Diabetics Doing NASCAR with Ryan Reed

[00:00:07] Rob Howe: Welcome to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast. We've been telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics all across the world since 2015, and we have over a thousand years of living with T1D on the podcast. The interviews range from incredible feats to everyday victories, and we celebrate them all just the same. Thanks for listening, and if you want to get involved even further, just send me an email at rob at diabeticsdoingthings.com. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We are telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics from all across the world. And my very special guest with me today is type 1 diabetic and NASCAR driver, Ryan Reed. Welcome to the show, Ryan.

[00:01:02] Ryan Reed: Yeah, man. Thanks for having me on.

[00:01:03] Rob Howe: Well, we appreciate the time. And, you know, we've been planning for this interview for a couple weeks. We've got a lot of really exciting questions to cover. But if you know anything about this show, the thing I think that makes it kind of nice for people right away is that we get to know how you were diagnosed with type 1 and how you came to join this family.

[00:01:23] Ryan Reed: Yeah, this exclusive club. Well, so I've been racing since I was a kid, and I was 17, 16, 17, and I was racing out on the West Coast. I grew up in Bakersfield, California. And I was, I mean, like Dad said, I was going to be a NASCAR driver since I was a little kid, and I was doing pretty well out there in some developmental series, and went in some races. Things were going really good, and I was actually getting ready to move back to North Carolina, which is kind of like the hub for NASCAR. And I mean, I felt like I was on top of the world. 17 years old, getting ready to move across the country, away from my parents, get some freedom, and winning races. And so I thought everything was going really good. And I just kind of felt like I was a little bit untouchable. And I started to get pretty sick. And then just kind of had all the typical symptoms. Just didn't feel like myself. I was really fatigued, tired all the time, drinking a ton of water. I think that was probably the biggest thing was just how thirsty I was all the time. Obviously, you know, going to the bathroom a lot, peeing a lot, you know, and just was just not myself. Losing a lot of weight. I was getting really skinny. So I was out in North Carolina for a couple weeks actually getting an apartment set up, working on race cars, having some meetings with teams and stuff. Just trying to get some groundwork for when I moved back there. and I came back to Bakersfield and saw my parents and I hadn't seen them in a couple weeks and they were right then and there knew that something was wrong. I'd been telling them I wasn't feeling very good and they could just you know see that how much weight I had lost and just just how how sick you know I came across and so went to the doctor and told them my symptoms and they right away checked my blood sugar and I think it was over 400 and so they diagnosed me on the spot out with diabetes and then the rest was history. Do you remember, and I think this is important

[00:03:20] Rob Howe: too, because you mentioned growing up in Bakersfield, like race car driving is in your blood, right? That's in your family. So obviously something that, you know, your whole life was really important to you and still is obviously. But when you heard, you know, hey, I'm diagnosed with diabetes, what was kind of going through your mind?

[00:03:40] Ryan Reed: yeah i think that was um you know getting told you have any any lifelong disease or illness um it's it's terrifying right like you know it's scary and i didn't know all the details but you know i i kind of you know knew this is something i was gonna have to manage day in and day out and i didn't know a lot about it but the little bit i did and that was scary but my first my first question was sorry about that um my first question was you know how is this going to affect my racing um definitely was on the forefront of my mind you know I'd been thinking about it since the time I walked in the doctor's office and so right away within the first five minutes uh asked him you know what it would do to me as far as racing goes and they told me that I would I would never race again and I think at that point you know is when I was definitely realized this is a lot more serious I guess I anticipated or I guess I just realized the severity of it in general and then number two that's when I got scared because you know I mean I could deal with the thought of taking shots every day or checking my blood sugar every day or um you know counting carbs stuff like that you know I could I could deal with that but you know If it meant it was going to cost me my dreams and something I'd worked for since I was four years old, that was terrifying to me. And so that was definitely the toughest part of the diagnosis and what I remember the most about it.

