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John Andretti News
John Andretti News - October 2009
This Week's Race
October 30, 2009 - November 1, 2009
| Driver: | John Andretti |
| Team: | Front Row Motorsports |
| Car: | #34 Chevrolet Impala |
| Sponsor: | Window World |
| Race: | >Amp Energy 500 |
| Track: | Talladega Superspeedway |
| Race: | 23rd | Lead lap |
| Qualifiying: | 35th (Owner's Points) | Cancelled due to rain |
| Practice 2: | - | Did not practice |
| Practice 1: | 21st | 50.097 sec / 191.149 mph |
Image courtesy of Window World
Window World Returns to No. 34 Chevrolet at Talladega
North Wilkesboro, N.C. (October 26, 2009) – The blue-and-white paint scheme of Window World will be back on the Front Row Motorsports No. 34 car when it hits the high-banked, 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway this weekend. After making its motorsports sponsorship debut earlier this season in NASCAR’s Daytona 500 – and its Indy Racing League debut in the Indianapolis 500 – America’s largest window replacement company is ready to go racing again with John Andretti in Sunday’s AMP Energy 500.
In addition to the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500, Window World sponsored Andretti’s ride in five other Sprint Cup races in the 2009 season. The North Wilkesboro, N.C., company is one of only two sponsors this year to participate in both the Daytona and Indy events, two of the premier sporting events in the world.
In a year when most companies are shuttering marketing dollars, Window World saw the opportunity to connect with a national fan base using a name synonymous with winning and tradition. Both sponsor and driver say the 2009 partnership has been a success.
“I really can’t think of a smarter company in the sport right now,” said Andretti, driver of the No. 34 Window World Chevrolet. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of people in the Window World family and I’m really impressed with their commitment. They saw an opportunity to get their name in front of a whole new audience and they’ve really taken advantage of it.”
“It’s been a great fit for us and hopefully them, too,” continued Andretti. “Talladega is always a huge event, and with this being one of the final events on the Sprint Cup schedule, it’s going to give a lot more people the opportunity to learn more about Window World.”
“Getting involved with this sport has been a real thrill and a business success story for us,” said Todd Whitworth, CEO of Window World. “We got our feet wet with the Daytona 500 and felt it was pretty successful, so we added a few more races in the season. Then the opportunity to partner with John and Richard Petty for the Indianapolis 500 was something you can only dream about.
“It just makes sense to come back now and show our support to John and the Front Row Motorsports team. Talladega is always a huge race on the schedule and it makes sense to support John in this race.”
The AMP Energy 500 at Talladega begins at noon on Sunday and will be televised live on ABC.
Press Release at Breaking Limits PR
Battered Andretti Somehow Comes Out Swinging In Bubble Battle
Tracking The Top 35 In Owner Points · Mike Ravesi · Monday October 26, 2009
Bubble Breakdown:
NASCAR returned to its short track roots last Sunday with the running of the TUMS Fast Relief 500 in Martinsville, Virginia. The return to the sport’s oldest speedway was good news for some veteran drivers like Bobby Labonte, who posted a top 16 finish in this latest go round at the paper clip. But it was bad news for others like Michael Waltrip, who demonstrated during the week he has trouble making U-Turns without hitting a guy on a motorcycle before crashing out on his own during the weekend. So, by all means, read on to see if John Andretti would start putting nails in Team Red Bull’s coffin, or if Scott Speed would come through with a good run and chop into his team’s 98-point deficit in this latest edition of the Breakdown.
Focusing on the Bubble:
What an up and down day for our two drivers battling for the last spot in the top 35. Scott Speed, with time running out in the 2009 season, desperately needed a good finish to cut into John Andretti’s lead, and looked like he was going to do just that. Scott spent most of the day running in the mid-to-high 20’s, fighting a tight condition on his Red Bull Racing No. 82 Toyota. But the key move came during a cycle of green-flag pit stops with less than 100 laps remaining. When a caution flew for none other than John Andretti’s spin in Turn 2 (more on that in a minute), the No. 82 team was the only one who hadn’t yet made their stop, putting them in 7th place on the lead lap when the yellow flew. The team then dialed the car in, falling back to change tires under that caution but still sitting 17th with as few as 25 laps remaining. It looked like the run the team needed … until Speed then attempted what looked like a banzai move going into Turn 1 and lost the car, slamming hard into the wall and doing heavy damage to the back end of his racing machine. Ending his day five laps early, Scott’s top 20 car regressed to the 31st position by the checkered flag.
