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Those "Race with Insulin" paint schemes and decals on Chip Ganassi's Race teams this weekend are more than a sponsorship. It's actually a wake-up call of diabetes awareness and treatment.
Jamie McMurray's No. 1 Chevrolet in Martinsville and Charlie Kimball's Dallara-Honda, at Barber Motorsport Park this weekend will have those paint schemes. And all of Ganassi's cars and drivers (Grand-Am, IndyCar and NASCAR) will have some form of identification of this initiative.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 26 million people are currently living with diabetes in the United States.
The pressure surrounding racing is obviously intense. Just imagine the additional pressure for a diabetic crew member who has to monitor his own blood sugar while his focus is more on the car than his health.
One of those crew guys is Randall Burnett the engineer on Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's No. 42 car driven by Juan Pablo Montoya. Burnett has type 1 diabetes. That's the type which is genetic and requires constant monitoring and application of insulin.
During the gruelling NASCAR season Burnett is home only three nights a week.
“It's very intense,” Burnett explains adding “a lot of go-go-go. It's totally different for me on the weekends then it when I'm home I know what I eat for breakfast everyday and do what most diabetics do. Unfortunately this sort of life style doesn't leave a lot of time to do all that.”
Burnett says he must take his blood sugar level readings at least six times a day.
Good thing his mind works like an engineer's: “It's something I've developed over the years. I don't have a constant reminder. I just know I have to keep up with it.
“It's kind of second nature now.”
IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball too, suffers from diabetes.
“Charlie is an emerging talent in the race car, and he is an even better human being. A program like this speaks volumes about him,” said Team Owner Chip Ganassi.
“If our team can help others understand that even with diabetes, you can live life to the fullest, then we are glad to help .
Cars running the special blue circle on the wheels include:
Jamie McMurray's No. 1 Chevrolet in Martinsville and Charlie Kimball's Dallara-Honda, at Barber Motorsport Park this weekend will have those paint schemes. And all of Ganassi's cars and drivers (Grand-Am, IndyCar and NASCAR) will have some form of identification of this initiative.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 26 million people are currently living with diabetes in the United States.
The pressure surrounding racing is obviously intense. Just imagine the additional pressure for a diabetic crew member who has to monitor his own blood sugar while his focus is more on the car than his health.
One of those crew guys is Randall Burnett the engineer on Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's No. 42 car driven by Juan Pablo Montoya. Burnett has type 1 diabetes. That's the type which is genetic and requires constant monitoring and application of insulin.
During the gruelling NASCAR season Burnett is home only three nights a week.
“It's very intense,” Burnett explains adding “a lot of go-go-go. It's totally different for me on the weekends then it when I'm home I know what I eat for breakfast everyday and do what most diabetics do. Unfortunately this sort of life style doesn't leave a lot of time to do all that.”
Burnett says he must take his blood sugar level readings at least six times a day.
Good thing his mind works like an engineer's: “It's something I've developed over the years. I don't have a constant reminder. I just know I have to keep up with it.
“It's kind of second nature now.”
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| Dario Franchitti, Charlie Kimball and Scott Dixon (Photo: Charlie Kimball@Twitter) |
IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball too, suffers from diabetes.
“Charlie is an emerging talent in the race car, and he is an even better human being. A program like this speaks volumes about him,” said Team Owner Chip Ganassi.
“If our team can help others understand that even with diabetes, you can live life to the fullest, then we are glad to help .
- During the weekend CGRT NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Chevrolet SS) will carry a special "Race with Insulin.com" paint scheme at Martinsville Speedway.
- Charlie Kimball will compete with a special Race with "Insulin.com" paint scheme at Barber Motorsports Park in the IZOD IndyCar Series race.
- In addition, all other Chip Ganassi Racing drivers will run special blue wheels to emulate the blue circle that is the International Diabetes Federation's global symbol for diabetes.
Cars running the special blue circle on the wheels include:
- Juan Pablo Montoya's No. 42 Chevrolet SS at the NASCAR race in Martinsville
- Scott Dixon's No. 9 Honda - at the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama
- Dario Franchitti's No. 10 Honda - also at Barber Motorsports Park
- Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas' No. 01 BMW - in Saturday's GRAND-AM race in Alabama