[00:05:09] Rob Howe: And I think we've had a couple guests on the show who were pilots. One was a pilot in the military when he was diagnosed. Another was like a commercial airline pilot had been flying for like 10 years. there's a there's a select few things that you currently can't do with with type 1 and you know at one point you know race car driving was one of those you know for a couple different reasons what so for you obviously right then kind of taking that emotional weight of the diagnosis and the you know prognosis that you couldn't drive anymore when did you start looking you know for second opinions because i think that's something that's really important to this conversation is it started with, well, okay, I'm not entirely going to accept that. I got to go find out if I can do this. I'm not long after, I mean,

[00:06:00] Ryan Reed: a family friend of ours was an endocrinologist. And she, you know, I mean, it was like, I think anytime I didn't know much about diabetes, I think that made it more tough. I didn't, didn't know, I didn't have a lot of family friends that had a lot of knowledge or my parents didn't know a lot about it. So, you know, a lot of my, a lot of what I relied on for information was from the doctor who diagnosed me and then reached out to our family friend who is an endocrinologist and she was really helpful as far as, you know, definitely I was diagnosed by a general physician and then obviously going to an endo, you're getting a lot more information, a lot more, a lot more clarity on what to expect on how to treat it. And, you know, as far as day to day you know she definitely did a good job of getting uh you know me into a good rhythm and a good um you know just get just managing my day-to-day blood sugar but she didn't know a lot about nascar she didn't know a lot about um what it would take to get me back on the racetrack so i you know she she was a little bit more like hey i don't want to say one way or the other obviously that'd be that's a tough profession regardless and throw diabetes in there you know i can't really say with any certainty yes or no. And so that was, you know, put me two, three, four weeks after the diagnosis. And, uh, I think at this point, not that I had my mind made up that I wasn't going to drive race car again, but the odds aren't, weren't in my favor. At least I didn't feel like they were. So I just started doing some research. Um, and you know, most of my research entailed looking up athletes with diabetes. Um, you know, I felt like if I could find any inspiration. It'd be people that, you know, were out there doing what they love despite having diabetes. And so once I started doing that, I came across a long list of incredible individuals that were doing, like what this whole podcast is about, you know, people with diabetes doing amazing things. Things that would be challenging regardless of, you know, if you had diabetes or not. And so that was the first time I had a little bit of glimmer. Um, you know, not a lot, there was nothing in there about NASCAR driving. Um, but I came across a doctor, an endocrinologist in Southern California. So only a couple hours away from my hometown who worked with some of these athletes, um, a number of them. So I was like, well, if anybody could, you know, help me, you know, kind of get on the right path here, it'd be her. And so her name's Anne Peters and reached out to her, uh, long story short, you know, she had a really long waiting list but after a few calls uh my dad called the receptionist and uh told her my whole story about where i was and what was going on and uh she told Anne and Anne got us right in you know cleared a spot um a day or two later and when i went in there i went into the doctor's office and she you know i go in there we go through all the steps you know i wait um check my a1c do a little bit of blood work um and i meet with Anne and i i mean i was so i've never been, especially at that age, I wasn't bashful, you know what I mean? But at this point, I was pretty gun-shy, just about, I couldn't take much more rejection. And so I was just like, I've been racing my whole life, and my dream is to be a NASCAR driver. That's all I've ever wanted, et cetera, et cetera. And she was like, well, how disciplined are you? How bad do you want this kind of thing you know how dedicated to this are you really and she's like I was like oh I mean I'll do anything you know whatever whatever it takes so really that was exactly what you wanted to hear was hey is there a chance yeah and then yeah from there as soon as I said I'd be willing to do whatever it takes she was like okay well then we're gonna make it happen and it was that I mean within the first five minutes of talking to her it was it wasn't a maybe it wasn't a hey we'll work towards it it was a we are going to do this together and so um you know it that was I think at that point too, I realized just how important the mental side of diabetes was and how important a positive outlook instead of doom and gloom, that positive attitude can really make all

[00:10:02] Rob Howe: the difference. And I mean, you mentioned, uh, you know, that you weren't gun shy. Um, and I, I imagine being shy doesn't help you much as in a race car driver or in, you know, in the cockpit of a race car. Um, but you know, having that boldness and being able to say, Hey, this is what I want, I think is something that a lot of different people struggle with maybe early on, especially with their diabetes, because it is a lot of information to take in. I kind of like to talk about there's two moments of diagnosis with type 1 is one when the doctor tells you that you have it. And number two, when you fully accept it and say, OK, I'm still going to live my life the way I want with this disease, whatever it is. So that second moment for you obviously happened pretty quickly. And I think coincided with how bad you wanted to chase your dream and become a NASCAR driver. I know I, and I'm going to divert a little bit here, but I met Charlie Kimball at a JDRF event here in Dallas a few months ago. Uh, and I read in an article that I believe it's the same doctor that, uh, found there. So did you kind of go in knowing that you knowing that there was another, you know, he's not a NASCAR driver, but he is a race car driver. So you kind of knew there was a chance. Did it give you any hope at all? Or did you know any of that at that point?

