John Andretti

Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = John Andretti


Birthdate = birth date and age|1963|3|12
Birthplace = Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Best_Cup_Pos = 11th - 1998
Cup_Wins = 2
Cup_Top_Tens = 37
Cup_Poles = 4
Cup_Car_Team = #34 - Front Row Motorsports
First_Cup_Race = 1993 Tyson/Holly Farms 400 (North Wilkesboro)
First_Cup_Win = 1997 Pepsi 400 (Daytona)
Last_Cup_Win = 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500 (Martinsville)
Last_Cup_Race = 2008 Samsung 500 (Texas)
Busch_Top_Tens = 4
Prev_Busch_Year = 2006
Prev_Busch_Pos = 12th | Best_Busch_Pos = 12th - 2006
First_Busch_Race = 1998 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Total_Truck_Races = 4
Years_In_Truck = 1
Truck_Top_Tens = 2
First_Truck_Race = 2005 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 (Kansas Speedway)

Infobox racing driver
last series = CART Championship Car
years active = 1987-1994
teams = Curb Motorsports
Vince Granatelli Racing
Porsche Motorsports
Hall-VDS Racing
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
starts = 73
wins = 1
poles = 0
fastest laps =
best finish = 8th
year = 1991 & 1992
prev series = IMSA Camel GT
USAC Sprint Car
USAC Midgets
prev series years = 1984-1987, 1989
1984
1983
titles =
title years =
awards =
award years =

John Andretti (born March 12, 1963 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania), is an American race car driver. He won in Indy Car, NHRA Top Fuel Dragsters, endurance racing and NASCAR stock car racing. He currently drives the #24 car for Roth Racing in the IndyCar Series.

Andretti family

John's father, Aldo Andretti, had his racing career cut short due to a racing accident. [http://www.espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/andretti_mario.html Super Mario had speed to burn] ; Larry Schwartz; ESPN.com, Retrieved July 12 2007] John also has a younger brother named Adam Andretti who also has a talent for racing. Both Andretti brothers are as talented as their father and are nephews of IndyCar racing legend Mario Andretti (Aldo's twin), cousin of Mario's sons Michael and Jeff. John is the godson of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A. J. Foyt. John also has another older brother and older sister, Mark and Carolyn. The Andretti family became the first family to have four relatives (Michael, Mario, Jeff, and John) compete in the same series (CART). cite web | author=Schwartz, Larry | title=Mario Andretti synonymous with racing | publisher=ESPN | work=Motorsports Hall of Fame of America | url=http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014066.html | accessdate=2007-02-22 ] . In 1990, 1991 and 1992, they had four family members competing in the Indy 500.

John is married to Nancy and has three children: Jarrett (12/13/92), Olivia (3/29/95), Amelia (5/10/00). They reside in Mooresville, N.C.

CART

John Andretti has one win (Australia, ‘91) and 61 top-10s 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 1988, Andretti made his debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, racing as high as seventh before mechanical problems forced him to finish 21st.

In 1991 he won the only race of his CART career, winning the Gold Coast Grand Prix in Surfer's Paradise, Australia. That same year he finished a career-best fifth in the Indianapolis 500. A week later at the Milwaukee Mile, Michael, John and Mario became the only known family in motorsports 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 would be his last Indy 500 effort until 2007.

IMSA GTP & Rolex Sports Car Series

In 1986 Andretti drove a BMW M12 March along with co-driver Davy Jones in the IMSA Camel GT Series. While the BMWs had limited success in IMSA competition, Andretti and Jones won the Kodak Copier 500 at Watkins Glen on September 21, 1986. [http://www.classicscars.com/wspr/results/imsa/imsa1986.html#15]

In 1989, Andretti drove the Miller High Life/BFGoodrich 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. Andretti and Wollek went on to win another race on the 1989 IMSA circuit at the Pontiac Grand Prix of Palm Beach, driving the same Porsche 962. [http://www.classicscars.com/wspr/results/imsa/imsa1989.html#5] Andretti finished 5th in points (112) after the 1989 IMSA season and first among Porsche drivers. [http://www.classicscars.com/wspr/results/imsa/tableimsa.html#1989GTP]

Andretti returned to the 24 Hours of Daytona in the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2008. Team drivers for the Vision Racing #03 Porsche Crawford Prototype included Ed Carpenter, A. J. Foyt IV, and Vitor Meira. The Porsche Crawford Prototype entry in the 24 Hours of Daytona marked the first attempt for this team which resulted in 25th overall finish in the race. [ [http://www.visionracing.com/news/index.cfm?cid=13752 Vision Racing - News ] ]

Top Fuel

In 1993, John Andretti drove the Taco Bell Top Fuel Dragster for owner Jack Clark, reaching the semi-finals in his first national event and clocking a career best speed of 299 mph.

NASCAR

1993-1994

Andretti made his Winston Cup debut in 1993 driving the #72 Tex Racing Chevy for Tex Powell at North Wilkesboro Speedway, starting 31st and finishing 24th. After running three more races in 1993, he began the 1994 season driving the #14 Financial World 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, finishing 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 #43 STP Pontiac for Petty Enterprises finishing a best 11th at Richmond International Raceway. He ended the season 32nd in points and fifth in the Rookie of the Year.

