John Andretti News - December 2009

John Andretti eligible for Budweiser Shootout at Daytona

December 23, 2009

NASCAR today announced a change in the eligbility rules for February's Budweiser Shootout that will make Andretti eligible to race. NASCAR added past Cup winners at Daytona International Speedway to the criteria, which makes Andretti eligible due to his win at the track in July of 1997.

From Jayski.com:

Budweiser Shootout eligibility rules change:

NASCAR announced Wednesday a revision to the 2010 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona format that provides fans with a strong lineup of drivers highlighted by last year's top performers and a collection of previous winners at the sport's most-storied race track. The 32nd annual season-opening event launches Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 6 with green flag set for 8:10pm/et. The new criteria are based upon the following qualifications, with eligibility based on a driver having competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series within the last two seasons:

* The 12 drivers that qualified for the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup
* Past NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions
* Past Budweiser Shootout champions
* Past Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400 champions
* The reigning Raybestos Rookie of the Year

"We're always looking at ways to make this event bigger and better for our fans and we believe the new format for the Budweiser Shootout puts together an exceptionally strong lineup of our top drivers," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. "In our discussions with the track, we thought by placing an additional emphasis on the drivers who had performed well at Daytona over the years would create an even more compelling element for the fans to get excited about at the beginning of the season."

The race distance will continue to be 75 laps (187.5 miles), consisting of two segments, 25 and 50 laps. Both green-flag laps and yellow-flag laps will count. Between segments there will be a 10-minute pit stop allowing teams to pit and change tires, add fuel and make normal chassis adjustments. Crews will be permitted to work on cars and will be allowed to perform functions they would do on a normal pit stop in a regular NASCAR Sprint Cup event. All work must be performed on pit road or in the garage. Changing of springs, shock absorbers or rear-ends will not be permitted.

Starting positions will again be determined by a blind-draw at the annual Budweiser Shootout Draw Party on Thursday night, Feb. 4 on the SPEED stage in the Midway, outside Turn 4. The Budweiser Shootout, a "non-points" event for NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors, was first held in 1979, originally known as the Busch Clash. Kevin Harvick won last year's event. Tickets for all 2010 Speedweeks events are now available online at daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

Drivers eligible for the 2010 Budweiser Shootout include:
2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Drivers: #48-Jimmie Johnson, #5-Mark Martin, #24-Jeff Gordon, #2-Kurt Busch, #11-Denny Hamlin, #14-Tony Stewart, #16-Greg Biffle, #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, #39-Ryan Newman, #9-Kasey Kahne, #99-Carl Edwards & #83-Brian Vickers

Others (criteria filled in parentheses):
#1-Jamie McMurray (Coke Zero 400 winner)
#17-Matt Kenseth (Series champion, Daytona 500)
#18-Kyle Busch (Coke Zero 400)
#20-Joey Logano (Reigning Raybestos Rookie of the Year)
#21-Bill Elliott (Series champion, Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Budweiser Shootout)
#29-Kevin Harvick (Daytona 500, Budweiser Shootout)
#31-Jeff Burton (Coke Zero 400)
#55-Michael Waltrip (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400)
#71-Bobby Labonte (Series champion)
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Budweiser Shootout)
#34?-John Andretti (Coke Zero 400) - no 2010 ride announced
#75?-Derrike Cope (Daytona 500) - will supposedly run his own team again
Geoff Bodine (Daytona 500, Budweiser Shootout) - no current ride, last ran at Dover in 9/2004, made two 2009 attempts in #64
Terry Labonte (Series champion, Budweiser Shootout) - no current ride, last ran at Homestead 11/2009 in #08 car
Sterling Marlin (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400) - no current ride, last ran at Martinsville 10/2009 in #09 car
Ken Schrader (Budweiser Shootout) - no current ride, last ran at Phoenix 11/2008 in #96 car.(NASCAR)

28 drivers are eligible, no word if all will run the event. Eligibility based on a driver having competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series within the last two seasons (2008-2009).(12-23-2009)

Jayski.com

2009 Season Review: John Andretti

Bryan Davis Keith · Monday December 7, 2009

2009 Ride: No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet
2009 Sponsors: Taco Bell, Window World, Long John Silver’s, A&W, MyAutoLoan.com, CARFAX
2009 Owner: Bob Jenkins
2009 Crew Chief: Steven Lane

Stats: 34 races: 0 wins, 0 top 5s, 0 top 10s, 0 DNQs, 36th in points.
Best Finish: 16th – Loudon (June).
Average Finish: 29.3.

