INDIANAPOLIS – Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has joined forces with the S.A.F.E. Project US in the national fight against the opioid addiction epidemic.

S.A.F.E. stands for “Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic.” The non-profit is headed by retired U.S. Navy Adm. James “Sandy” Winnefeld Jr. a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Winnefeld and his wife, Mary, were compelled to start the organization after their 19-year-old son Jonathan died last September from a dose of heroin laced with fentanyl.

Winnefeld was connected with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports co-owner Sam Schmidt through John Barnes, whose lengthy Indy car resume includes ownership of the former Panther Racing team. After meeting with Winnefeld, Schmidt agreed to give S.A.F.E. Projects US nationwide exposure for this year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil with logos on the cars of SPM drivers James Hinchcliffe and Robert Wickens.

“We want to solve this epidemic at speed. What better way to do something at speed than the Indianapolis 500?” said Winnefeld, a 37-year-old military veteran and the 21st commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command.

S.A.F.E. focuses on awareness, prevention, encouraging learning, providing resources and support for drug addiction and overdoses centered on the opioid epidemic plaguing the United States. Schmidt’s willingness to become involved provides a great platform for the message.

“This is not something we would ordinarily pursue because we have so much we're trying to do on the ground,” Winnefeld said of the sponsorship opportunity.

“We're walking on air literally that we have this opportunity to gain the exposure for this epidemic and the potential for people to contribute to resolving it that this opportunity presents to us.”

The statistics are alarming. According to Winnefield, some 65,000 people each year die from opioid overdoses and 85,000 children are placed in foster homes due to parents being impacted by addiction. He said 125 babies are born each day in the U.S. addicted to opioids.

Winnefeld pointed to Schmidt as the shining example of how to turn a personal tragedy into a cause. Schmidt was left a quadriplegic from injuries sustained in an Indy car testing crash in 2000, but has since become a successful Verizon IndyCar Series team owner and businessman, as well as starting a foundation searching for a cure for spinal cord injuries.

“You all know Sam's story,” Winnefeld said. “He has turned a negative into a huge positive in his life. That's what we're trying to do with our lives, with our effort, is to turn this family tragedy of ours into something positive that will prevent some other family from going through the same tragedy that we've been through.”

Schmidt realizes the impact that exposure on the biggest motorsports stage in the world can have for S.A.F.E. Project US on May 27 at the 102nd running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“Let's face it, this is the world's greatest sporting event ever, and so a lot of those 33 cars will be sporting associations with some really good non-profit organizations,” said Schmidt.

“You can't listen to the news at night nowadays without hearing of this massive epidemic in our country right now of addiction overdose, specifically opioids. … The statistics are just really, really alarming when you think about it. It is the No. 1 killer of Americans in our society today on a daily basis.”

Winnefeld said opioids have their place in treatment when properly maintained.

“We acknowledge there is a place, a proper place, for the use of opioid pain medication,” he said.

“Before it became an epidemic in this country, it was principally only used for terminal cancer patients to relieve their immense pain as they were on their final journey. It's exploded to giving people opioids for having their wisdom teeth out.

“We have to get that back under control.”

SPM has added the S.A.F.E. Project US logo to Hinchcliffe’s No. 5 Arrow Electronics Honda and Wickens’ No. 6 Lucas Oil Honda for the Indy 500. To learn more about the organization, visit SAFEProject.us.