Photo courtesy of A.J. Foyt Racing

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

A.J. Foyt Racing’s signature No. 14 Chevrolet will feature a patriotic livery during the full, 17-event 2026 NTT IndyCar Series schedule as part of a unique marketing campaign dedicated to improving the quality of life for America’s military veterans.

An Indianapolis 500-centric program with driver Santino Ferrucci that raised millions of dollars for Homes For Our Troops (hfot.org) has been expanded with new marketing partners Hendricks Commercial Properties and Geronimo Hospitality Group. Hendricks Holding Co., Inc., is the parent company of the new partners as well as that of former partner ABC Supply Co., Inc.

Over the past four Indy 500 campaigns, ABC Supply Co.’s $1-million annual matching pledge has helped raise nearly $15-million for Homes For Our Troops.

“What an amazing program,” Larry Foyt, president of A.J. Foyt Racing, said during a ZOOM conference announcing the program in Indianapolis. “We couldn’t be prouder to continue our long relationship with the Hendricks family as well as continuing the inspiring experience of working with Homes For Our Troops.

“I can’t say enough about how much Diane Hendricks and her daughter Konya (Hendricks Schuh) have supported our team and INDYCAR over the years. It will be an honor to represent their hospitality and commercial properties brands.”

Ferrucci, a 27-year-old native of Woodbury, Conn., is enthusiastically prepping for his fourth season with Waller, Texas-based Foyt Racing. “I’m incredibly excited that Homes For Our Troops will be on the No. 14 car for the full season, especially as we celebrate America’s 250th birthday,” said Ferrucci, a resident of Dallas. “It’s a huge deal, not just for the team and myself, but to drive a car in the American flag livery all year long is an honor and a privilege.

“Obviously this livery, when we go to the Indianapolis 500 every year, is pretty much the favorite. Not sure how you cannot root for the car that’s red, white and blue on Memorial Day. To have the opportunity to be driving it for the entire season, raising more money and awareness for this wonderful charity and organization, is just a blessing.

“Really thrilled. Can’t wait to get started with opening tests next year, to see what we can do as a team, for all of Homes For Our Troops and what we can do for our veterans. We’re committed to raising awareness and money _ lots of it _ for our severely injured post-9/11 veterans, who’ve sacrificed so much for this country to protect the freedoms we enjoy.”

The fund-raising initiative was launched in 2022 with the INDYCAR organization founded by motorsports icon/Houston native A.J. Foyt Jr., first four-time winner of the Indy 500. ABC Supply, which first backed Foyt Racing in 2005 and expanded its sponsorship to a two-car team in 2015, curtailed its program during the Covid pandemic to only the Indianapolis 500.

In 2022, the wholesale distributor of exterior building products dedicated its primary sponsorship to Homes For Our Troops. Diane Hendricks, co-founder of ABC Supply and its parent company, Hendricks Holding Co., Inc., spearheaded the marketing campaign that pledged up to $1-million in matching donations during the 10 days leading into “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“We are proud to partner with A.J. Foyt Racing in support of Homes For Our Troops, a cause that truly reflects our values and the values of the Hendricks family,” said Rob Gerbitz, CEO/president of Hendricks Commercial Properties and Geronimo Hospitality Group. “We’re honored to help advance HFOT’s mission to build homes for our nation’s deserving veterans.”

In its inaugural year, more than $2-million was raised to build specially-adapted homes for severely injured post-9/11 veterans. The campaign’s resounding success led to annual May campaigns, with the 2024 program posting over $5-million raised, exceeding the $4-million goal.

“We extend our sincere gratitude to Hendricks Commercial Properties for their generous sponsorship and support,” said HFOT President/CEO Brig. Gen. USA (Ret.) Tom Landwermeyer. “As we look ahead to the 2026 racing season, we’re excited to build on this collaboration, which will play a vital role in raising awareness and advancing our mission of building homes and rebuilding Lives for our nation’s severely injured post-9/11 Veterans.

“We’re a national charity, but we don’t spend much on advertising. Almost 90 cents of every dollar goes to our program. This year, being able to run the red, white and blue Stars-and-Stripes car out there _ driven by no finer driver that I can think of with Santino and Larry coaching him _ it has incredible potential to increase our awareness on a national level because it’s all throughout the year, across 17 races.

“We are incredibly blessed and just happy beyond words to explain what this could really mean for our organization and awareness of our mission of building homes and rebuilding lives.”

