By GRAHAM RAHAL
Guest Columnist
Next week marks the most prestigious race on the NTT INDYCARS SERIES schedule, a hallmark of American life, and an international event. It is also an occasion to recognize the sacrifice that so many men and women have made to preserve our country’s freedom and our individual liberties.
On this one weekend in late May each year, all eyes are on 33 drivers as they race the 200 laps of the Indianapolis 500. In normal years, the race attracts approximately 300,000 people from across the country to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
To say the Indy 500 is a major event in my life would be a huge understatement as my dad competed and won here before I was born, and I now have the privilege and honor of competing here myself as a member of the Rahal Lanigan Letterman Racing team. But the Indy 500 and other races on the schedule mean something else to me, too.
As Americans turn their attention to the Indy 500, I would be remiss if I neglected to use the platform that I’ve been fortunate enough to have been given through the sport to acknowledge the selflessness and sacrifice of U.S. military veterans. It is because of our country’s veterans that we can enjoy life as we know it in our remarkable nation and can come together at events, like Indy 500, without fear of external threats.
One aspect of my career that I hold most dear is the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of veterans through the team’s Turns for Troops program, sponsored by United Rentals. For every lap that I complete on the track, United Rentals graciously donates $50 to SoldierStrong, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to donating revolutionary medical technologies to Veterans Affairs medical centers and other facilities to provide veterans with expanded access to innovative medical care. I’m proud that since 2016, Turns for Troops has raised $1,485,177 for SoldierStrong. Of that total, $631,700 has come through laps turned, the Graham and Courtney Rahal Foundation has raised over $630,000 through our annual Drivers Tournament powered by United Rentals and our Vino for Vets event, and another $222,794 came from various sources.
During the 2016 season’s stop at Sonoma, I had the honor of meeting Sgt. Dan Rose, a 10-year Army Reserve veteran who was paralyzed from the waist down when he was injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Afghanistan. Since our first meeting, Dan Rose has served as an inspiration to me for what it truly means to be an American patriot. His life is also an example – which all Americans can look to emulate – of extraordinary perseverance and hope in the face of adversity and hardship. With the help of a state-of-the-art spinal cord rehabilitation device known as an exoskeleton, he was able to regain the ability to stand and walk again.
Rose was fortunate to access an exoskeleton because of the tremendous and unique efforts carried out by SoldierStrong. Despite his injury, he pursues a full and active lifestyle that includes downhill skiing and mountain biking. To date, SoldierStrong has donated two iBOT PMDs to individual veterans and 29 SoldierSuits and 18 virtual reality technology systems, known as BraveMind, to treat post-traumatic stress to medical facilities across the country. These and other technologies that SoldierStrong provides have the power to transform the day-to-day experiences of veterans in their lives after service. I’ve seen the capabilities of these medical technologies firsthand and firmly believe that access to them is one of the greatest gifts we can give to veterans who have given so much to our country.
I am blessed to have a career that I am not only passionate about but that also allows me to benefit veterans – America’s true heroes – in a life-changing way. I am grateful that I am in the company of organizations like SoldierStrong and United Rentals in our commitment to give back to our country’s veterans who provide us with the power of hope and show us what it means to persevere.
As we head into the best weekend of the year for IndyCar fans around the world, let’s all remember the individuals whose service affords us the freedoms we enjoy each and every day.