John Andretti and his Front Row Racing No. 34 Chevrolet didn’t have much better luck, either. John also struggled with his handling, spending much of his day off the lead lap and running between 26th and 35th. Then, the field decided to start punting John around Martinsville’s half-mile race track. Kasey Kahne got into John and Sterling Marlin on lap 275, bringing out the caution although Andretti was able to stay on the lead lap. That’s when things got a little better temporarily, as Steven Lane used pit strategy to get Andretti up to 5th on a restart on lap 306. But John slid back through the field to 20th and eventually was clipped by Elliott Sadler, spinning the No. 34 Chevrolet around. No damage was done, and John was able to continue one lap down; however, he was again wrecked on the final lap by fellow Bubble contender Paul Menard. That left John with a 26th place finish, two laps down, but more importantly added 20 points to his lead to extend it to 118 with just four races to go. If John survives at Talladega next week, a top 25 finish could all but finish off Scott Speed in the race for the top 35.
Full Story at FrontStretch.com
Andretti Defends NASCAR's Late Caution Call
Oct 26, 1:43 PM (ET)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -John Andretti defended NASCAR's decision not to throw a caution when he couldn't move his disabled car from the finish line at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.
Andretti crashed on the frontstretch during the next to lap of the race, and NASCAR apparently believed he could move his car out of the way in time for the field to race its way across the finish line. Because he couldn't, the caution wasn't called until the cars were coming out of the final turn and quickly closing in on Andretti.
"It wasn't a bad call," Andretti said in a statement on Monday. "To me, I wasn't in a great position, but I wasn't in an overly dangerous position. NASCAR focuses on the race itself, and they want to see the winner come across the finish line.
"It's probably the call I would've made. I would've gotten out of the way if I could've. But I had a couple of issues. The car was too damaged."
It's second time since the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship that NASCAR waited until the last moment to call a caution for an accident near the start/finish line. A similar incident occurred last month in the Chase opener at New Hampshire.
Three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished second, said NASCAR was consistent with its effort of waiting as long as possible to throw the caution in an effort to not spoil an exciting finish.
But, "it makes me a little nervous as I'm charging into the start/finish line and there's a car sitting there," he said. "I wish it would be thrown a little bit earlier for safety reasons. Might as well be on the safe side."
Race-winner Denny Hamlin said he thought Andretti's car did not pose a threat to the other competitors and NASCAR made the right call.
"I think they're at least doing a good job of not letting it affect the top five finishing positions," he said. "They're doing all they can. They don't know what's going on inside that race car, if that guy has given up on starting it or is he continuing to try to get it going. I think as long as they let it play out, it's fine."
Full Story on Excite Sports
Rough Day for John Andretti at Martinsville
Sunday, October 25, 2009
It was a rough day for John Andretti and the Front Row Motorsports #34 team at Martinsville Speedway. The team struggled with traffic on the narrow 1/2 mile short track, but was able to salvage a 26th place finish, despite losing power steering, being spun twice and finally, being turned into the wall by the #98 of Paul Menard with one lap to go.
Andretti stayed out to lead a lap and was able to gain 20 points in the Owner's Standings over the #82 of Scott Speed, extending his lead over 36th position to 118 points.
Next week, the Lottery (Talladega)...
Andretti Qualifies 27th at Martinsville
Friday, October 23, 2009
After testing at Little Rock this week, John Andretti qualified the Front Row Motorsports #34 Chevrolet 27th for this weekend's race at Martinsville. With A&W All American Food on the hood, Andretti returns to the site of one of his two Sprint Cup Series victories. In 22 starts at Martinsville Speedway, Andretti has one win, two top 5s, an average finish of 26.2 and five DNFs.
Andretti Tests at Little Rock
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - From Jayski.com
Three teams testing at Little Rock:
Three Sprint Cup teams are testing today [10-20-2009] at Rockingham Speedway's 'Little Rock', their 1/2 mile Martinsville-like short track: #48-Jimmie Johnson, #09-Sterling Marlin and #34-John Andretti.(10-20-2009)
Bubble Breakdown: Lucky Breaks And Perfect Pit Strategy Boost Andretti, Hurt Speed
Tracking The Top 35 In Owner Points · Mike Ravesi · Monday October 12, 2009
In an effort to draw a bigger crowd, NASCAR moved Fontana’s date from the hot August Labor Day holiday weekend, when people may have other things to do, to a much cooler holiday-free one in October (unless you still get Columbus Day off) AND made it the fourth race in NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup. But while I never saw a blimp shot of the crowd, I did see a lot of empty seats at the end of the frontstretch, proving the old adage that if you put a dress on a pig… you still have a pig.
Yet when the checkered flag flew, John Andretti was as happy as a pig in mud, as he posted his first top 10 since the rain shortened event at New Hampshire back in early summer. To see why he extended his lead over Scott Speed and how some of our other bubble dwellers fared, read on to find out in this week’s edition of the Bubble Breakdown.