[00:11:12] Ryan Reed: Yeah, so I did. I had read about Charlie and I didn't know his story until I was diagnosed, until I read about it. And I didn't know that he had diabetes. And so, yeah, that was definitely a big moment when I read that there was another race car driver. Now, IndyCars is so much different than NASCAR. I mean, it's a completely different sanctioning body. Whether or not you could even get medically cleared even if you get medically cleared in indycar does not mean you get cleared in in nascar and also too i mean there's just you know the the vast differences in in the in the race car themselves you know i mean indycar is open cockpit um nascar you have you know 140 150 degree temperatures inside the car so there's just a lot of different elements um and a lot of different rules and regulations and stuff like that the change um it it changes how we you know and we'll talk about it today, how much different it is, you know, that how I manage my diabetes versus Charlie, just in the difference in, in, in motorsports. Yeah. And I think,

[00:12:16] Rob Howe: you know, without diving too deep, deep into a technical discussion about sort of the differences that the drivers go through between the two sports, uh, you know, they talked a lot about at this event, you know, he's got the CGM integrated into the car and, um, you know, at some point there, there's a, you know, could be a, you know, shut off or a warning. I guess he's never had an issue. Uh, so maybe talk a little bit about how your diabetes integrates into your, your driving cockpit and how you guys, you and your team not only track the performance of your car, but also your performance during a really strenuous exercise. I think it's another thing, the casual, uh, you know, sports watcher may not realize is the amount of physical stress that you undergo during a NASCAR race, especially like G forces and dehydration and all these things that would definitely affect your diabetes?

[00:13:02] Ryan Reed: Yeah, so I think right off the bat, you mentioned Charlie. So I use the CGM as well, and that was kind of the cornerstone of how we built the management, my diabetes management inside the car because obviously the first step to diabetes management is know where your blood sugar is. So one of the things that makes it a lot different for me is that NASCAR has a really strict policy on how you transmit data outside of a car. So really, without getting too technical, you don't want... NASCAR really wants to prevent the use of anything that was inside the car sending a signal outside. So that way, you don't have teams getting a ton of data from inside the race car to keep the cost down, to keep it fair.

[00:13:49] Rob Howe: It's a performance-enhancing drug, basically.

[00:13:52] Ryan Reed: Yeah, exactly. It could be performance-enhancing. So my Dexcom, or my continuous glucose monitor is, I use the receiver itself, the traditional receiver, and I just mount it on my dash next to all my gauges. So, you know, IndyCar, the team watches a lot of what's going on in the car, you know, engine temperature, stuff like that, where in NASCAR, the driver's doing that. So the team doesn't know how hot the engine's running, what the oil temp's running, what your RPM is, et cetera. That's all on me. And so along with monitoring all that, I also monitor my blood sugar. So really, you know, it kind of coincides, and it really wasn't that big of a transition. People always ask me, how could you possibly watch your blood sugar while you're going 200 miles an hour? And it's just part of what we do. I mean, it's just built in. You know, we constantly scan and monitor our gauges, and part of my gauges is a glucose reading.

