IndyCar driver Santino Ferrucci helps veterans rebuild lives

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - Every IndyCar driver who rolls into Road America or the Milwaukee Mile has a story.

For Santino Ferrucci, that story is helping impact the lives of American heroes.

Since debuting in 2018, the driver of the No. 14 entry in the IndyCar Series has been enjoying some of his greatest popularity.

"It's amazing to see all the fans in jerseys and hats and everything," Ferrucci said. "I definitely think that my support in the series has grown more over the last few years than it has anywhere else."

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Ferrucci also likes making a difference. His car carries the sponsorship of Homes For Our Troops, a nonprofit organization that builds specially adapted homes for severely injured post-9/11 veterans.

Sgt. Mike Gower is one of the veterans who received help from the group.

"It truly is liberating to have so much freedom and blessing back," Gower said.

Gower was on an infantry deployment to Iraq in 2007 when a bomb caused him to lose both of his legs.

"Trying to figure out life and what I could do and where I could go and what my restrictions were and trying to figure all of that out and I found out about Homes For Our Troops," Gower said.

Gower and his wife now live in a completely handicap-accessible home in his native Michigan. It was built at no cost to him.

While Ferrucci’s prime focus is on making his car go as fast as possible, he feels a personal connection to what it says on the car.

"It's really close to me. My grandfather was a World War II vet," Ferrucci said. "Being able to race for these guys and bring awareness to Homes For Our Troops, you know, what they've sacrificed for our country. I mean these guys go over there and fight for our freedom."

Ferrucci said the mission goes beyond the home itself.

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"Just being able to give back and hang out with Mike and his family, it's been so awesome," Ferrucci said. "It's not just the home, it's the whole lifestyle for them."

Gower said the support from Ferrucci’s team is genuine.

"It's to the core genuine, I can tell you," Gower said. "Everybody from AJ Foyt Racing and Hendricks Commercial Real Estate, they're all... it's to the core."

Fast friends and no more worthy cause.

Homes For Our Troops is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to not only build homes, but also help rebuild lives. Like Ferrucci, organizers want to go all out to reach their goals as soon as possible.

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