Diabetes Won't Sideline Ryan Reed

(Ryan Reed and NASCAR star Kyle Busch. Photo Courtesy of Ryan Reed Racing)

The yellow flag came out recently for Ryan Reed, the 2010 NASCAR Super Late Model Rookie of the Year and the youngest winner in Irwindale Speedway history: type 1 diabetes. Reed, a 17 year old from Bakersfield, California, was diagnosed in February just as his career was picking up impressive speed. He has no intention of allowing the disease to set him back.

Ryan, halfway through his senior year of high school, had just reached a developmental agreement with Kyle Busch Motorsports and was getting ready to relocate to North Carolina, the NASCAR capital, when he fell ill February 7. He was returning home from a trip to North Carolina, where he was organizing the race shop and preparing for his big move, when he first felt symptoms of the disease. He had mentioned to his parents that he was not feeling well and had lost a substantial amount of weight.

“When I picked up Ryan from the airport my heart sank as I knew something was seriously wrong,” said his father, Mark Reed. “I know Ryan better than anyone and he had lost so much weight in just 10 days.”

Ryan immediately went to see his doctor, where he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The news was devastating; here he was, on the brink of a career breakthrough, and his dreams of a NASCAR career were suddenly in jeopardy. Ryan’s parents pulled out all the stops to get him healthy. After weeks of testing, Ryan found his medical savior in Dr. Anne Peters, Director of Clinical Diabetes Programs at the USC Keck School of Medicine.

In initial consultations with other doctors, Ryan was told that if treated properly he could live a healthy and normal life -- but a future in racing was questionable. That all changed when Ryan walked into Dr. Peters’ office. Peters, who also treats the type 1 diabetes of Indy car driver Charlie Kimball, told Ryan, “You will race and you will be fine.”

As far as Ryan is concerned, the green flag is back out. “This has been the craziest ride ever, and I can’t thank my parents and Anne enough for helping me,” he said. “I was just going through life like any teenager and overnight everything changed. I had to trust that God had a plan for me and it would all be OK.”

Ryan’s 2011 plans have been delayed but he is slowly getting back on track. Since February, Ryan has had to change almost everything about his daily routine: diet, exercise, blood glucose readings, on track data, and reporting all of this information weekly to his medical / nutritional team in California. But he has now received NASCAR medical clearance to return to the track.

With one of the best medical team’s available and sophisticated wireless monitoring systems in place, Ryan will head back to the track. The 2011 season will see Ryan racing all over the southeast in select Super Late Models, NASCAR K&N East Series, and possibly a few NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. Most of the early races will be fielded out of Ryan’s own shop in Mooresville, North Carolina, as the final details are worked out with KBM and his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Program. “We’re happy to hear that Ryan’s doctors have his diabetes under control and he’s cleared to race again,” said Busch. “He definitely hit a little bump in the road, but this challenge has made him a stronger person and even more determined to have a successful career in racing. We look forward to helping Ryan continue to develop as a driver and also help in his effort to spread awareness about diabetes.”

It appears that Ryan will be the first known driver to try and break into the top 3 divisions of NASCAR battling this disease, an accomplishment that comes from the hard work and dedication Ryan had from the day of the news.

Ryan has decided to take a very aggressive role in spreading diabetes awareness, and has asked his fans and sponsors to help support this effort. “The support has been overwhelming,” Ryan said. “Kyle Busch was one the first people to let me know that he will do anything he can to help me adjust to my condition.

Diabetes is an epidemic, both in the United States and throughout the world. In the United States approximately 26 million individuals have diabetes; most have type 2 diabetes and nearly 1 million have type 1. In the United States 79 million have prediabetes and many don’t know it. The important health messages are that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed in many cases, if people are aware of the risk factors for the disease. While there is no cure, both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are treatable, if proper healthcare is obtained. Diabetes is the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney failure and nontraumatic amputation in the United States. So raising awareness both of the prevention of type 2 diabetes as well as the need for the proper treatment of diabetes is something that Ryan, as a NASCAR driver, will have an amazing opportunity to do. By example he will be able to show what is possible for all people with diabetes.

