John Andretti

John Andretti

Andretti at Carb Day 2015 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Born (1963-03-12) March 12, 1963
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
393 races run over 17 years
Best finish 11th – 1998
First race 1993 Tyson/Holly Farms 400 (North Wilkesboro)
Last race 2010 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
First win 1997 Pepsi 400 (Daytona)
Last win 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
2 37 4
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
37 races run over 3 years
Best finish 12th – 2006
First race 1998 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last race 2007 Orbitz 300 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 4 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
6 races run over 2 years
Best finish 46th – 2005
First race 2005 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 (Kansas)
Last race 2008 Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Winn-Dixie (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 0
IndyCar Series career
10 races run over 5 years
2011 position 42nd
Best finish 30th – 2008
First race 2007 Indianapolis 500 (Indy)
Last race 2011 Indianapolis 500 (Indy)
Wins Podiums Poles
0 0 0
Champ Car career
73 races run over 8 years
Years active 1987–1994
Best finish 8th – 1991, 1992
First race 1987 Road America 200 (Elkhart Lake)
Last race 1994 Indianapolis 500 (Indy)
First win 1991 Gold Coast Indy Car Grand Prix (Surfers Paradise)
Wins Podiums Poles
1 2 0
Statistics current as of May 26, 2012.

John Andretti (born March 12, 1963) is an American race car driver. He is the older brother of racer Adam Andretti, nephew of Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti, and first cousin to IndyCar champion Michael and Jeff Andretti. He is also the first cousin once-removed to IndyCar driver Marco Andretti. His father Aldo Andretti, Mario's twin brother, retired from driving a race car after he nearly died in an accident. He has won in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR.

CART

Andretti has one win (Australia, 1991) and 61 top-ten finishes in 74 career races in CART. He joined the PPG Indy Car World Series (CART) in 1987, winning the Rookie of the Year award. In his debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1988, Andretti reached as high as seventh place before mechanical problems forced him to finish 21st. The Andretti family became the first family to have four relatives (Michael, Mario, Jeff, and John) compete in the same series (CART).[1] All four family members competed in the Indianapolis 500 in 1990, 1991, and 1992.

In 1991 he won the only race of his CART career, winning the Gold Coast Grand Prix in Surfer's Paradise, Australia. He finished a career-best fifth in the 1991 Indianapolis 500. A week later, at the Milwaukee Mile, Michael, John, and Mario became the only known family in motor sports history to finish first, second, and third respectively in a major auto race. In 1994, he became the first driver to attempt the "double," racing in the Indy 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C., on the same day. The 1994 Indy 500 was his last appearance in that race until 2007. John also holds the distinction of being only one of three drivers in Motorsport History to have both driven a Top Fuel Dragster in an NHRA National Event, and to quality and race in the Indianapolis 500 ( the other two being Danny Ongais and Art Malone).

IMSA GTP and Rolex Sports Car Series

In 1986 Andretti drove a BMW M12 March, along with co-driver Davy Jones, in the 1986 IMSA GT Championship season. While the BMWs had limited success in IMSA competition, Andretti and Jones won the Kodak Copier 500 at Watkins Glen International on September 21, 1986.[2]

In 1989, Andretti drove the Miller High Life/BF Goodrich Porsche 962 to victory in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona (called the Sunbank 24 at Daytona at the time) along with co-drivers Bob Wollek and Derek Bell. Later in the IMSA season, Andretti and Wollek won the Pontiac Grand Prix of Palm Beach, driving the same Porsche 962.[3] Andretti finished fifth in points (112) in the 1989 IMSA season, first among Porsche drivers.[4]

In 2001 Andretti teamed up with Kyle Petty to win a 6-hour sports car race at Watkins Glen.

Andretti returned to the 24 Hours of Daytona in the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2008. Team drivers for the Vision Racing No. 03 Porsche Crawford Prototype included Ed Carpenter, A. J. Foyt IV, and Vitor Meira. The team finished 25th in the race, their first Porsche Crawford Prototype entry in the 24 Hours of Daytona.[5]

NHRA Winston Drag Racing

In 1993, Andretti drove the Taco Bell Express Top Fuel Dragster for owner Jack Clark. He reached the semi-finals in his first national event at Atlanta during the FRAM Southern Nationals, clocking a career-best speed of 299 mph (481 km/h). In that race he beat 1992 T/F Champion Joe Amato in Round 1 and Mopar Express Lube driver Tommy Johnson Jr. in Round 2, but lost to Mike Dunn in Darrell Gwynn's La Victoria Salsa Car in the semi-finals. That race was won by Eddie Hill.