[00:14:46] Rob Howe: and and and i imagine too it's uh i mean you know how you feel even if you were didn't have diabetes going into a race if you're feeling under the weather or you know you're feeling off you know that and recognize that as the driver and still have to you know take in all the necessary information to make those decisions on the fly yeah i mean that's something i talk about a lot

[00:15:05] Ryan Reed: you know everyone has a responsibility not just in nascar but you know for sure when you're gonna go race a motorized vehicle um you know you have to show up rested you have to show up you know you can't go out partying that up or you can't get drunk you know i mean you have responsibilities to take care of yourself and be fit and ready to go to be in that race car and mine are no different just i happen to have diabetes and i also have to have i i control you know i have to i have to control my blood sugar before i get inside the race car and so it's just yes i have added responsibility but it's no different you know when you're racing around 39 other competitors you have responsibility to yourself and to them to be safe and fit to get in that race car. And so, you know, I just look at it as another thing I have to deal with. And, you know, I take that responsibility very seriously. And so it's not really scary to me, you know, I mean, anything, anything could happen in a race car, right? I mean, it's a, it's a dangerous sport. And so yes, there is always the opportunity for a bad thing to happen. But if you check all the boxes and make sure that you're doing your job, and it's no different than having all the safety equipment just right, you know, you wouldn't get in there without a fire a suit, a helmet, a seatbelt, et cetera. And I wouldn't get inside my car without a continuous glucose monitor and a way to, you know, uh, either raise or lower my blood sugar.

[00:16:15] Rob Howe: So with that in mind, um, you mentioned the temperatures of a NASCAR cockpit can get exceptionally high. How do you treat your, uh, how do you treat your diabetes? Do you have a pump? Do you, uh, you know, do you use multiple daily injections? Is there anything special that you do on race day compared to every other day? You know, I try to keep it as consistent as possible

[00:16:35] Ryan Reed: just because I feel like having that consistency, having the consistency in my diet, having the consistency in my exercise, and having consistency in the delivery method of my insulin, all that is really important, I feel, to make sure that I'm managing it the best of my ability, especially on race day. But you mentioned the temperatures, 150 degrees, that's a hot day, but 135, 140, Those are pretty common temperatures to see inside of a race car. And so you're losing a lot of, I mean, there's no way to be that hot and not, you know, lose quite a bit of fluid. And so drinking a ton of water both before the race and then throughout the race. I have a 100-ounce bladder inside the car that there's a hose that runs to the front of my helmet so I can drink continuously throughout the race. I have a water bottle that is kind of a sports drink mix. It's really high in glucose. So if I did have a low blood sugar, you know, I can catch it early on with using my CGM and then treat it early on. But really, I don't fight low blood sugars all that often. You know, I think you hear people talk a lot about when they're either working out or, you know, in a sporting event, their blood sugar goes up. And that, you know, that holds true for mine as well. And so really, I have to watch, you know, making sure my blood sugar doesn't go too high. and that's tricky because it's hard to keep in it's impossible to keep insulin at 140 150 degrees you know i mean you start to have confidence that it would you know not lose its effectiveness or whatever and so um i actually keep my insulin at the pit box and so if i needed a injection during the race i would actually um come down pit road make a pit stop and you know if it worked out i could probably even time it uh during you know a scheduled pit stop for fuel and tires and so So there's a target or a bullseye on my left leg in my fire suit to indicate where to give me that injection. Luckily, I try really hard and work really hard to start the race at a consistent blood sugar that I know is low enough, not too low, but low enough to where my blood sugar doesn't go too high throughout the race, which is about 100 to 120. And if I do that, I've never had to have an insulin injection during the race. But either way, whether we need it to or not, we have that, we practice it, we feel really comfortable doing that.

[00:18:52] Rob Howe: That's really cool. I just imagine you just like swinging through pit road while everybody's doing all their work super fast. Some guy just reaches in there and jabs you with a shot and you just get on the road.

[00:19:03] Ryan Reed: Yeah, no, I'm kind of, you know, maybe one of these days when we're having a bad race and we're running around there in the back of the pack, we'll just do a little practice just so everyone at home can see what it would be like.

[00:19:13] Rob Howe: that yeah that would be cool to watch it not to say that that will happen uh knowing and kind of looking at your you know the trajectory of your career and where you're heading right now um which is a good transition right um you've had multiple top 10 finishes uh in in your career and you finished eighth overall in points last year um what are you looking forward to in 2018 what's the uh you know what are you and your team obviously you guys go back to the drawing board in the offseason and prepare. What can we expect from Ryan Reed next season?

