First to Win Championship While Partnering With Companies to Promote Causes For Veterans, Military Families & Disabled
In just his second season racing in the SRO TC America Series, Colin Garrett was awarded the TCX Class 2023 Championship on October 8 at the Awards Gala in Indianapolis.
Garrett clinched the championship in the penultimate weekend of racing his No. 44 11/11 Veteran Project Team UNBROKEN Rooster Hall Racing BMW. The final results saw him eclipsing his closest competitor with 285 points versus 188.
He also added to his history-making racing career by becoming the first to win a championship while focusing on promoting causes for veterans, military families, and the disabled. Garrett partners with companies that want to give back to the military community by promoting access to existing resources that help them live healthy, happy lives.
Firsts from his past seasons include letting micro businesses be part of a national NASCAR marketing campaign, crowdfunding to cover expenses for a family of 4 children who lost their veteran mother to misdiagnosis of a curable illness, and running the first Braille paint scheme.
“Winning the championship is amazing, but winning it while partnering with companies to help veterans and military families makes it extra special,” said Garrett. “They’ve given so much, and for us to be able to give back feels great. It also gives our partners a meaningful way to demonstrate corporate social responsibility.” The mission is personal to Garrett since his two brothers are service members.
As he’s been doing since 2019, Garrett promoted veteran owned small businesses and military nonprofits on his car and at events throughout the season. Longterm nonprofit beneficiaries The Rosie Network and Racing For Heroes were joined by TeamUNBROKEN and Tech For Troops.
He promoted veteran owned small businesses Sensiil Studios, founded by Iowa Army National Guard member Aniekanabasi (Basi) White, and Young G’s Barbecue Sauce, founded by Army veteran Gerald Young, on the car at Indy.
White and Young were winners of the inaugural Pitch Competition held by Garrett and his 11/11 Veteran Project. The competition took place in June at the Iowa Veterans Entrepreneurship Conference held at Iowa State University’s Pappajohn Center For Entrepreneurship.
Colin Garrett Racing’s unique business model allows him to promote the nonprofits and small businesses. He and 11/11 Veteran Project work with corporate clients to help solve critical problems like recruiting and retaining skilled employees, positioning for merger and acquisition, and marketing to military families or veteran owned small businesses. Profits generated by those B2B services pay for racing.
It’s a high visibility way to promote causes important to the military community, and corporations win by solving real business problems while becoming part of a higher purpose.
Past veteran owned small businesses have been able to leverage a spot on Garrett’s car to reach enviable goals. Retired Army Command Sergeant Major Donnell Johns, founder of Veterans Growing America, says “Colin Garrett’s 11/11 project is a great way to elevate your organization’s message and status. Veterans Growing America went from doing one day events to a storefront in a premium shopping center.” Their new location in Northern Virginia is adjacent to Apple and Starbucks.
Colin Garrett Racing is now actively looking for prospective corporate clients and partners to continue racing to promote military community causes. “The only way we can execute this mission is by being on the track racing,” Garrett remarked. “That’s what makes it possible to promote access to resources in such a highly visible way. We look forward to taking our mission as far as possible to help as many people as possible, and to partnering with great companies to make that happen.”