Hendricks Commercial Properties and Geronimo Hospitality Group enter the motorsports arena for the first time but are quite familiar with host city Indianapolis. Their development of the Bottleworks District encapsulates the companies’ impact on communities where they stimulate growth and create jobs while honoring the history behind each development.

The companies plan to use the 2026 INDYCAR program to foster community development inspired by successful restoration projects in Beloit, Wis., where they are headquartered, and the Bottleworks District in Indianapolis. Geronimo Hospitality Group owns and operates a growing collection of boutique hotels and restaurants across Idaho, Indiana, California and Wisconsin.

The No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet will make its debut at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) street race Feb. 27- March 1, 2026.

Following is an edited question and answer transcript of the ZOOM conference that officially announced this initiative, appropriately enough, on Veteran’s Day.

Question: Larry, how long has this full-season program been in the works?

LARRY FOYT: “Well, for us, with last year, we were carrying the Sexton (Homes) livery most of the season. With the tragic passing of Marlyne Sexton, we knew we had to get to work to secure something for the primary.

“It really didn’t take that long. Konya Hendricks, she and I have always stayed in touch. Been a big supporter of the racing, as has Diane. We were just chatting about it. She really championed it, put it together. We were wanting to expand this program because it’s been so successful with Homes For Our Troops.

“Went up and met Rob from Hendricks Commercial Properties, and really everybody was just on-board. We put it together pretty quickly. That’s the cool stuff, designing the livery and all that. We obviously knew we wanted Santino as the driver. He’s been really the face of our team for the last few years, has helped lead this revival for us, getting us back toward the front.

“Everybody on the same mission really is what it takes. That’s the way we’re headed.”

Q: Larry, you mentioned uncertainty about the sponsorship of the No. 14 car at the end of last season, along with who would be driving the No. 4 car vacated by David Malukas. Now that you have Brazilian Caio Collett signed for that seat, do you feel like things have stabilized? And do you still have any sort of technical relationship with Team Penske?

LARRY FOYT: “For sure, having both cars buttoned-up, all the drivers, everybody ready to go, I feel like we’re in a good spot early in the offseason. We know what the goal is. We’re focused on the racing side now. All of that is really good.

“Yeah, I think the Penske things are good. I think I see that continuing. So far, everything looks really good for next year to pick up right where we left off.”

Q: Santino, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is more than a sporting event, it’s a celebration of Memorial Day. How would you describe the pride and the responsibility you feel carrying this type of livery on a classic American holiday?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: “I’d say over the last three 500s, carrying the livery, running the colors, Homes For Our Troops _ it’s been amazing. I mean, it’s hard to describe walking out Race Day and rolling that car onto the track to fire-off. It’s very different.

“Being my eighth 500 this season, fourth with Larry, with Homes For Our Troops, I can definitely say it’s a very different feeling going out for the 500 driving the No. 14 car than it is anything else. It’s really cool. I feel like everybody’s really behind us. My fan base at the Speedway is amazing. All the people that come out to support us, all the money that we can raise for Homes For Our Troops, it’s special.

“To be able to carry it now for the season, kind of more of like a dream come true with America’s 250^th (birthday) as well. The stars are really aligning for us. Looking forward to building on our performances as we have done the last few years. Hopefully bringing us home a BorgWarner.

“I really thank Larry for trusting me to drive the No. 14 car year after year.”

Q: Gen. Landwermeyer, when Jeff Gordon launched the AARP Drive to End Hunger campaign several years ago in NASCAR, some questioned why the organization didn’t take that money and invest it directly into the program? The answer was…the money spent creates awareness that can bring in additional funding. Can you describe how that works with your organization?

BRIG. GEN. TOM LANDWERMEYER: “Absolutely. As I mentioned earlier, we have never paid very much for advertising. We keep our administrative costs very low. Ninety-cents of every dollar going to our program. We have done everything advertising grassroots, word-of-mouth.

“To have something like this during the Month of May the last four years…everyone knows what the Month of May means in the racing world. God bless Diane and ABC Supply, having done a $1-million match for us for those four months. Almost $15-million we’ve been able to raise through that effort. That’s just one race in one month.

“To really achieve national-level awareness for organizations, you really need to have some repetitive (messaging) throughout the months, the year, to have your mission, your name, everything out there so people hear it more often. This particular year, when we’ve got that livery, have our logo, it’s got our URL on it, everything for all 17 races, Santino driving it fast as always, we’ve got some tremendous potential for national-level awareness.