[00:19:44] Ryan Reed: Yeah, so, you know, last year, you know, I think probably the highlight of our year, you know, you mentioned finished eighth in points, which was cool. You know, we got into the playoffs. You know, 12 teams get locked in the playoffs, and then you kind of compete down, and they narrow it down. And then obviously one person's crowned champion. And unfortunately it wasn't us, so it wasn't, you know, until we get a championship, it wasn't a great year. but we started the year off with a win at Daytona which is kind of our Super Bowl so to speak, that's our biggest race of the year so I've won that race twice now and unbelievable feeling and I think that those are my two wins at Daytona, I've seen an overwhelming response from fans but the ones that really stick out to me are all the people who either have diabetes or are affected by diabetes their kids or a loved one And so, you know, to see that response and that support means a lot to me. And that's something that really keeps me motivated both on and off the racetrack. But then, you know, looking forward, you know, going into this year, off seasons are huge. I mean, that's where you feel like you really can make or break your next season. You do a ton of work. The driver, obviously, you know, his keys are staying fit or, you know, getting more fit, you know, becoming a better athlete, staying involved in the shop. simulator time, stuff like that, being sharp, you know, so you do step back in a race car, you know, you don't have a whole lot of rust to knock off. And then the teams, you know, the team, the guys back at the shop, the guys and girls, you know, building new race cars, building better race cars, you know, using technology to constantly improve, you know, our race crafts. And so there's a lot, you know, and a lot of it, all the, you know, all the aero engineering and stuff like that's above my, above my head. You need someone a lot smarter than me to figure all that out, but luckily we do and so um it's been it's been an amazing few years and excited to be uh going back at it next year and uh Lilly Diabetes has been you know our primary sponsor every single year and so cool to see a company that's uh an organization's committed to um to to awareness program like this you know we do so much obviously on the racetrack racing with lily diabetes on the hood and me spreading my story you know when i get out of the race car but then off the racetrack traveling all over the country, uh, telling my story and encourage, encouraging people to, uh, to chase

[00:22:02] Rob Howe: their dreams with diabetes. I have kind of two questions to follow up with that. Cause I think a lot of awesome information, one, uh, being able to say that you're, you know, your, your lead sponsor is a company that provides insulin to so many people and people who are like you. Um, what's that mean for you and your team to say, you know, have, have someone from the diabetes world supporting, you know, what you're doing. Um, and I'll leave it at that one and then we'll

[00:22:27] Ryan Reed: follow up into the next one. Yeah. You know, when, when Lilly first signed with us, um, I think it was 2000 going in 2014 season. Yeah. It was, you know, it was, it was unusual to see, I mean, and honestly, um, you know, you, you probably don't see many campaigns like this, especially in sports. Um, because, you know, it wasn't about, um, you know, you see a lot of companies on race cars that are just representing their brand and want to get notoriety for their company, which is great. I mean, that's sports marketing and that's what we, uh, we love about it. Um, but then also too, but this is so much different, you know, it, it was, it's not just about, um, representing Lilly as a company, but it was, it was honestly about, they wanted to get my message out there. And, um, obviously the, the NASCAR platform allows you such a great place for so many eyes to see it. And so going full-time back in 2014 and being able to tell my story to hundreds of thousands of people every single week was so cool. And to see the response back then was amazing. And Lilly had never been in any sort of NASCAR campaign before. And we've continued to grow that. And now it's not just about what we do on the racetrack, like I said. Last year I went to, I don't know how many different diabetes-related events, whether it's summer camps for kids with diabetes or different galas or dinners or walks, Tour de Cure, stuff like that. I'm able to go there. I think the most rewarding part for me is when I get to go to summer camps and stuff like that. Those are some of my favorite because when you meet a seven-year-old kid with diabetes and you're a NASCAR driver, there's a pretty good connection there right away. And they love to see the race car and they love to see pictures. And then I think that those are the times when I meet those kids, those are the ones that really make me strive that extra bit to go get more wins or go get more top fives, go compete for a championship, dig a little deeper because there's a lot of gratification when you can see a little bit of inspiration for those kids.

