INDIANAPOLIS – Tony Kanaan was driven to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Wednesday morning by Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb for a special ceremony before the first day of the Indianapolis 500 Open Test.
Governor Holcomb helped unveil Kanaan’s Car No. 1, that is sponsored by The American Legion emphasizing its “Be the One” campaign to prevent veteran suicide.
Each day, 17 former service members commit suicide and The American Legion is determined to find a solution by saving one veteran at a time.
“The Governor provided me some great tips on how to drive and win,” said Kanaan, the winner of the 2013 Indianapolis 500 in car No. 11 for KV Racing. “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.”
“Be the One,” is the tagline for the nationwide awareness campaign The American Legion will launch Memorial Day weekend.
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 21st appearance in the race and he finished 10th in last year’s 500.
The veteran suicide issue is considered the most important issue facing veterans today and too many are battling it alone, according to the campaign.
This year, team owner Ganassi is entering Kanaan in a fifth Chip Ganassi Racing Honda in the 106th Indianapolis 500. It’s the first time Ganassi has entered five cars in the Indy 500.
“Chip, thank you for the opportunity one more time to come back to this place. Dean Kessel and The American Legion, it’s such a good cause. “Be the One’ is the cause that we are here for today,” Kanaan said. “Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi won the championship last year, so they are entitled to have the No. 1. I had to ask for permission to drive this number. I’ll be the No. 1 car for the team this month of May.
“I made the pledge to the veterans to be the first one to advocate to ‘Be the One’ that if you need help, come ask. I’ve learned that 17 veterans take their lives every day because of this illness that we are fighting. We are here for that and hopefully we get the word out, put this car in Victory Lane and get to kiss the bricks after the race.”
Kessel is the chief marketing officer of The American Legion and helped create a partnership between The Legion and Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021 with Jimmie Johnson as the centerpiece. That program has grown into official partnership status with IndyCar as the official charity of the series.
“Chip and Jimmie, we are so glad to be part of the Ganassi Family and that is how we feel about this relationship,” Kessel said. “Since Day One, Chip and his team have been amazing to work with and he has done a lot behind the scenes for veterans and believes in what our mission is all about.
“I also want to thank Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar in our newfound relationship as IndyCar’s official charity. They will be able to help us amplify our voice on the biggest issue facing this generation of veterans. That is what we are here to talk about today. The campaign we are launching today is ‘Be the One.’ If you can save the life of one veteran today, would you be the one to do it. You will be hearing a lot from us today on that message.
“Veteran suicide is this generation’s biggest challenge to veterans. There is no organization more poised than The American Legion to do that.
“Our primary goal with the ‘Be the One’ campaign is to eliminate the stigma involved with asking for help. That is the No. 1 hurdle for veterans seeking mental help to end veteran’s suicide.
“This is the launch of a campaign that will take decades to end. If we can save one a day, that will bring down the number of 17 per day.”
Governor Holcomb is a member of The American Legion and was a Navy veteran earlier in his career.
He’s also a very big Indianapolis 500 fan and went to high school with Team Penske president Tim Cindric at Pike High School on the northwest side of Indianapolis.
“It was a treat and I felt like Ferris Buehler driving Tony Kanaan to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Governor Holcomb said. “There couldn’t be a better reason why we started the day together with this cause at this time on this hallowed ground. It should go without being said, you can almost hear the fans roaring that we are 39 days away from the start of a pretty special day, Memorial Day, and there is a pretty special race here on that day.
“Hopefully, we will pause and pay tribute to those who weren’t able to make it back home again in Indiana and every other state in this nation. Folks who saw unimaginable occurrences and dealt with hardships and burdens that veterans have had to face in life.
“It’s our duty as citizens to be there for them and understand the burdens they bring back; we are there to help them get through the days ahead and the burdens they bear. For us, they stepped forward. As a state, we are going to back that up with some action. We are proud to sit next to Chip Ganassi, a legend who has done it all, with a lot of the organizations that have done it with high impact and the difference making platforms on people’s lives.
“We could not be prouder to align all of our efforts on mental health. I encourage everyone to ‘Be the One.’ Veterans suicide rates are higher than the general population.”
Kanaan’s Honda was also sponsored by The American Legion in 2021. That was car No. 48. Johnson drove that car in the street and road course events and Kanaan was the driver on the ovals.
Although Kanaan was born in Brazil, he is an American citizen with his wife, Loren, and family living in Indianapolis after spending time in Miami.
“What I’ve learned is how proud I should be for my country,” Kanaan said. “It’s my 20th year in IndyCar and my fanbase here is pretty big. It makes my head this big. Last year, with the veterans, it makes it even more. I got so many coins last year, it was unbelievable and now I’m getting my own.
“Since we started this partnership with Chip and The Legion, I have learned so much about the veterans and getting the word out about how they have fought for us, Chip was saying to me we think we have a cool job and are brave to drive 200 miles an hour, but we have no idea how brave these guys are.
“To me, it’s an honor and a huge responsibility. I’ll try to honor the number, but the most important thing is to honor the cause and be the one to help. We are starting that today and I’ll be the one on and off the track to be able to do that.”