“The best part of all of this is that it’s really Hendricks Commercial Properties, Diane and Konya and everybody behind them, that’s really footing this bill. Where else could you possibly have a company that could take a bright light that’s going to be shined on them for an entire year of racing, and instead of putting it on themselves, they put it onto a non-profit to try and get all the awareness possible that they can for the non-profit? That’s what this organization is doing for us.”

ROB GERBITZ: “It’s a commitment where we’re really proud to be a part of and be able to make to Tom and the entire team from Homes For Our Troops. This is a special moment for us and our support beyond the racing. It’s going to be there from our team to help from volunteers to all these other aspects that Homes For Our Troops needs. That’s how important we view it.

“For us, it’s just really exciting to be a part of it. We just can’t wait for Santino to win probably 16 out of 17 races, I would guess this year, just be there to support not only Homes For Our Troops but certainly Santino, Larry, the whole team as well.”

Q: Larry, Foyt Racing recently expanded into the INDY NXT by Firestone developmental series. What went into that decision?

LARRY FOYT: “Well, I think it gives us the opportunity to do a lot of things. As you saw, our second car, we hired Caio Collett from INDY NXT. It’s really a great resource for us to keep an eye on the young drivers coming up, young mechanics that we want to train that maybe we’re looking at in the future for INDYCAR, to keep that pipeline going.

“For us, it was really a no-brainer. I think you’re seeing a lot of the INDYCAR teams getting involved. You get a little bit extra testing. It makes sense. You can really have a pipeline to keep your program healthy. That was the main reason we wanted to do it.”

Q: David Malukas has moved to Team Penske after one season with Foyt Racing. So, when was the decision finalized to move Caio into the No. 4 car?

LARRY FOYT: “We were impressed with what he did in INDY NXT with HMD Motorsports. Finished second in the championship. I think he won three races. It was great that we had a solid year as a team (with Malukas). There was a lot of interest from a bunch of drivers.

“Getting to meet Caio, also met the sponsor Combitrans, we started talking. We did a rookie test with him and he was really impressive. That made us decide that was the way we wanted to go there. We put it together after that.”

Q: Santino, heading into the 2025 season you were quite confident the No. 14 team could challenge for a championship. It didn’t work out like that; you finished 16^th in the point standings and did not win a race. Why weren’t you as competitive as imagined? And how are you going to pull off winning 16 out of 17 races?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: “Part of the learning curve this coming season, we had a slight difference in dampers and book-build from Penske. The alliance, it’s really, really good for us. All of my references and everything we built the previous year shifted quite a bit. We kind of struggled to figure out how to adjust to that shift accordingly. It took us longer than we anticipated.

“We did have some races where we were really quick, we nailed it. But having to understand what you’re doing with the car, it’s not always easy. Some of the reads I was getting were a little bit skewed.

“Dave (Malukas) and I both had different ways of being competitive. He struggled a lot less in qualifying than I did, but in the racing I was a lot happier with the cars at times. We were averaging 15-plus positions passing a race, which is not something we want to be doing.

“I feel good about what we’ve learned, how we’ve adjusted some cars. I’m excited to go to some new tracks this season, like Arlington (Texas) and Phoenix. It’s always a good challenge for drivers when just a very small part of the grid has raced there. I feel good about a lot of things.

“I feel really good coming back to Indy this year. We struggled a lot this past 500 with some weird things going on. Our car was just so competitive. To be carrying that same philosophy into the ’26 500, I feel like we’re going to be a very strong team.”

Q: Tom, could you give us a bit of background on what Homes For Our Troops actually does? Are they volunteers? Who are the beneficiaries? How do you choose them?

BRIG. GEN. TOM LANDWERMEYER: “Sure, be glad to field that. I could talk forever about the organization. We’re a national charity. We’re based just south of Boston, Mass., in Taunton. We’ve been around since 2004. Our mission is to build specially-adapted homes across the country. We donate them to the most severely injured post 9/11 veterans.

“We got started by a contractor in Taunton. In ’04 he was watching all the severely wounded. By that phrase I mean loss or loss of use of multiple limbs, blindness, different levels of paralysis, severe burns, traumatic brain injuries, or in many cases a combination of several of those. That’s the group that we’re working to support, to build these homes across the country.

“He found a National Guard sergeant in Middleboro, Mass., that lost one arm above the elbow and one arm below the elbow. He went to see him and said, ‘I think I can build you a home that would make your life easier moving forward.’ The kid, just like all of our veterans said, ‘I don’t deserve anything like that. I can’t accept that.’