1995-1999

In 1995, he began driving for Michael Kranefuss in #37 K Mart/Little Caesars Ford Thunderbird. He won his first career pole at the Southern 500 and finished in the top-ten five times, and ended the season eighteenth in points. During the 1996 season, he switched to the #98 RCA Ford owned by Cale Yarborough and responded with a fifth-place finish at the Hanes 500. He finished in the top ten twice more. In 1997, he scored his first career win at the Pepsi 400 and finished 23rd in points. He returned to the #43 Petty car in 1998 and despite not winning another race, he had ten top-tens and finished a career-best 11th in points. He won his second career race in 1999 at Martinsville Speedway, making up a lost lap and taking the lead with four laps to go, as well as winning the pole at Phoenix International Raceway.

2000-2003

Midway through the 2000 season, Cheerios became Andretti's primary sponsor, but he fell to 23rd in points after finishing in the top-ten twice. Over the next two seasons, Anretti posted three top-ten finishes, before he was released midway through the 2003 season. He originally ran a couple of races for Haas CNC Racing and Richard Childress Racing before running a majority of the remainder of the season in the #1 Pennzoil Chevy for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., his best finish was a 12th at New Hampshire International Speedway.

2004-2005

Andretti opened the 2004 season driving the #1 part-time for DEI, but departed midway through the season. He ended the year driving the #14 Victory Brand Ford Taurus for ppc, finishing 22nd at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Andretti started 2005 with pcc before 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, finishing eighth at Memphis Motorsports Park. He also attempted a handful of Cup races for Morgan-McClure Motorsports' #4 Lucas Oil entry, finishing 28th at Michigan International Speedway.

2006

In 2006, Andretti returned to ppc to drive their #10 car. Before the season, his only Busch start came in 1998 at Daytona, where he finished 13th in the #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.

2007

In 2007, Andretti's plans were to drive a Toyota Camry in the Busch Series for Braun Racing. Andretti drove the #10 FreedomRoads/Camping World/ [http://www.rvs.com RVs.com] Toyota Camry for Braun Racing at Daytona through their affiliation with his former team ppc Racing. However, Andretti is no longer racing in the Busch Series full time. When funding for the team became questionable, Andretti left Braun Racing with the team using various drivers in 2007 in any attempt to maintain a two car team.

2008

Andretti drove four races for Petty Enterprises in 2007 with the #45 car, filling in for Kyle Petty in when Petty was working as a broadcaster for TNT's race coverage, as well as driving part-time briefly for Front Row Motorsports. He finished the 2007 season in the #49 Paralyzed Veterans of America Dodge for BAM Racing.

Andretti will return to Front Row Motorsports in 2008 by driving the car number # 34 in the Sprint Cup Series. He raced his way into the 2008 Daytona 500 in the second Gatorade Duel race.

IRL IndyCar Series

On May 16, 2007, it was officially announced that Andretti would return 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 19th, he qualified for the 91st Indianapolis 500 with an average speed for the four lap qualifying run of 221.756 mph. He started in 24th on the eighth row, but crashed on lap 95, and finished 30th.

It was announced on May 10, 2008 that John Andretti would replace Jay Howard in the Roth Racing #24 Dallara-Honda. John qualified for his 9th Indy 500 on Saturday, May 17, 2008 with a 4-lap average of 221.550 mph that puts him 21st on the grid and finished on the lead lap in 16th place. On May 30 it was announced that Andretti would continue in the #24 car in the Milwaukee Mile and Texas Motor Speedway races. On June 6th Andretti was offered a deal that would keep him in the car the rest of the season which he has not yet accepted. [ [http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080530/SPORTS0107/805300492 Roth Racing holds onto John Andretti] , "Indianapolis Star", May 30, 2008]

Andretti’s run with Roth Racing has produced some amazing results for the team. He managed to qualify 7th at the Texas Motor Speedway race. Although a great start, he would ultimately wind up in 16th position. He began his trip to Iowa with a rough 23rd position start, but steadily worked his way through the field to capture the 11th finishing position. His 11th place finish was the best for a Roth Racing machine.

Off the Track

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. Graduated from Moravian College with degree in business management and believes he would’ve been an investment banker or stock broker if he hadn’t started racing. Enjoys Joe Pesci and Nicholas Cage movies. Favorite movie is raucous comedy “Animal House.” Favorite band is hard-rock group AC/DC. In December 2004, spent seven days in the Middle East visiting service personnel in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

As of 2007, John can be heard as the part-time co-host of The Driver's Seat with John Kernan on Sirius Satellite Radio's NASCAR channel 128.

Career History

American Open-Wheel

() (Races in bold indicate pole position)

CART Champ CAR

IRL IndyCar

References

* [http://www.daytona-500-racing.com/drivers.html?drivers=nascar-drivers-A John Andretti at Daytona 500 Racing]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=andrejo01 NASCAR drivers statistics at racing-reference.info]

External links

* [http://www.andretti.com/Home/The Official Andretti Family Website]
* [http://www.frontrowmotorsports.com/home.htm/ Front Row Motorsports Website]
* [http://www.raceforriley.com/ Race 4 Riley Hospital for Children]