To learn more about Ryan and his quest to manage his diabetes while competing in the intense world of racing, visit www.RyanReedRacing.com. You will find an updated schedule and major sponsorship announcements. The site will also feature interactive functions, more information about diabetes and links to support American Diabetes Association & “Ryan’s Mission,” a program dedicated to the support and awareness of those with diabetes.

Ryan and team will be making their first NASCAR K&N East Series start this weekend at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, GA. Fresh off high school graduation in Bakersfield, California, the event will mark a major accomplishment in the teenager’s early career.

TRANSCRIPT: Kyle Busch Talks About His Speeding Ticket

(Photo by Bill Barrett)

The following is a transcript of Kyle Busch's press conference Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

What is your outlook for this weekend’s races?

“Given our past successes here from last week with the NOS Energy truck and having Zahra Baker (A 10-year-old disabled North Carolina girl who was found slain last year) on the side and winning that race in remembrance of her. Then being able to carry on a good, strong run into Saturday night with the All-Star race for my best finish in that event. Things were good. We’ve got nothing but excited guys coming in here for this weekend’s race, the Coca-Cola 600, and being the longest race of the year, we’ve definitely been ready for it and looking forward to being able to get out on the race track, have some good results and maybe win this thing and bring home my first Cup win at Charlotte.”

What is your reaction to the speeding ticket?

“I’m certainly sorry for my actions and for my lack of judgment. This is something that I can take and learn from and hopefully move forward and not let happen again.”

What did you think of Kimi Raikkonen moving forward in NASCAR?

“I thought Kimi (Raikkonen) did a nice job last week. Certainly, he gave the truck a good ride. It was really loose and he did a nice job with car control and everything else. What’s to be expected of him this weekend is certainly to just again try to run all the laps, try to make 300 miles in a Nationwide Series race, get a feel for what the car is like and we appreciate the guys from Kyle Busch Motorsports doing the building of the car and then for NEMCO Motorsports and them working on it here this week -- along with us just trying to help them out in case there’s any bugs. As far as the Sonoma race, we’ve had no discussions about Cup stuff at all. As far as I know, just this weekend is the last hoorah with Kimi unless he comes back and wants to do further races in NASCAR.”

How do you look back on the speeding incident?

“I’m certainly sorry that it happened and my actions led me to speed. It was a lack of judgment and all I can do is apologize to the public, my friends, my fans, my sponsors and everybody, look at this experience as a learning experience, and to move forward.”

Is it difficult to have a learning experience in the public eye?

“It’s certainly challenging sometimes with things you have to think about and of course actions that you may cause yourself. Thankfully, I’ve got some good people around me that can help me through these experiences and help me learn from them. Take the good from it and take the bad from it and just be able to apply that for later on down the road.”

Can you make a case for yourself?

“I’m sorry I’m not the jurisdiction to make a case. I leave that to the court systems and everything else like that. This matter will be handled through that as best as we can handle it and as best as the authorities decide to handle it. I have the utmost respect for the authorities across the United States of America that try to keep all of us safe every day. Of course, being Memorial Day weekend with all the men and women serving our country to keep us safe as well too. It’s not in my place to decide what does or does not happen.”

Has Joe Gibbs Racing given you any penalties?

“We have certainly discussed some things. We’re working through the process of that now and looking at what might be done later on down the road.”

What are your thoughts on the Truck Series?

