The Texas-based team has selected the Fund as a beneficiary of shirts produced with the #Race4Houston emblem. Similar decals have also been placed on several racecars within the paddock this weekend.

“I knew some people who knew Mayor Turner and Judge Emmett, who run the GHCF and set up the Harvey fund through there,” he said. “We knew it was a credible place to help people.

“A big thank you to IndyCar. With our team we have a little bit of reach. But when IndyCar jumped onboard with us, helped us really push it and helped us with the T-shirt campaign, it reaches a whole new group of IndyCar fans and racing fans. Just really appreciative of their efforts.

“I know in my lifetime, this is probably some of the worst devastation I've seen in the United States… probably the worst.

“Everybody has been so supportive. It was really cool that last practice session, I was watching cars drive by on pit road, seeing the big decals, really pushing the campaign. Hopefully we can raise some money.”

Foyt said the team and his family had been fortunate to escape largely without hurt, although when Harvey struck, they were away at the IndyCar race at Gateway, and felt “helpless.”

He said: “We were very lucky. I think of our whole team, we only had one person who had some damage. He was actually shop-based, so he was able to be home and see to his issues.

“We were at Gateway racing, couldn't go home just because there was no way. Even if we could have flown to a surrounding city, there was no way to get to either my house or A.J.'s home. We knew my mom was OK and my wife was OK.

“We stayed on the road and went to Indy to work with the teams [Foyt opened an extra race shop in Indianapolis last winter, which runs Conor Daly’s #4 car]. It was just a really helpless feeling to not be able to go home and having to watch all the images on TV.”

Those T-shirts can be found at www.ShopIndyCar.com and the merchandise tents at Watkins Glen. To support the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, you can go to www.GHCF.org.