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John Andretti News
John Andretti News - April 2009
Andretti and Front Row Motorsports Head to "Racers" Track
Team Continues to Make Improvements Each Week
John Andretti, Driver #34 Window World Chevrolet, Fast Facts:
Andretti Comments on Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway
April 28, 2009 - "Richmond is a favorite of a lot of guys. It's a short track, but it's a 'bigger' short track too. It's unique in a lot of ways. It will wear your neck out more than Bristol will. You never stop turning at Richmond. The whole straightaway is a turn. The only rest you get is about the two seconds you go down the back.
"I like the fact that it's a 'racers' track. I think a lot of guys agree. You can race down at the bottom, run the middle or run the top. You never know where the race is going to be won. It's been won from all three. It's a great little track. There is 'rooting' and 'gouging', but this isn't Martinsville. We can put on a great show and usually always do. I'm sure after Talladega, a bunch of us are looking forward to it.
"Our team, Front Row Motorsports with Window World support this weekend, has overachieved in some areas and underachieved in others. We're looking at the areas that we can get better and trying to capitalize on that. We're still a new race team. People have spoken about the new teams that have come in this season, but this is a whole new team too.
"Sure, Front Row Motorsports has been around for while, but this is a whole new team. We have a new location (Statesville, N.C.), new people, new parts, different equipment and a lot of good things going on. The only thing that is the same is the team name, Front Row Motorsports and Bob Jenkins (team owner).
"We're getting our legs underneath us. We're a July, August team. I don't mean we're going to be chasing down Hendrick Motorsports at that time, but we're certainly going to be making strides forward at that point. Right now, it's one race at a time. The next race is in Richmond. Our hope is to have another good night and continue to build with this team."
Full Story at WindowWorld.com
Andretti, Petty discuss month of May 2009-04-24
Racing series INDYCAR NASCAR-CUP
Date 2009-04-24
Andretti and Petty Discuss Indianapolis 500; Driver and Co-Owner Discuss Upcoming Month of May
Talladega, Ala. (April 14, 2009) -- Richard Petty, co-owner of Richard Petty Motorsports and John Andretti, driver of the No. 43 Window World/Richard Petty Motorsports/Dreyer and Reinbold Racing Honda-Dallara spoke this afternoon at the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway about their participation in this year's Indianapolis 500.
It will be the first time Richard Petty has entered a car into the Indianapolis 500. Window World, a sponsor of Andretti and Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will also be making its debut at the Indianapolis 500.
Window World will be the only new sponsor in motorsports in 2009 to have sponsored an entry in the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500- both with Andretti behind the wheel
Andretti will be looking to make his 10th start in the Indianapolis 500. His best finish is fifth.
***
Below is a transcript of today's media session:
Richard Petty:
"Well, John is entering me I think. John talked to me some time last year and worked on a deal before that race last year. We never could get anything together. Then John worked on everything since then. He got Window World, some local guys from North Wilkesboro (N.C.), and John and I got together. He told me what he could do and I told him what I could do. So, now we're getting ready for it.
"I've always been tied up so much with the stock cars that I never really got into the Indy Cars other than being fascinated by their mechanics and professionalism. Now that I'm not as day-to-day-to-day as I used to be with the company, this allows me to go do something. John drove for us for a long time and we got to be buddies. He came and said, "Let's try this." I said, "I'll try anything once!" That's why we are there.
"I'll do part of the "double". I'll go up for part of qualifying and then come back for the Darlington race. I'll then go back up to Indy for the '500' and come back in time for the '600'. It's going to be easier on me than on the driver, let's put it that way.
"Last year was the first time I ever thought about entering a car. John said something about it, and I know there are a few Cup guys that have cars up there in Indianapolis. I think even Richard Childress put his hands in there too at some point. It's the first time we've had the opportunity to be involved. It's going to be great. Already, just the excitement of me doing it and being involved. We have a lot of crew guys that came through the Indy ranks and they are excited about it."
