John Andretti

12/3/1963

Record updated 12-Mar-07

John Andretti is a NASCAR Busch Series driver from Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the nephew of Mario Andretti.

John Andretti is a NASCAR Busch Series driver from Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the nephew of open-wheel racing legend Mario Andretti, cousin of Mario's son Michael, and godson of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A. J. Foyt. Andretti drives the #10 FreedomRoads/Camping World/RVs.com Toyota Camry for Braun-Akins Racing through their affiliation with his former team ppc Racing. He has two career wins in 340 starts at the Winston/NEXTEL Cup level. He will also drive the number 37 car for Front Row Motorsports in select races in 2007.

Andretti made his Winston Cup debut in 1993 driving the number 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 number 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 faliures. In the middle of the season he switched to the number 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.

In 1995, he began driving for Michael Kranefuss in number 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 number 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 number 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.

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, Andretti 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 number 1 Pennzoil Chevy for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., his best finish a twelfth at New Hampshire International Speedway. He opened the 2004 season driving the number 1 part-time for DEI, but departed midway through the season. He ended the year driving the number 14 Victory Brand Ford Taurus for ppc, finishing 22nd at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Andretti started 2005 with ppc 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' number 4 Lucas Oil entry, finishing 28th at Michigan International Speedway.

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

In 2007, John will drive a Toyota Camry in the Busch Series for Braun Racing. He will retain the number 10 and will continue to have Camping World and its vendors as its primary sponsor. John will also return to the Cup Series after a 2 year absence to drive for R&J Racing at Fontana and Vegas. He also qualified in the Auto Club 500 in the NEXTEL Cup Series, driving the number 37 car for R&J Racing and starting 32nd.

It seems that John will not be racing in the Busch Series full time. Braun racing has decided to go to two full time teams, and Dave Blaney was picked over John. John has only made one start so far in the Busch series in 2007, the season opener.

John Andretti is active in the Central Indiana community. Each year during the Brickyard 400 week, John teams up with 1070 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.



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