Charlie Kimball Quotes & Sayings

“The typical response from people when I tell them I'm diabetic is, 'Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.' You know, I'm not. I'm a better athlete because of diabetes rather than despite it. I'm more aware of my training, my fitness and more aware of nutrition. I'm more proactive about my health.”

“Being diagnosed with diabetes can be a very scary thing, and it can easily make your life stand still for a moment.”

“It takes more than driving to become an IndyCar driver. Gone are the days when drivers show up Friday morning and go home Sunday night. We're all integral to our partnerships, commercially, motorsports. We're as much champions in the boardroom as we are on the racetrack.”

“There's a wire injected under my skin a few days before an event and connected to that is a wireless transmitter. That device communicates my blood-glucose levels to the receiver unit, which is mounted above my steering wheel.”

“Overcoming the obstacle of my diabetes diagnosis was something that forced me tackle the challenge head-on and, with an amazing support system, eventually come out stronger.”

“Gone are the days when you could lie on a beach between races and still be in good enough shape to compete. Gone are the days when simply wearing a brand on your firesuit was enough to justify the marketing expense of an Indy Car. Racing an Indy Car is only about a quarter of my life as a racing driver.”

“I have a great race team, great grew members, awesome health care team, endocrinologist, nutritionist, and of course family and friends. It truly is a team effort, both when you are dealing with diabetes in regular life and also on the racetrack.”

“I have a lot of great racing memories growing up in Europe as a young boy - playing with car parts on my dad's desk, watching the races on Sunday afternoons to try and spot him on TV, even having the chance to go to Formula 1 races where he was working.”

“Racing is what I live for, and it makes my world go around. Having said that, without the support of the diabetes community, I may not have gotten back into the race car after my diagnosis in October 2007.”

“There are days when I still wake up angry, and no one handles it perfectly all the time, but honestly, I feel lucky to have diabetes because of the people I get to meet. The families, the kids, the parents, the other athletes. If I could pick a club to be in, this would definitely be it.”