“They went back-and-forth. Finally, to his credit the young man said, ‘I’ll let you build a home and I’ll take it on one condition.’ Our founder said, ‘What is that?’ He said that, ‘I’m not the last, that you keep building it for others.’ Since that home went on the ground in 2005, this young man actually became an artist. Remember, he has no hands. He became an artist. He has his own art gallery there in Middleboro, Mass., called True Grit.

“We have now built and donated 424 homes across 45 states. We have another project underway right now in Casper, Wyo., that we’ll be giving the keys away to in February. That will be our 46th state. We’ve got another 68 projects underway across the country.

“There are 100 veterans in the application process of our program. Working with the VA, there’s more than 1,800 of these veterans with these kinds of injuries that would qualify for our program. We average about 25 homes on the ground a year. The last several years we’ve been turning double-digit revenue increases in our funding, which is 100 percent from the American public. We get no state or federal money whatsoever.

“But the double-digit increases in revenue, because of the cost of land going up, labor going up, materials going up, it’s kind of kept us flat-lined at 25 homes per year. That’s what we’re really hoping this national-level awareness potential for this partnership this year may help us increase that because these veterans really need these homes.

“They have a challenge in a regular home when they come back. If you think about where you live, if you have any steps to get up to the front porch, if you got a big step to go into the front door. Most doorways all through homes, both going in and out of, are inside the home, and are not wide enough to accept a wheelchair. If you have more than a single-story home, that means you have some stairs inside. These guys have a real problem with accessibility inside the homes.

“Then safety _ places like the kitchen or the bathroom are the most unsafe spots. They need a lot of assistance to do all the mundane things that we take for granted. Getting up in the morning, getting cleaned up, getting dressed, going out to work. All those things take a lot more time and effort than it takes for most of us to accomplish.

“In essence, what they did was they sacrificed their freedom and independence for us so that we can continue to enjoy our freedoms every day.

“Our homes are single-story, about 2,800-square-feet, four bedroom, two bath, energy efficient. They have more than 40 adaptations designed in every single one them to restore that freedom and independence to the veteran. That frees up the spouse, the care-givers.

“We’ve built for veterans that have kids in their teens. Those children have never known anything but being a care-giver. That’s a different outlook on life. When you can take the bonds off of those kids and the other family members, the whole family thrives.

“That’s a little bit about who we are and what we do.”

Q: Santino, you have compiled a solid track record at the Indy 500. What are you doing to hopefully get that win next year?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: “Yeah, obviously you don’t change mentally how to prepare for the race. We finished fifth this past year. We had a third in 2023. Some of it’s just kind of coming down to a little bit of luck and fewer mistakes, little things.

“Just trying to perfect and work with the team, make sure that we build the cars correctly, make sure we’ve done all the little details, the little bolts, cross our Ts, dot our Is, all of our pit stops are perfect, I can hit my marks perfect every time. Everything inside the car that I do is routine. Just repetition. We just keep working towards that.

“Hopefully this year is going to be our year. I feel really good about it. I know the team’s working really hard, harder than ever. Working with my chief mechanic, seeing the process when I was back up at the shop. I’ll be back at the shop next month for multiple days, going through everything with them, making sure if we need to do anything more, change anything slightly, that we do it correctly, make everything as perfect as perfect can be.”

Q: That said, what does this partnership with Homes For Our Troops mean to you?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: “Honestly, it’s really special. My grandfather was a World War II vet. I spent a lot of time doing things and working around military personnel. A lot of my close family are police officers. Working with some of my sponsors growing up, I’ve been to the Army-Navy (football) game. Some of my wife’s extended family are currently in that side of the military.

“So just being able to do these things with the veterans, meet the veterans as well at the racetrack. This year was awesome. We got to take a bunch of veterans out to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, take them around in a Suburban, get the Suburban up on two wheels. It’s great because they’re all adrenaline junkies, just like myself.

“Just spending time with them at the track, it’s so special. Getting to meet their wives. Even their dogs, their kids, stuff like that. Just try and show them a different side of the sport. They’re amazing people. Without them we also wouldn’t have the freedoms we have today. This country wouldn’t be the same. They deserve everything that we can give them.

“Running this livery for a year, trying to raise as much money as we can, carrying a flag _ we’re just trying to give back. So it’s a special cause.”

Q: What would you personally consider as a win, or a goal for next year?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: “I have no idea. For a goal for the charity, I would love to double what we’ve raised in the last four years, or to match what we’ve raised in the last four years just at Indy so we can double the investment that’s been put in via the racing program.