Focusing on the Bubble:
The battle between David and Goliath for the 35th spot in the owner standings is drawing to a close, with John Andretti and Front Row Motorsports holding off Team Red Bull Racing and its megabucks multi-car racing operation. Don’t let the Taco Bell paint scheme fool you, it’s only on there because team owner Bob Jenkins owns several of the stores, not because the Bell is throwing any Pesos at the team. The battle at Fontana went back and forth, with John ahead of Scott 27th to 31st by lap 75. The next 75 laps continued with a flip-flopping battle, with the drivers sitting 22nd for Speed and 31st, a lap down, for Andretti heading into the race’s second half.
But it was a late call by Front Row Motorsports crew chief Steven Lane that gave John the win for the week. Lane called for Andretti to stay out as long as possible during a long green-flag run, hoping for a caution to pit under yellow. They stayed out so long that when a caution flag finally waved, the team thought they were going to run out of gas. Yet not only did their fuel tank hold up, they had risen to eighth place at the time of the caution and actually got an extended TV mention by the ESPN crew. The move also put the No. 34 back on the lead lap, allowing the team to gain several spots by avoiding wrecks late and post a very nice 19th place finish, keeping a 122-point cushion over Speed.
But it wouldn’t be the dagger through the heart of Team Red Bull. Scott Speed held on to a loose car all afternoon and also dodged the late race wrecks. The trouble was he couldn’t get himself into the Lucky Dog position when the cautions flew, thus keeping him within sight of Andretti but never able to pass him. Speed and his Red Bull Racing team also posted a good run, coming home in 21st, but it’s another battle lost in a war that’s quickly winding down.
Full Story on FrontStretch.com
John Andretti Finishes 19th at California
Sunday, October 11, 2009
John Andretti wheeled the Front Row Motorsports #34 Taco Bell Chevrolet to a 19th place finish in the Pepsi 500 at California's Auto Club Speedway, despite his transmission being stuck in fourth gear for more than 60 laps at the end of the race.
Andretti gained 11 points on Scott Speed's #82, including five bonus points for leading a lap early in the race. He also gained 62 points on the #7 car of Robby Gordon after Gordon finished 38th, cutting the gap to 34th place to 97. Andretti heads into Kansas in 35th place with a 122 point lead in the Owner's Points over the #82 Red Bull Team.
Bubble Breakdown: Menard Spins Out Early While Andretti Runs Dry Late
Tracking The Top 35 In Owner Points · Mike Ravesi · Monday October 5, 2009
Well, it didn’t take long for the bubble teams to find trouble at Kansas. A lap 7 spin by Paul Menard collected several cars, ending the day for one backmarker while ruining it for another. Meanwhile, the head-to-head duel came down to the last few laps between John Andretti and Scott Speed, with one driver’s team miscalculating their fuel mileage and running dry with two laps to go. So to see where everyone sits after Sunday’s race and how the drama played out, read on in this week’s edition of the Bubble Breakdown.
Focusing on the Bubble:
I can only wonder what Scott Speed would give to have his qualifying lap at Infineon back. Sitting comfortably in the top 10, he overdrove the second-to-last turn and went off course, resulting in the team missing the race. While there was no guarantee of a good finish back then, the car was obviously good and the team now so desperately needs those points to make the top 35. A mere 30th place finish is worth 73 points, for example, which would have cut the team’s deficit heading into Kansas from 124 to just 49…
Anyways, once again Speed put his No. 82 Team Red Bull machine well ahead of Andretti’s No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet on Friday by starting a whopping 30 spots ahead of John. But the advantage was short-lived, as it is most races, when Speed began complaining of a loose car that was difficult to drive. As Speed continued to slide back, Andretti was picking up spots due to attrition. An early wreck put two cars in the garage for repairs, and then the start and park teams got to the parking part and that again helped Andretti’s cause. Eventually, Speed’s team did get the car “very drivable” for Scott, and on the team’s last pit stop they packed enough fuel in the car to allow him to finally drive hard to the finish. And drive hard he did, keeping the car just one lap down and posting a 27th place effort.
Meanwhile, Andretti also fought a loose car, complaining about sliding the turns and not being able to get on the gas as soon as he wanted to. The team fought hard all day trying to get the car to John’s liking, while making a decision to stay out to lead a lap during pit stops and get the five bonus points for doing so. It all looked like it was going to play out well, as they sat 28th with just four laps to go, right behind Speed. However, with three laps left the engine coughed and the fuel pressure gauge fell to zero. Having to pit under green, the mistake cost them several positions, eventually causing the No. 34 to wind up in 33rd. So instead of finishing one spot behind Speed and gaining two points because of the bonus, Andretti lost 13 points for his No. 34 team as they try and hold off the No. 82. They two teams head to Fontana next week with Front Row still holding a 111-point advantage.
Full Story at FrontStretch.com