John Andretti:
"I think we can put together a competitive effort with everyone and Dreyer and Reinbold Racing. That's why we didn't do with 'The King' last year. To get Richard involved, and bring the number '43' to Indianapolis, we wanted to do it the best. Window World, like Richard said, were the ones that put everything together.
"We have great people between Richard Petty Motorsports and Dreyer and Reinbold Racing. To get the drive the '43' again is something that I'm looking forward to again. I have a great relationship with the Petty family and really enjoy my time with them. I get to drag Richard to where I'm at now since I can't be where he's at.
"I think the big thing with this deal is that we're starting on the first day out. Last year when I did the Indy 500 I went and did four more IndyCar races. That made me realize I could be better prepared for Indianapolis. I think I learned a lot last year. The cars are the same this year. They still have the paddle shifts. A lot of things have been frozen. I feel like I can go there and work really hard to make sure everything is there.
"The team I'm running with, Dreyer and Reinbold, is a full-time team with a full-time staff. It's not like we're coming in part-timing this thing or just to have fun with it. We're coming in with a really serious effort. Dreyer and Reinbold have spent a lot of money in development so we're looking forward to it.
"People have seen the Petty's and Andretti's in the past so they might as well see us in Indy. We've been to Indy before together with a roof on so now we're going to run the convertible. The month of May is a unique month. You have a whole month to do it. I'd love for Richard to be up there as much as possible because I think he'd and the fans both enjoy each other.
"It's going to be a lot of fun. It's a track that I passed every day when I was going to high school. Our family, that's what we grew up around. So, the Indianapolis 500 is extremely important. To have Richard be a part of it, my passion is to always do well in the No. 43.
"I went back to Indy a few years back and I was worried. The car had changed, the tires had changed and the motor was different. Everything had changed but the track. By the end of the first day I felt completely comfortable. Driving a race car is like driving a race car. Once you've driven it, you figure out what it can give you, and you push as hard as you can. Michael (cousin Michael Andretti) came down and started beating on me. He said, 'You can't run that NASCAR line out there.' I said, 'Well, give me five laps to figure it out. Don't beat on me now.' I had plenty of coaching.
"The first conversation wasn't with Richard. I had talked to Robbie (Loomis) and asked if he thought Richard would come up on race day. It was ten minutes later and I got call and he said, 'yea.' Richard, Dale Inman, Robbie Loomis and Brian Moffitt all came up on race day last year. They got to go around and see what it's like. It's a different atmosphere, a lot of tradition and it's just unique in so many different ways. When I drove for Richard, I talked about it each year the entire month of May. Hopefully now he can come up and enjoy it."
Richard Petty:
"Last year was the first time that I've been there for the race. With STP we used to go up there for qualifying, but we always had our Cup racing to get back to. Last year was the first time that I got to go for the '500'. Last year I went to the Kentucky Derby and went to the Indianapolis 500. I've been to World Series and Super Bowls, but the Indianapolis 500 was still a big deal on my little list of things to do. I know it's been going on for 90 to 100 years, but I'd never been there. I'd been there for opening day, but not the race.
"It's a just a little bit different than the '400' because we're used to stock cars. We know how things go there, but to be there for one of the premier sports deal of the year, was a big, big deal.
"This is just sort of a one shot deal. We wanted to go and be a part of the big deal. I'm not looking into doing anything more, but we all still have to make a living. You just never say never.
"My involvement in stock cars has always been pretty involved because I owned the cars. The other guys who raced at Indy drove for someone else. They had the time to go out there and do that. I couldn't afford it because stock cars were my business. If I left and did something else I wouldn't have any business. I never really considered driving one of those cars.
"The atmosphere, you just have to be there to really understand how big it is. You can tell people how big these events are, but you have to be there."
-credit: rpm
Full story on MotorSport.com
Andretti will drive 34 races:
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
John Andretti wasn't sure how many Sprint Cup races he would enter when Front Row Racing offered him a ride for the Daytona 500. Turns out he will attempt all but two of 36. Andretti plans to miss only two races, the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. He'll be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for both weekends, one for qualifying and the other for the Indianapolis 500. His replacement for those events hasn't been named.
