Spotlight: Ryan Reed

In 2011, NASCAR driver Ryan Reed was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D), which almost stopped him from pursuing a racing career. He worked with an endocrinologist to figure out how to manage his diabetes during races. Reed, age 24, won the 2015 Alert Today Florida 300 and the 2017 PowerShares QQQ 300, both at Daytona International Speedway. He drives the No. 16 Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang, which contains a drink system and a blood glucose monitor on the dashboard. (A1C is a measure of the amount of hemoglobin with glucose in one's blood.) Reed and his family founded Ryan's Mission, a nonprofit based in Bakersfield, California, that raises awareness about T1D. He recently started the clothing line STGR with fellow NASCAR driver Ryan Truex. Reed came in eighth place last Friday night at Kentucky Speedway. For more information, go to ryanreedracing.com.

Ryan Reed's car

(image via Wikipedia)