel, continuing to excel. Today, he is the only licensed driver with diabetes in the history of the Indy Racing League. His goal: To become the first driver with diabetes to race in and win the Indianapolis 500.
Between visits to Victory Lane, Charlie, through his partnership with Novo Nordisk, a healthcare company specializing in diabetes care, has been spreading the message that “Diabetes doesn’t have to slow you down.” This is a man who regularly sees the world at 200 miles per hour; he knows what he’s talking about.
You live in Europe, but your local roots run deep. Do you still call Ventura County home?
Yes, both my parents grew up in Santa Paula. They have an avocado farm between Santa Clarita and Fillmore, in the Santa Clara River Valley. I lived in Camarillo through high school and graduated from Rio Mesa in June of 2003. Then in January of 2004, I moved to Europe to race in British Formula Ford open wheeled cars. I worked my way up through the ranks, did really well, and in 2005 I was the first American in 13 years to win a British Formula 3 race. In 2006, I was the first American ever to win a Formula 3 Euro Series race. Then in October of 2007, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
A lot happened in your life during those four years. As you look back now, what are your thoughts?
When I look back at it, I traveled, raced, and accomplished a lot in what would have been my college years. I graduated in the top 10 of my class at Rio Mesa and was accepted to Stanford University for their engineering program. I had fallen in love with the racetrack and decided that if I couldn’t drive the racecars then I wanted to be able to design them, like my father had. I deferred enrollment to Stanford to pursue my career and was successful enough that I could continue racing rather than go back to college. I still want to go back to school and get a degree, because when I have kids down the line it’d be hard to tell them they need to go to college if I haven’t.
What is it about racing that captured your heart at a young age?
I think a lot of it comes down to the competition, the speed, and being on a racetrack. My first go-karting experiences were at the Jim Hall Kart Racing School in Oxnard. My dad and I would throw the go-kart in the back of the pickup, drive to the track, and my mom and sister would come out with a picnic. It was a family event and a way for my dad and me to spend time together on the weekend. When I turned 16, they gave me a two-day practice voucher for a Formula Ford ride at Buttonwillow Raceway up near Bakersfield. After my first 10 laps I came in, and before I had taken my helmet off my dad could see my smile. He looks back on it and says, “That was the beginning of the end.” I perpetually correct him by saying, “No, that was just the beginning of the rest of my life.”
How did you find out you have diabetes?
I had been at a race in the Czech Republic and went to the doctor for a skin rash. They gave me a cream to clear it up and asked me if there was anything else going on with my health. I said, “Well, I’ve been kind of thirsty lately.” His head popped up and he asked, “How thirsty is kind of thirsty?” I said, “Four, five, six bottles of water a night.” He asked, “Have you lost any weight? Why don’t you jump on the scale?” I had lost 25 pounds in a week. He said, “I want to draw some blood to confirm this, but these are very key indications of diabetes.” He sent me over to the endocrinologist and the diabetes specialist, and she came in and showed me how to inject insulin using Novo Nordisk’s Levemir FlexPen. I got on insulin and my blood sugars came down; I started to feel better.
How long was it before you got behind the wheel again?
It was probably about six weeks later when I got back into a racecar. Before then, I had asked the doctor if I was ever going to be able to. There are moments in your life when you know you have to ask the hard questions. It seemed like an eternity before the doctor looked up at me and said, “I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be able to drive a racecar again—if you can apply the same discipline that you apply to being a professional racing driver to your diabetes management.”
What kind of discipline do you have to apply to manage your diabetes?
On a race day, my preparation to get into a car entails a lot more than before I was diagnosed. From the second I wake up in the morning I am preparing. I get up, I check my blood sugar, inject Levemir, eat, and inject NovoLog if I need it. I start managing my blood sugar from the moment I get up in the morning, planning for the moment I get into the racecar. All through the day I’m eating and adjusting my nutrition, preparing so that when I get into the car I know my blood sugar is in the target zone. When I’m driving, I don’t have to worry about diabetes. I can focus on winning, and diabetes is, pardon the pun, in the back seat rather than behind the wheel.
Do you use any special equipment in your racecar to help you manage your diabetes?
When I’m in the car driving, whether it’s at practice, while qualifying, or on race day, I’ve got a couple of tools that are different than what all the other drivers on the grid have. I wear a sensor that attaches to the steering wheel so that I can keep an eye on my blood sugar. If that display shows me going low, or lower than I’d like to be, I also have a drink bottle in the car—it’s similar to a CamelBak system like the cyclists, mountain bikers, or runners wear. The tube runs from that bottle up to a tube in my helmet. Inside the helmet I can drink orange juice or some other glucose rich fluid, like sugar water, to get my blood sugar back up so that I don’t have to stop. I’ve never needed it to continue driving, but it’s a good safety net just in case.
How has diabetes affected you as a person and an athlete?
A lot of the times when I tell people I was diagnosed with diabetes, their typical response is, “I’m sorry to hear that.” My typical response to that is, “Well, I’m not.” If I could give it back, I would—don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of times when I need to vent about it. But more often than not I feel that I’m a better person and a better athlete because of it rather that despite it.
Tell us about your relationship with Novo Nordisk. What does giving back to the diabetes community mean to you?
The greatest thing about working with Novo Nordisk is that it’s not your typical Pennzoil, McDonald’s, or Motorola; it’s not a racing sponsorship with just marketing value, it’s a true organic partnership in that I use the insulin they make to keep me healthy and keep me in the racecar. Together we are trying to get my story out there and prove to people that diabetes doesn’t have to be a roadblock. With a good routine, good management, and good health care, you can do almost anything you want in life. There are a couple of ways I do that: The racecar and my helmet both feature the Novo Nordisk brand as well as the Levemir and NovoLog brands, the two insulins I use to manage my diabetes. I also go to American Diabetes Association expos and Taking Control of your Diabetes health fairs. I talk to people because it’s important to me to give back to that same community that helped me.
06-01-2010