NASCAR

1993–1999

1997 race car

Andretti made his Winston Cup debut in 1993. He drove the No. 72 Tex Racing Chevy for Tex Powell at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he started 31st and finished 24th. After running three more races in 1993, he began the 1994 season driving the No. 14 Financial World-sponsored Chevy for Billy Hagan. On May 29, he became the first driver in history to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He finished tenth at Indy and thirty-sixth in the Coca-Cola 600 after suffering mechanical failures. In the middle of the season he switched to the No. 43 STP-sponsored Pontiac for Petty Enterprises. His best finish was 11th place, at Richmond International Raceway. He ended the season 32nd in points and fifth in the Rookie of the Year battle.

Andretti in the Petty Enterprise No. 43 Pontiac at Pocono June 1998

In 1995, he began driving for Michael Kranefuss in the No. 37 Kmart/Little Caesars-sponsored Ford Thunderbird. He won his first career pole at the Southern 500 and finished in the Top 10 five times. He ended the season eighteenth in points. During the 1996 season, he switched to the No. 98 RCA-sponsored Ford owned by Cale Yarborough (while Jeremy Mayfield, the previous driver of the No. 98 car, moved to Kranefuss' team). He placed fifth at the Hanes 500 and had two more top-ten finishes. In 1997, he scored his first career win at the Pepsi 400 and finished 23rd in points. He returned to the No. 43 Petty car in 1998. Although he didn't win any races that season, he did have ten Top 10 finishes and placed a career-best 11th in points. He won his second career race in 1999 at Martinsville Speedway, where he made up a lost lap and took the lead with four laps to go. He also won the pole at Phoenix International Raceway.

2000–2005

Midway through the 2000 season, Cheerios became Andretti's primary sponsor. He fell to 23rd in points after finishing in the Top 10 twice. Over the next two seasons, Andretti posted three Top 10 finishes, before he was released midway through the 2003 season. He ran a couple of races for Haas CNC Racing and Richard Childress Racing before finishing the season in the No. 1 Pennzoil-sponsored Chevy for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. His best finish that year was 12th at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Andretti started the 2004 season driving the No. 1 part-time for DEI, but departed midway through the season. He ended the year driving the No. 14 Victory Brand-sponsored Ford Taurus for ppc Racing and finished 22nd at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Andretti started 2005 still driving with ppc, but the team was forced to dissolve due to a lack of funding. He drove four races in the Craftsman Truck Series for Billy Ballew Motorsports, and finished eighth at Memphis Motorsports Park. He also attempted a handful of Cup races for Morgan-McClure Motorsports' No. 4 Lucas Oil-sponsored Chevrolet, finishing 28th at Michigan International Speedway, 1 lap down.

2006–2010

In 2006, Andretti returned to ppc to drive their No. 10 Busch Series car. Before the season, his only Busch start came in 1998 at Daytona, where he finished 13th in the No. 96 Chevy fielded by the Curb Agajanian Performance Group. Despite having made over three hundred Cup starts with two victories, Andretti applied for and was accepted as a contender for Rookie of the Year. He finished runner-up to Danny O'Quinn for the award.

2008 Sprint Cup car at Daytona

In 2007, Andretti drove the No. 10 FreedomRoads/Camping World/RVs.com-sponsored Car for Braun Racing at Daytona through their affiliation with ppc Racing. When funding for the team became questionable, Andretti left Braun Racing. The team used various drivers in 2007 in an attempt to maintain a two-car team. Andretti drove four races for Petty Enterprises in the No. 45 car, where he filled in for Kyle Petty, who was working as a broadcaster for Turner Network Television's race coverage. He also briefly drove part-time for Front Row Motorsports. He finished the season in the No. 49 Paralyzed Veterans of America-sponsored Dodge for BAM Racing.

