NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Let’s face it: Men are not always the best at taking care of themselves.

A nationwide men’s health awareness campaign, called Drive For Five, is trying to change that “grin and bear it” attitude. There are two men leading the effort, champion racecar driver Terry Labonte and Dr. Steven Lamm of the New York University School of Medicine.

To start, Labonte suggests men be proactive with checkups.

“You know, the biggest deal is that guys, they’ll tend to take care of their cars better than their body.” said Labonte. “You know, if you’re going to go on a trip, you’re going to make sure you got a full tank of gas, your oil is changed or checked, their air pressure is correct, but they disregard their body health.

“The truth of the matter is, if something happens to that car, well you can get another car, but you’ve really only got one body.”

Dr. Lamm also suggests getting regular checkups.

“A really basic evaluation can really stop a disaster. You weren’t well a day before your heart attack, you weren’t well a week before somebody tells you that you have diabetes.” Dr. Lamm said. “Those seeds were planted a long time ago, and if you went to the doctor when you were well, you could have probably prevented some of these things from happening.”

For more tips and the full interview, check out the video below.