The American Legion and Chip Ganassi Racing reveal Indianapolis 500 car aimed at reducing the stigma associated with veteran suicide

News provided by

Apr 20, 2022, 12:39 ET

Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb, a U.S. Navy veteran, assisted by 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan, make the reveal and pledge support to the cause

INDIANAPOLIS, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In an interesting turn of events, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb got behind the wheel today at the state capitol to drive 2013 Indianapolis 500 Winner Tony Kanaan to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The two joined forces to reveal Chip Ganassi Racing and The American Legion's No. 1 Honda livery for the 106^th running of the Indianapolis 500.

L to R: Chip Ganassi, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Kanaan and Gov. Eric Holcomb reveal the No. 1 Be the One Honda from The American Legion which will appear in the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day Weekend.

"The Governor provided me some great tips on how to drive and win," said Kanaan, who hopes to take home a second title at the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend. "In the past, I have driven with two ones on my car, but this year I am proud to have only one and encourage all Americans to "Be The One" to help The American Legion end veteran suicide."

The eye-catching race car is covered with the words "Be the One," which will serve as the tagline for the nationwide awareness campaign The American Legion will launch Memorial Day weekend.

"Creating awareness to help end veteran suicide is a cause we can all get behind," said Chip Ganassi, owner of Chip Ganassi Racing. "When you have that kind of purpose driving you, you fight harder to win, and we want to win for our nation's veterans."

Among the goals of the "Be the One" campaign is ending the stigma around veteran suicide which is preventing military members and veterans from asking for help.

"Stigma is real," said Dean Kessel, chief marketing officer for The American Legion. "We must remove the barriers that are preventing veterans from asking for help and we could not think of a better place to get the message out there than at the greatest race in all of motorsports."

The American Legion, the nation's largest veterans service organization, is also an official charity of INDYCAR. They hope to leverage this relationship and engage other important leaders like Governor Holcomb, a veteran of the United States Navy, to get the message out there and their goal across the finish line.

This is the second year that The American Legion and Chip Ganassi Racing have teamed up for the Indianapolis 500. This is Kanaan's 21^st appearance in the race and he finished 10^th in last year's 500.

About The American Legion
The American Legion is the largest veterans service organization with nearly 2 million members in more than 12,000 posts across the nation. Chartered by Congress in 1919, The American Legion is committed to mentoring youth and sponsoring wholesome community programs, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting a strong national security and continued devotion to service members and veterans.

About Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 30 years and is considered one of the most successful and innovative owners in motorsports. Today, his teams include four Honda cars in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, two Cadillac Dpi's in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and one GMC Hummer EV in Extreme E. Overall, his teams have 21 championships and more than 230 victories, including four wins in the Indianapolis 500, eight Rolex 24 At Daytona victories, and wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art facilities in Indianapolis, where INDYCAR, IMSA and Extreme E teams are located, and a corporate office in Pittsburgh. For more information, visit, www.chipganassiracing.com.