Andretti drove for Front Row Motorsports in 2008, driving the No. 34 Chevrolet Impala SS in the Sprint Cup Series. He raced his way into the 2008 Daytona 500 in the second Gatorade Duel race. He drove in the first ten races of the season in the 34 before leaving to focus on his IndyCar team.

Andretti returned full-time to the 34 in 2009 in a partnership between Front Row and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. The No. 34 had sponsorships from Window World, myAutoloan.com, and Taco Bell. He did not have a full-time ride for 2010, but drove the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports entry to a 38th-place finish after an accident on lap 117 in the Daytona 500.

IRL IndyCar Series

Andretti driving the Roth Racing No. 24 car in practice for the 2008 Indianapolis 500

In 2007, Andretti returned to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 1994 when he pulled the double (competed in the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same day). He drove the third entry from Panther Racing, with Camping World as the sponsor. On May 19, he qualified for the 91st Indianapolis 500 with an average speed for the four lap qualifying run of 221.756 mph (356.882 km/h). He started in 24th on the eighth row, but crashed on lap 95 and finished 30th.

In 2008 Andretti replaced Jay Howard in the Roth Racing No. 24 Dallara-Honda. Andretti qualified for his 9th Indy 500 on May 17 with a four-lap average of 221.550 mph (356.550 km/h). This placed him 21st on the grid; he finished on the lead lap in 16th place. Andretti continued in the No. 24 car in the Milwaukee Mile and Texas Motor Speedway races, and on June 6 he was offered a deal that would keep him in the car the rest of the season. He did not accept.[6]

Andretti’s run with Roth Racing produced some notable results for the team. He qualified 7th at the Texas Motor Speedway race. Although he had a great start, he finished 16th. He began the race at Iowa Speedway with a rough 23rd position start, but steadily worked his way through the field to capture an 11th-place finish, the best for a Roth Racing machine. His final start for the team was at Richmond International Raceway the next week, where he was knocked out by a crash. Roth Racing contracted to a single car for the rest of the season and then ceased operations. Andretti finished 30th in the 2008 IndyCar points standings.

In April 2009 Andretti and Richard Petty announced a joint venture with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, whereby Andretti would return to Indianapolis to drive the No. 43 car in the 93rd Indianapolis 500. As in his previous two trips to Indianapolis, Andretti did not race the Indy/Charlotte double, and also missed the Southern 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 to prepare for the race. Andretti qualified for the race on bump day in 28th, and finished in 19th place, the final car on the lead lap. Andretti returned to drive the No. 34 at Front Row Motorsports immediately after the Indianapolis 500, and returned for the Dover 400 in June.

On March 31, 2010, Andretti announced that he would join forces with Richard Petty and Window World for two events. The No. 43 returned as the entry, which was backed by Andretti Autosport, owned by John's cousin Michael. The team's first race was the RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway on May 1. Andretti qualified 15th but finished 9th, one lap down. The team also competed in the 94th Indianapolis 500 on May 30. After failing to qualify on pole day, Andretti made the race on bump day qualifying 28th for the second consecutive year. Andretti crashed out of the race on lap 65, and was credited with a 30th-place finish.

Andretti ran in the centennial Indianapolis 500, partnered with Window World, Petty, and Andretti Autosport. He finished 22nd.

Off the track

Andretti with uncle Mario at the 2007 Indy 500

Andretti is active in the Central Indiana community. Each year during the Brickyard 400 week, John teams up with 93.1 WIBC, and Dave "The King" Wilson, and General Mills to hold the Race for Riley, benefiting James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children. It takes place at the Mark Dismore Karting Center in New Castle, Indiana. Andretti graduated from Moravian College with degree in business management and believes he would have been an investment banker or stock broker if he had not started racing. Andretti enjoys Joe Pesci and Nicolas Cage movies. His favorite movie is the comedy Animal House, and his favorite band is the hard-rock group AC/DC. In December 2004, Andretti spent seven days in the Middle East visiting service personnel in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

Since 2007, Andretti has co-hosted The Driver's Seat with John Kernan on Sirius Satellite Radio's NASCAR channel 90.

