The Verizon IndyCar Series is blessed with an array of drivers, team owners and reporters who have plenty to be thankful for during the holiday season.

With a week of Thanksgiving preparations almost completed, INDYCAR’s assembly of American and international personalities will spend Nov. 27 following family traditions and bringing new twists to the family celebrations.

“I’m thankful for my girls, Michaela and Adriana, I’m thankful for my parents and I’m thankful for being able to do what I love most, which is race for Roger Penske,” said three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves. “I’m one of the younger generations with Roger; some guys have been with him for 30 years, and I’ve only been there for 15. and I’m thankful for everything he lets me do to represent him and our sponsors.”

CFH Racing co-owner and driver Ed Carpenter is looking forward to a traditional Thanksgiving filled with family gathered together.

“Personally, I’m thankful for the family I have, my wife, our three kids, and the great life we have together, and professionally, I’m thankful to have such a great group of people to work with each day and great sponsors who make it all possible,” he said. “We’ve combined our Thanksgiving into one dinner with all of our families coming together in one place, and that will be nice -- a lot less stressful, and there’s some good football games to watch, too.”

Four-time Indy car champion Sebastien Bourdais hails from France and says his transplanted family is still trying to find the best way to embrace the holiday.

“We’re obviously happy that everyone is healthy, and some Europeans are in the same boat with us; it’s not something we celebrate in France, so in the past some of us have gotten together to have a nice dinner together,” he explained. “And it’s kind of hard—funny, really—with kids because Thanksgiving dinner usually takes place late in the afternoon, and our kids don’t really know what to do. They’re like, ‘Is this lunch or dinner…what is this?’ When you have kids and they’re on a schedule, this is a big curveball if they aren’t used to it, so we’ll probably go to the country club and play some golf on Thanksgiving, and they have a nice buffet there we can all enjoy.”

NBC Sports Network host Leigh Diffey leads NBCSN’s Verizon IndyCar Series coverage, and has come to love the holiday in his adopted homeland.

“First and foremost, you’re always thankful for your family because without your family, you’d be lost,” he said. “There’s been a lot of sacrifice to come here from Australia, leaving my parents and friends behind, and starting a career here, and to now be here in America with my own family, with my wife and two sons, has been an amazing journey.

“If you’d told me five years ago I’d be calling IndyCar races and Formula 1 races for a living on NBCSN, I probably wouldn’t have believed you, and while Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reflect and be thankful, it’s not just once a year for me; it’s every day.”

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing co-owner Bobby Rahal says he can’t wait to see his family lineage on display during Thanksgiving.

“I’m particularly thankful we’re all in good health, except for my father who had some struggles this year, but I’m proud to say we’ll have four generations of Rahals at my parent’s house on Thanksgiving,” he explained. “I’m thankful we’ve gotten through 2014 in good shape and look forward to going racing again in 2015.”

2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Will Power will celebrate Thanksgiving at home in North Carolina, and spared a thought for his fellow drivers who weren’t as fortunate last season.

“I’m very thankful for a good, safe year for myself. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for every driver, and I’m thinking about them and their recoveries,” he said. “My wife Liz, her mom and some friends will be here to do something small at home this year. We normally go to Texas with Liz’s family, but we’ll stay local this time, and that’s something I’ll enjoy.”

2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan has raced in America since 1996, yet it took his wife Lauren, a native of Indiana, to welcome the Brazilian into the Thanksgiving tradition.

“I’ve been a Thanksgiving person since I met my wife, because in Brazil we don’t have it; it’s never been a thing. I’m a rookie at Thanksgiving, even though I’ve been racing in America for a long time, because I’d be in Brazil at this time of the year, but with our life here, with an American family, it’s all new to me. So we’re preparing to go to Indy and be with her family, eat a lot, then regret how much we ate when we go to the gym a few days later,” he said with a laugh.

“There’s so many things I’m thankful for; it’s hard to single them all out. I get to wake up each morning and do what I do — that allows me to have a great family, a great kid, a great wife and a great career. Being healthy to do anything in life is a gift that I’m definitely thankful for.”

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports co-owner Sam Schmidt is an inspiration to many, and shared his thanks for all those who helped draw attention to the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation in 2014.

 “For me, between the ABC piece that profiled me in May, driving the Corvette at Indy with the assistance and systems provided by Arrow, a recent CBS Sports profile on me, my dad and my son, and all of the awareness to my foundation that has come in as a result of those things, I don’t know if it’s possible to be anymore thankful than what I am today,” he said.

“I just got back from driving the Corvette in Germany last weekend, and with all of the pieces that have come together this year, it has highlighted not what I’m unable to do, but what I’m able to do and all of the blessings I have despite everything else. My team had great success this year, the foundation is ramping up to a new level and working with the Braun Corporation to help more people to be mobile, I’d be hard pressed to find a better year for me in the recent past.”

Schmidt’s new driver James Hinchcliffe says he’ll miss American Thanksgiving due to a late change of plans that will require his presence at home in Canada.

“Canadian Thanksgiving is in October, so I’ve already had one this year, and living in America, I was always the odd man out,” said Hinch, who launched his own line of beers this year in Indy with the Flat 12 Brewery. “So the kind person that is Ruthie Forbes tends to host a Thanksgiving dinner for the racing misfits who aren’t from America, and that’s usually something I attend, but my new boss Ric Peterson, who is also Canadian, decided to hold a company appreciation day in Calgary, so I’ll be up there celebrating all of his employees.”

Knowing that Hinch will miss Thanksgiving in America, does he plan on bringing anything festive to bring the Thanksgiving spirit to Peterson’s company party?

“Any day of the year you bring free beer to Canadians is a holiday, so some Hinchtown Hammer Down Golden Ale might just do the trick.”