[00:24:42] Rob Howe: And kind of with that in mind, really from the get go in your NASCAR career, I mean, I guess because it corresponded maybe so closely with your, you know, entering into the type 1 diabetes world. You know, you founded Ryan's Mission and you partner with other organizations on the drive to stop diabetes. You mentioned, you know, what it's like to go interact with kids and go to camps. um how how does that impact you as a person you know when you when you get to see you know yeah it's nice that you know you get to be a nascar driver with type 1 but for you for ryan reed do you have a story that sticks out for somebody that you were able to sort of help or a conversation you had with someone across the country and you know how does that you know help you you know in your own personal management of diabetes because you know outside of a nascar driver you're still a type 1 diabetic so you know you've got to go through the same things that the rest of us have

[00:25:32] Ryan Reed: to go through on a daily basis. Yeah. Um, yeah, you're, you're absolutely right. You know, I think for me when I, when I, after I got diagnosed and got back to racing, uh, you mentioned Ryan's mission, Ryan's mission was just a website, you know, just a told my story. And I just wanted, you know, I figured there's other kids like me who getting diagnosed, told that they can't do, you know, X, Y, or Z. And then maybe they could find some inspiration in my story. And, you know, I think one of the things that I never had any dreams of, you know, I mean, at that point I wasn't even racing in NASCAR I was just racing in in development series and you know racing in NASCAR was still like you know that that you know elusive thing out in the future that you hopefully could attain and so you know from there I I started to actually have you know people reach out to me on Facebook and stuff and um I remember there was a girl named Kayla that you know reached out and actually I was testing in Daytona um in in a lower series and And they were like, hey, is there any way we can – they lived in Florida, and they wanted to come hang out and meet me. She really wanted to meet me. She was really inspired by my story. And, like, I didn't even know how to respond because, I mean, to that point, all I ever wanted to do was drive race cars. I mean, I never thought about growing up being inspiration or, you know, being some super superstar that, you know, kids looked up to. I just wanted to go drive race cars because I love to do it. And, you know, I met Kayla, and, you know, I don't remember how old. You know, she was probably 8, 9, 10, somewhere in there. and to see, you know, the family, the mom and the grandma were there, and to see, you know, they were just like, you know, this means so much to us that you can go out there, you can drive race cars, you can live your dream, provide so much inspiration for Kayla that, you know, she feels like she can do whatever she wants, and that was the first time I ever experienced that, and I knew that I wanted to do that as much as I possibly could because I was so fortunate to, to not only be in a position to where I could go out there and drive race cars and be blessed with talents to do what I love to do, et cetera, et cetera, but what was more important to me was that I was diagnosed and had the right people around me to help me get back in a race car, have the right doctor, have an amazing mom and dad that supported me from day one. And from there, I just wanted to continue to grow Ryan's mission or whatever allowed me, partner with Lilly Diabetes and work with ADA, work with JDRF, work with different foundations, just continue to spread that story and, you know, just kind of grew from there.

[00:27:54] Rob Howe: It's incredible, man. You know, just hearing you talk about interacting with the diabetes community, you know, you can tell how much you care about it and how much it means to you. And, you know, we're really grateful for it. You know, having somebody else out there for, you know, kids to look up to and say, hey, I can do anything, you know, look at this guy, you know, that's huge for, you know, for people all over the world. So thank you for all that you do. And obviously we're supporting you. I do have a question because you kind of brought it up. When you think about that doctor that told you that you couldn't drive anymore, what kind of, and I'm not trying to imp you into some real competitive NASCAR type response, but what do you think about that when you think about those first few weeks?

[00:28:40] Ryan Reed: Yeah, I actually get that question quite a bit. When you're on camera, you're a little more PC about it. But yeah, I mean, certainly, you know, I look at it and I think that the doctor was honestly believed. You know, it wasn't – they weren't out to get me. They weren't trying to sabotage my career. They weren't – you know, I don't think that I wrecked somewhere along the way that she was a fan of. I think that – personally, I think that, you know, one of the things that's tough about diabetes is there's a lack of information, you know, and the lack of education out there at times, even in the healthcare system, where, you know, they don't know about all the current technology. They didn't know about, I don't think that they knew about CGMs and different delivery methods of insulin. And, you know, I think the CGM technology, even since I was diagnosed, has come such a long way, but it's management in general, you know, it's allowed people to do so much more. And so I don't, I don't have any ill will, you know, Um, I don't, but I mean, I certainly hope that that doctor, uh, remembered, have remembered it and, um, you know, has seen along the way that, Hey, he made this happen and, and doesn't tell someone else the same thing they told me.

