David Letterman launched the "Stay in the Race" heart health campaign with Edwards Lifesciences on April 14, 2026, an initiative that uses IndyCar racing to raise awareness about heart valve failure and places specialized screening booths at major racing events across the nation.
Letterman, 79, who is a co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, stood beside his partners Bobby Rahal and Mike Lanigan as the campaign was announced. The effort ties together the team’s presence on the track and a medical partner to push screenings into venues where older fans gather.
The campaign carries an immediate spotlight: a documentary short film tied to the project is scheduled to premiere online on May 22, 2026, just days before the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500. The timing funnels attention toward the busiest stretch of the IndyCar calendar and toward the specialized booths that will be operating at races around the country.
Letterman framed the effort in plain terms. "I love the topic of this, and I love heart maintenance in particular," he said, and later added, "I feel great," a reminder of how easily symptoms can be missed. The launch team also invoked recent survivals within their circle: Mike Lanigan had heart valve failure and later underwent a successful Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement procedure, and Letterman himself survived an emergency quintuple bypass surgery in 2000.
Severe aortic stenosis — the campaign’s primary focus — predominantly targets adults aged 65 and older and often presents with zero symptoms until it reaches a life-threatening stage. That contrast is the practical case the campaign hopes to make: a fan who feels fine in the grandstands may still be at risk, and a quick screening at a race could change a life.
There is deliberate friction in turning an entertainment setting into a screening venue. Racing events are built around spectacle and speed; the campaign asks organizers and fans to accept a medical presence in that environment. The campaign’s own materials and partners acknowledge that the target audience includes older adult males who have been historically resistant to preventative medical care — the very group most likely to skip screenings until it’s too late.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s partnership with Edwards Lifesciences means the booths will be staffed and positioned at high-attendance dates, with the documentary designed to amplify the human stories behind the statistics. The film’s May 22 premiere is intended to drive viewers toward the on-site screening opportunities that follow in the racing season.
Letterman has tied his public profile and team ownership to a precise problem and a concrete fix: put screening where the people are, and use a short film to pull attention in advance. "Kind of makes me sad," he said at the launch, and later, "As we all understand, you can take a man’s show, you can’t take a man’s voice, so that’s the good news," signaling that he intends to keep using that voice to press the point. With booths already planned for races and a documentary arriving just before the Indianapolis 500, the campaign moves beyond rhetoric — it will test whether reaching fans at the track can find silent valve disease before it becomes fatal.