“I’m curious to see how far it travels. I think winning Indy would definitely help that. I’ve got a lot of personal goals because I want to run up front, be in the media for all the right reasons. Yeah, I think a lot of pressure is on myself to do that. A lot of things are going to happen behind the scenes. I think we’re going to do a great job.”

Q: You’ve got a new teammate in Caio Collett. How do you think your partnership with him will go? Do you have any advice for him?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: “I’m actually really looking forward to working with Caio. I got to spend some time with him last week at Nashville. He’s honestly probably among the easier drivers I’ve worked with in the last couple of years. Looking forward to that.

“I like the driving style. He’s very open-minded like myself when it comes to the race car, which I found quite unique and really easy. So just a couple of debriefing things with him. Him actually being receptive to some of my feedback immediately was kind of cool. I think we’ll be able to do and accomplish great things.”

Q: Larry, despite the domination of Alex Palou and Honda last season, we saw the Chevrolets and A.J. Foyt car in contention for victories. Is it fair to say the goal for next year is to be fighting for victories more often, rather than be the dark horse of INDYCAR?

LARRY FOYT: “Yeah, I think for me the goal this year is to get back to Victory Lane. I think we’re ready. We’re ready to win a race. Obviously we’d like to win ‘the big one’ in May. I think as a team, we’re ready to win. We showed that we had the pace last year. It’s hard to say that we can contend for a championship. That’s very difficult. There’s some great race teams that we’re up against. As we grow every year, they do, too.

“We’ve got a great power supply with Chevrolet. No doubt there. I think Santino, we were on the podium a couple times. So close to getting that win. If we don’t win a race next year, I’ll be really disappointed. Also getting both cars…Caio is a rookie, unfortunately in INDYCAR it’s hard because there’s not a whole lot of practice time or testing. So the rookies are learning out there. I think Caio will fight for Rookie of the Year.

“Getting Santino back in the top-10. We’re now consistently fighting for the top-10 in the championship. So, getting that and getting to Victory Lane would be a successful season.”

Q: Larry, you talked about this announcement being something that means so much to a lot of people. What does this program mean for A.J. Foyt Racing in 2026? Does it serve as extra motivation for the team as you chase wins and the championship?

LARRY FOYT: “It does. It’s really special. I think for all of things that everyone’s touched on, but also the long relationship that we’ve had with the Hendricks, how much they’ve supported not only our team but INDYCAR. I mean, I’ve got to think they are by far the longest-running sponsor. I believe we started with them in 2005. You’re talking about over 20 years. You don’t see that very often in a sport like this.

“Their commitment to us and what they’re doing now for Homes For Our Troops. Also, I’m pretty partial, my favorite hotel is the Bottleworks Hotel in Indianapolis, when I stay there. That’s going to be really special staying there this year.

“Yeah, Tom was touching on Homes For Our Troops and I’ll let Tom speak to more of this. But what’s also very cool about what they do, they don’t just hand the keys to these veterans and walk away, they continue to support them as the veterans learn about the finances of home ownership and a lot of that. I’ll let him talk to more of that. That’s really a special part of the program as well.

“We just want to do a good job for everybody. The pressure, I definitely feel more pressure this year because we want to perform for the Hendricks and for Rob and for Homes For Our Troops. We’ve got a lot to do on-track and off-track, but it’s really exciting. It’s just going to be a super-fun year.”

BRIG. GEN. TOM LANDWERMEYER: “The most unique thing about our organization is we do stay in touch with our veterans for life. After we give them the keys, we don’t just up the number on that tote board, this Saturday it will go to 425 homes we provided, but we stay in contact with them really for three main reasons.

“One, we promised them a quality home. If there’s any issues with them, we’ll come back and fix it.

“Second, all those adaptations that I mentioned that are inside the home, we need the feedback from the veterans and the families that are physically living in those homes and experiencing the challenges to make sure we got everything right, new things out there that can help them out, something that needs to be adjusted a little bit. We need that feedback.

“The most important reason we stay in contact with them is the rebuilding lives aspect. These homes are not going to fix their injuries. These veterans have these injuries for a lifetime. They know it. They know the hand they’ve been dealt. They’re not grousing about it, looking in the rearview. They’re always focused forward.

“They will have some great days in these homes, and their families are going to accomplish some things. We want to be there to celebrate with them. But these veterans are also going to have some down days. There are going to be some days where they wind up in the wheelchair, in their bed, back in the hospital needing some help. We’re going to be there helping them out.

“That is the most unique thing about us, we stay in contact with our veterans. I really appreciate Larry bringing that up.”