Ryan Reed, driver of the #16 Lilly Diabetes Ford, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 3, 2017 in Hampton, Georgia.
Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Roush Fenway Racing driver may not consider himself a role model, but his sponsor certainly does.

The winner of the season-opening NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Daytona for the second time in three years, Reed visited Atlanta media center on Friday to participate in the announcement of Lilly Diabetes as the “Official Diabetes Health Partner of NASCAR.”

Reed himself has overcome the limitations of Type I diabetes to establish a successful racing career.

“I see myself as someone who has the opportunity to use the racing platform to spread awareness, and so I hold very high standards for myself to do so,” Reed told the NASCAR Wire Service. “That means being in the gym, working hard to be the best race car driver I can be, and if I have the opportunity to inspire someone, I think that’s really cool.

“I try to stay humble and not think of myself as a role model, but I certainly have had a lot of people come up to me and tell me that I am to them, and that’s something I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to do in my life. At the end of the day, I’m just a kid who loves to drive race cars, and I’m very fortunate that I get to do so.”

Mike Mason, U.S. vice president of Lilly Diabetes was quick to add the company’s point of view.

“He definitely is a role model,” Mason said emphatically. “Obviously, we’re here to educate about diabetes and what you can do to better manage the disease, but one of the best parts of this is what we get to see with the social media interaction with Ryan.

“You see individuals—kids, adolescents—who have Type I diabetes, and the emotion they put in to see Ryan’s success and living with diabetes on daily basis actually brings tears to your eyes.”