Patient Ambassadors Create Custom Hats for Ericsson; Designs to Appear at Delaware Insurance Company (Delaware Life) Primary Races in 2026.

Ahead of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opener at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg this week, Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson launched a special initiative at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at Ascension St. Vincent alongside longtime Andretti partner Delaware Life. The multi-race program will give Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital patient ambassadors the chance to design bespoke hats for Marcus to wear at each of Delaware Life’s primary sponsored races throughout the 2026 INDYCAR season.

During a recent visit to the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital, Marcus met with seven patient ambassadors. The ambassadors are former and current patients who share their stories to raise awareness, inspire resilience and support the hospital’s mission. Each ambassador, alongside a hero who has supported them, created artwork on a white Delaware Life Branded Bills hat that Marcus will wear at each of his Delaware Life primary sponsored race weekends, including the Streets of St. Petersburg, Phoenix Raceway, the Streets of Detroit, World Wide Technology Raceway, Road America®, Nashville Superspeedway and Portland International Raceway.

  • Josiah, Age 11 — Designed the Streets of St. Petersburg hat
  • Ava (Age 10) and Azariyah (Age 6) — Designed the Phoenix Raceway hat
  • Rhett, Age 4 — Designed the Streets of Detroit hat
  • Cooper, Age 9 — Designed the World Wide Technology hat
  • LaQuan, Age 13 — Designed the Road America® hat
  • Sincere, Age 9 — Designed the Nashville Superspeedway hat
  • Chloe, Age 6 — Designed the Portland International Raceway hat

With his eighth INDYCAR season and third with Andretti Global set to begin on Friday, Ericsson said the visit meant a lot as a resident of Indianapolis.

“I like to use my platform to try and help and focus on different things that matter,” Ericsson said. “Group 1001 and Delaware Life have been longtime supporters of Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital, so when this initiative came up, I was super excited to be part of it. The idea of creating custom hats with the kids and seeing how happy and excited they were was really special. It definitely gives me a little extra motivation in the car knowing I’m racing for them.”

In addition to the patient ambassadors, doctors, nurses and staff at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital also designed hats that will make their debut at the St. Petersburg race weekend. The hats will be worn by players from Tampa Bay Sun FC of the Gainbridge Super League and retired LPGA Tour player and Gulfport, Florida resident, Brittany Lincicome. All of the athletes will be guests of Delaware Life during the race weekend.

“This initiative reflects our commitment to the communities we serve across Delaware Life and Group 1001,” said Mike Nichols, Chief of Sponsorship Strategy and Activation for Group 1001 Insurance Holdings, LLC (Group 1001). “With Marcus leading the effort in INDYCAR and the support of our Gainbridge Super League and LPGA platforms in St. Petersburg, we’re able to carry this project into the season and strengthen our relationship with Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in our hometown of Indianapolis.”

The first patient ambassador-designed hat will make its debut on Friday in St. Petersburg with the remaining designs to follow at Delaware Life’s primary sponsored races this season.