Courtesy of ESPN Insider and Jayski.com
Petty-Andretti Family Connection Brings Famous '43' To Indy
By Eric Powell
indy500.com
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
For "The King" of stock car racing, Richard Petty, and Indianapolis native John Andretti, their partnership in the 2009 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race is about much more than competition. It's about family, because for all intents and purposes, they are family.
At a press conference April 6 at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in a crowded room overlooking the iconic "Yard of Bricks" at the start-finish line, Petty and Andretti never stopped smiling as they unveiled the No. 43 Dallara/Honda/Firestone entry that Andretti will drive from the first day of practice for "500" on Wednesday, May 6.
Andretti's car, which will be maintained by veteran IndyCar Series team Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, will carry primary sponsorship from Window World along with the legendary light blue and day-glo orange colors made famous by Petty. Andretti and D&R co-owner Dennis Reinbold are longtime friends.
"I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for John," said Petty, the seven-time NASCAR champion who has fielded cars in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard since 1994, but never an IndyCar. "John talked me into it. He drove for me for a bunch of years, we got to be real close. He asked me what I thought of doing something (at Indianapolis), and I can't think of a better situation for it to come in."
More..
NASCAR Legend Petty To Field Indy 500 Entry For J. Andretti
Monday, April 6, 2009
NASCAR legend Richard Petty will field an entry for the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, with John Andretti driving the Window World-sponsored car in the 2009 edition of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" on Sunday, May 24.
Seven-time NASCAR champion Petty unveiled the No. 43 Window World Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Indy 500 veteran and NASCAR regular Andretti on April 6 at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Window World, the world's largest replacement window company, brought Andretti to the Daytona 500 earlier this year.
Petty's new entry will feature the traditional "Petty Blue" and "Day-Glo Red" from his stock cars in the "King's" debut as a team owner in the Indy 500 after participating in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard for the past 15 years. Richard Petty Motorsports currently campaigns four Dodge cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Window World and Petty will combine efforts with the Indy-based Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team to field the No. 43 Honda-powered Indy car for Andretti, an Indianapolis native. Petty, 71, joins past Indy 500-winning team owners Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi with entries in the both Memorial Day racing classics at Indianapolis and Charlotte on the same day.
"This is pretty exciting news for all of us," Petty said. "Never did I think I would have the opportunity to be part of the Indianapolis 500. I know how much this means to John Andretti and the Andretti family, and I'm looking forward to seeing John on the track in May. I'm not sure if I can be of any help to him, but he's going to have no bigger supporter than myself."
More..
Full Story on Indy500.com
Petty makes owner leap into Indy 500
April 3, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Richard Petty will make his first foray into the Indianapolis 500 as an owner when he fields a car for John Andretti in next month's race. Petty will be joining fellow NASCAR team owners Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi at Indy.
A news conference is scheduled Monday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, multiple news outlets are reporting.
Andretti drove for the now-defunct family-owned Petty Enterprises team in NASCAR from 1998 through the middle of the 2003 season. He has driven in nine Indy 500s, including the last two -- finishing 16th last year driving for Marty Roth -- and 10 NASCAR races at the famed Brickyard.
His best finish in the 500 was fifth in 1991, while his top performance in the Cup event was seventh in his first year driving for Petty.
The 46-year-old racer, the nephew of longtime open-wheel star and Indy 500 winner Mario Andretti, has also driven sports cars and dragsters.
In 1994, he became the first driver to run both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR event in Charlotte on the same day, finishing 10th at Indianapolis and crashing and finishing 36th at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon have both since done the double, but the grueling feat is no longer possible since Indianpolis changed its starting time several years ago.
Petty is a partner in NASCAR with George Gillett in Richard Petty Motorsports, the team formerly known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Gillett is not expected to be part of the Indy deal.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, which runs the full IndyCar Series, will work with Petty at Indy, providing equipment and personnel.
The IndyCar Series is in St. Petersburg this week for the season-opening Honda Grand Prix.