[00:29:48] Rob Howe: Well, you know, I love it as a, as a positive opportunity to spread awareness and to, uh, you know, hold your head high for, for something that you could do, you know? And it's interesting when you think about, I've had some guests on the podcast that are from small towns. Um, Bakersfield, California is by no means a small town, but it's a little bit more, off the beaten path. Um, and you know, the awareness level, like you said, in the healthcare system, um, is sometimes limited, you know, not every doctor can be an expert on everything. Um, so yeah, anytime that we have an opportunity to spread that awareness, uh, you know, not going

[00:30:23] Ryan Reed: to find a better example than this one right here. Yeah, for sure. You know, and we race, uh, all over the country. And a lot of times we race in some more rural areas that, you know, are smaller towns, smaller communities. And so, you know, when we go into those markets, we take every opportunity we can. We go to, you know, a lot of these health care systems throughout there and talk to diabetes support groups, you know, and meet with their endocrinologist. And it's amazing to see even, you know, it still kind of takes me back to hear, oh, yeah, you know, we talk to an endocrinologist, and they will tell me that they tell their patients about me and my story all the time to use as an example of what you can do. and so I'm just so thankful for the opportunity to do that and thankful for Lilly and Roush Fenway with the race team for for giving giving me the opportunity to use the use the platform

[00:31:09] Rob Howe: uh well they handed over the keys to the right guy um I think I think for sure and pardon the pun there that was terrible I should just just log off now for that um if it makes you feel better

[00:31:19] Ryan Reed: we don't actually have keys for our race car so yeah it was great I knew I knew I was smarter

[00:31:23] Rob Howe: than that terrible pun I just used. Okay, so I asked this question at the end of all of my interviews. So really interested to hear your answer. And the context is important. You're a guy that travels a lot. So I feel like you'll definitely understand the situation here. So imagine that you're in an airport and you're at your gate and they're about to close the door to your gate. And for whatever reason, whatever's on the other end of that flight, you can't miss it. Whether it's a race or whatever, a little bit easier for you because there's stuff that you literally can't miss. But you bump into somebody who's either been diagnosed recently with type 1 or struggling with their type 1. In that 30 seconds before they shut the door to your gate, what do you leave them with? What's the one thing you tell them?

[00:32:08] Ryan Reed: Yeah. And this is, you know, I think because of my diagnosis and my personal experience with diabetes, you know, this is what I remember the most about being in that position. It's don't be scared of it. you know, treat, manage your diabetes with confidence and, and you're going to make mistakes. Don't get discouraged, but most of all, don't let it stop you from what you love to do. And that, that goes across, you know, don't, don't let it control your life. Don't let it dictate what you do day in and day out. Just manage it. Be, be smart about it, be prepared, um, and do it the right way. But if you, if you do and you're smart about it, then it's not going to stop you from whatever it is that you want to do. I love it. And that's true. I echo that

[00:32:51] Rob Howe: sentiment a hundred times over. That's, uh, that's fantastic. Ryan, man, thanks so much for taking the time today to, uh, to chat with us. Um, I know the community is going to respond really well to be able to hear your voice and to, you know, uh, hear your story more personally. So I'm super grateful if our followers, listeners, whatever want to connect with you online, what's the best

[00:33:12] Ryan Reed: way to find you? Yeah, I'm on Facebook. I just Ryan Reed on Facebook and then Instagram, Twitter, Instagram and Twitter is driver at driver Ryan Reed. And so, yeah, I mean, I love to see it. If you have any questions for me, Twitter, Facebook, those are those the best ways. Try to respond as much as I can. And yeah, so it's it's so cool to be on here, man. I appreciate you giving me a chance to tell my story and talk about diabetes and to talk about racing because it's getting that time of year where I haven't been in a car in a couple months, so at least talking about it makes me feel a little bit better. Well, you know, I think we've all got

[00:33:49] Rob Howe: another good reason to follow NASCAR this year, so looking forward to that season kicking off

[00:33:54] Ryan Reed: and getting to see you behind the wheel. Cool, man. I appreciate it. Good talking to you.