“I love the Truck Series. I think it’s one of the best forms of racing we have in NASCAR. It’s definitely brought some excitement to the series over time with ESPN2 back in the 90s and of course with Speed Channel being the broadcast partner that we’ve had for the last few seasons. They’ve done a wonderful job for us. It’s definitely been a great series to run in, to be involved in, to win some races in and to now be owning a race team in the series is definitely great for myself and for all the people at Kyle Busch Motorsports that are employed there and that we can give jobs to and put food on the table for their families. Without the sponsorships and without the strong partnerships that we have there, we wouldn’t be here and be doing what we do. We have to thank all those people with Dollar General, NOS Energy Drink, Traxxas, Toyota and I’m sure there are some that I am forgetting -- forgive me. It takes all of those people to stand behind you that can makeyour program successful and that you can build it.”

Do you enjoy going the extra 100 miles at the 600?

“I definitely love the 600-mile race. It may be a little bit long and drawn out for some fans and you know maybe the short attention span sometimes will get you. For what the sport was built on and for how long this race has been in existence -- the 600 miles, it shows determination, it shows will, it shows how well you’re prepared, how well your cars are prepared -- it’s hard on engines, its hard on the drivers for that extra 100 miles as well. I said last week, sometimes they fly by and you feel like it was a two hour race and other times it goes so slow you feel like you’ve been in the car for six hours. Depends on how your car is driving really. I’m looking forward to it.”

Have you personally spoken with your team owner, your sponsors and your neighbors about the speeding incident?

“I have certainly had discussions with Mr. Coach Gibbs (team owner) as well as Joe Gibbs Racing and my sponsors as well too. It’s just a matter of showing your utmost respect for them and what they do for you. That they believe in you to do what you can in order to represent them well and obviously I had a lack in judgment and just made a mistake. I’m sorry for making that mistake, but as far as any of the people that have made comments or anything like that, I don’t have a relationship with any of those people. Unfortunately, I don’t go door-to-door knocking on the door and commenting to them. All I can do is say my piece here and let it be.”

Has something changed with your deal with Kimi Raikkonen?

“Yes.”

What has changed in your deal with Kimi Raikkonen?

“What’s changed is the payment schedule. The contract states that we’re supposed to receive so much and we have not. We’ve only received enough for these two races. It’s either up to Kimi (Raikkonen) or up to the financial people that run Kimi’s business side of things and decide that they need to find the sponsorship funds in order to carry the experience for him further.”

Is it difficult to have two teams working together on Kimi Raikkonen’s Nationwide car?

“I’m going to tell you -- Rick Ren (general manager, Kyle Busch Motorsports) -- we’ve given him a few grey hairs this year. He’s already had some, but he definitely has a lot more, that’s for sure. He’s bit the bullet an awful lot in these past few weeks in putting this deal together. We’ve done this before for some of our various technical alliances that we have such as VAR (Vision Aviation Racing) -- we build turn-key trucks. All they have to do is put a motor, transmission and driveshaft in it and go to the race track. Kyle Busch Motorsports chassis’ has the availability to do that -- we don’t like to, but we can. Certainly we feel like we build a top quality piece and we’ll see how it runs here this afternoon in the Nationwide Series for our first outing in building a car for NEMCO Motorsports.”

How much have you thought about the potential of what could have happened on Tuesday?

“There’s if, ands or buts to a lot of different things in life. Fortunately, there was no one hurt, but that doesn’t make any kind of excuse for what happened and for my lack in judgment and for what I did. Like I said, there’s a lot of processes to be thought about here. There’s some learning experiences to be taken from this and the best I can do is just try to move along past it for this weekend and take my course of action during the week in what might lie ahead.”

What did you mean when you said the Lexus was, ‘just a toy?’

“Well it was a car that was on loan to me from Lexus and it wasn’t that it was a toy, it’s a high performance vehicle and that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Should be driven with caution. Obviously, I didn’t have caution and I had a lack in judgment and there’s probably a reason why on TV commercials and such they always show at the bottom, professional driver, closed course. Mine was not that. Again, I apologize sincerely to all those affected and that all I can do is try to make sure it doesn’t happen again and that I make sure that lack of judgment doesn’t overcome me.”