High Point: When Front Row Motorsports showed up at Daytona in February, it was the first time they knew they’d race in the Daytona 500. With an alliance with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing scoring the team a spot in the top 35 in owner points, Andretti was locked into the field for a race that he’d himself raced into with the No. 34 team just a season before.

This year, with sponsor Window World in tow, Andretti delivered a strong 16th place finish for FRM, outrunning the far more-hyped second Window World entry fielded by Phil Parsons and driven by Terry Labonte. What’s more, the top 20 result was Andretti’s best in the Daytona 500 since 2004, one of only four times he’s cracked the top 20 in 14 starts in the Great American Race. Most importantly, Andretti nailed down a solid points day with his Daytona run, one that set the foundation in place for FRM to remain locked in the top 35 the entire season for the first time in the program’s history.

Low Point: As with any team working on a limited budget, dodging wrecks is paramount week after week. And while Andretti did an admirable job keeping the No. 34 car out of trouble all season long, one of the year’s few hiccups came at Dover in June, where the Taco Bell Chevrolet blew out a right front tire and smacked the boiler plate steel walls of the Monster Mile, relegating Andretti to a 34th place finish after completing only 253 of the 400 laps run. While there were several finishes worse for him as the season progressed (he finished 36th at Charlotte suffering from carburetor issues), none were more destructive than this spring weekend in Delaware.

Summary: It was a year of firsts for John Andretti and the No. 34 team. Andretti found himself in a full-time ride for the first time since a stint with BAM Racing in 2007, and his first run at a full schedule since 2003 (well, almost a full schedule…he skipped two races in May to run the Indianapolis 500). And for Front Row Motorsports, they capitalized on their first five races in the top 35 in owner points by staying there all year.

To be frank, none of Andretti’s races were spectacular, but considering the means of the No. 34 team, they got the job done. Andretti avoided much of the on-track trouble that plagued him during his run with previous organizations, and went a long way to help FRM establish itself as a full-time team instead of one scraping to make the field every week.

Until then, he goal was to make the top 35 and to become an established team. Mission accomplished.

2009 Team Ranking: 1st. Andretti’s teammates in FRM’s No. 37 car (which by season’s end was attempting every race) included Tony Raines and Travis Kvapil, but in a start-and-park capacity only. For all intents and purposes, this was a single-car effort in 2009.

2010 Outlook: Though there has been no official announcement, it is expected that Andretti will return to the No. 34 team for 2010. As FRM’s Nationwide Series driver Tony Raines noted at Memphis, owner Bob Jenkins is the type that will likely wait until a few weeks before Daytona to select a driver for his cars. That said, Andretti did exactly what Jenkins asked of him in 2009…he kept the No. 34 locked into the field.

Jenkins said in an interview late in the 2009 season that he didn’t see “any wholesale changes coming” to his race teams, which seems to suggest that Andretti is on his way back come Daytona. What’s more, Jenkins is pleased with what his team was able to do on-track in 2009.

“We’ve tried to build a nucleus that can survive in a down economy, that’s consistent and solid, so that when good times do come around, we become a logical choice for somebody.”

“This race team needs to be sponsored, but I don’t want having sponsorship be the deciding factor in whether or not we can race,” Jenkins said.

So until that elusive sponsor comes along, 2010 appears to hold more of the same in store for this outfit.

2006 Frontstretch.com Grade: N/A.
2007 Grade: C-.
2008 Grade: N/A.
2009 Grade: C+.

Full Story on FrontStretch.com

Andretti uncertain of 2010 plans

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

SPEED UP, SLOW DOWN: Veteran barnstormer John Andretti said he is virtually certain to make another attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in May but said the demands of a NASCAR schedule have brought him to a crossroads in his 22-year career.

Andretti, the 46-year-old nephew of legend Mario Andretti, competed in 34 Sprint Cup events, finishing 36th in points, in 2009. He placed 19th for Richard Petty Motorsports in his 10th Indy 500.

"I'm kind of at a stage in my life where I want to enjoy everything, my family," said Andretti, who has won national series races in stock, sports, open wheel and drag racing cars. "This last year has been pretty taxing on me because I am gone all the time. So I need to really dig deep to see if I want to do it again. I enjoy the team I am with, I like the owner, and that's really what got me to do this [in 2009]. The Indianapolis 500, I would say just go ahead and write that in, but I don't know if I can go on the road and do 34 races. I am not young, but I am compared to Mark Martin, and I enjoy doing it, so it's tough."

Full Story on SI.com