Charlie Kimball (83) and Alex Tagliani (98) make their way around the track during the second practice session for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 Friday, June 22, 2012 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton. Marco Andretti and Dario Franchitti will be in the front row for tonight's qualifying 30 lap heat race for the pole after posting the two fastest lap times during the session. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Charlie Kimball received a special honor this week, leading up to his appearance in the IZOD IndyCar Series Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway in Newton.

Kimball, who has Type 1 diabetes, was given the Jefferson Award Tuesday in Washington, D.C., for his work to raise awareness about the disease. The award is one of the nation’s top honors for community service and volunteering.

“It was an absolute honor to receive the Jefferson Award as recognition for my work with Novo Nordisk in the diabetes community,” Kimball said on his website. “To be included in such an inspirational group of people is truly special! I am very blessed to be able to do what I love and at the same time inspire people to overcome obstacles and live their dreams.”

Kimball wears a continuous glucose monitor during a race and has a bottle of sugar mounted to keep his blood sugar at proper levels during the race.

Kimball, 27, who was diagnosed with diabetes in 2007, visited the Eastern Iowa Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation last year. See our story from last year.

He also did a remote Sports Desk with us.

ANDRETTI BRINGS POOCH TO THE TRACK

Team Owner Michael Andretti gets into a golf cart with his new german shepherd Leroy after signing an autograph outside of the team's garage between practices for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 Friday, June 22, 2012 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton. Andretti had Leroy in the garage in honor of take your dog to work day. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti observed Take Your Dog To Work Day on Friday.

The Hall of Famer brought his German Shepherd, Leroy, to the team’s garage. Leroy, a trained protection dog, was a gift to his wife, Jodi. The dog will attend races Jodi Andretti attends from here on out.

“He was watching the cars go around,” Andretti said. “I think he likes being here.”

According to a IZOD IndyCar Series news release, Take Your Dog To Work Day was started in 1999 to celebrate dogs as companions and to promote adoptions by showing the bond between dog and owner.