Andretti's son, Jarett, is a USAC midget driver.[7]

Motorsports career results

American open–wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

PPG Indycar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Pts
1987 Curb Racing March 87C Ford Cosworth DFX LBH PHX INDY MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH POC ROA
6
MDO
10
NAZ
11
LAG
7
MIA
8
17th 23
1988 Lola T88/00 PHX
14
LBH
20
INDY
21
MIL
18
POR
17
CLE
8
TOR
22
MEA
25
MCH
24
POC
14
MDO ROA NAZ
16
LAG MIA 31st 5
1989 Granatelli Racing Lola T88/00 Buick 3300 V6t PHX LBH INDY
25
MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR
25
MCH
24
POC
17
MDO ROA NAZ
19
LAG
12
33rd 1
1990 Porsche Motorsports March 90P Porsche Indy V8 PHX
17
LBH
21
INDY
21
MIL
7
DET
22
POR
21
CLE
5
MEA
7
TOR
13
MCH
7
DEN
6
VAN
5
MDO
13
ROA
22
NAZ
19
LAG
8
10th 51
1991 Hall/VDS Racing Lola T91/00 Chevrolet 265A SRF
1
LBH
18
PHX
11
INDY
5
MIL
2
DET
6
POR
19
CLE
15
MEA
4
TOR
5
MCH
6
DEN
7
VAN
7
MDO
10
ROA
19
NAZ
9
LAG
19
8th 105
1992 Lola T92/00 SRF
6
PHX
6
LBH
20
INDY
8
DET
21
POR
5
MIL
9
NHA
5
TOR
5
MCH
6
CLE
12
ROA
6
VAN
15
MDO
4
NAZ
18
LAG
5
7th 99
1993 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Lola T92/00 Ford XB SRF PHX LBH INDY
10
MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH NHA ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG 28th 3
1994 Lola T94/00 SRF PHX LBH INDY
10
MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO NHA VAN ROA NAZ LAG 29th 3

IndyCar Series

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Rank Pts
2007 Panther Racing Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 HMS STP MOT KAN INDY
30
MIL TXS IOW RIR WGL NSH MDO MCH KTY SNM DET CHI 35th 10
2008 Roth Racing Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 HMS STP MOT1 LBH1 KAN INDY
16
MIL
19
TXS
16
IOW
11
RIR
21
WGL NSH MDO EDM KTY SNM DET CHI SRF2 30th 71
2009 Richard Petty Motorsports
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 STP LBH KAN INDY
19
MIL TXS IOW RIR WGL TOR EDM KTY MDO SNM CHI MOT HMS 37th 12
2010 Richard Petty/Andretti Autosport SAO STP ALA LBH KAN
9
INDY
30
TXS IOW WGL TOR EDM MDO SNM CHI KTY MOT HMS 32nd 35
2011 Richard Petty/Andretti Autosport STP ALA LBH SAO INDY
22
TXS TXS MIL IOW TOR EDM MDO NWH SNM BAL MOT KTY LVS 42nd 16
1 Run on same day.
2 Non-points race.

Indy 500 results

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
1988 Lola T88/00 Ford Cosworth DFX 27 21 Curb Racing
1989 Lola T88/00 Buick 12 25 Granatelli Racing
1990 March 90P Porsche Motorsports 10 21 Porsche
1991 Lola T91/00 Chevrolet 265A 7 5 Hall/VDS Racing
1992 Lola T92/00 Chevrolet 265A 14 8 Hall/VDS Racing
1993 Lola T92/00 Ford XB 24 10 A.J. Foyt Enterprises
1994 Lola T94/00 Ford XB 10 10 A.J. Foyt Enterprises
2007 Dallara Honda 24 30 Panther Racing
2008 Dallara Honda 21 16 Roth Racing
2009 Dallara Honda 28 19 Richard Petty/DRR
2010 Dallara Honda 28 30 Richard Petty/Andretti Autosport
2011 Dallara Honda 17 22 Richard Petty/Andretti Autosport

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1994 Hagan Racing Chevrolet 15 42
1995 Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 38 27
1996 6 38
1997 Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 32 25
1998 Petty Enterprises Pontiac 17 18
1999 36 43
2000 30 22
2001 Dodge 26 39
2002 16 37
2003 12 34
2004 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 29 13
2005 Ppc Racing Ford 42 31
2008 Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 22 40
2009 37 19
2010 Ford 33 38

Busch Series

Camping World Truck Series

References

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