Petty-Andretti family names have come together once before --
John drove 11 races in No. 43 in 1994. Back then, Petty hadn't won as a car
owner without himself driving and Andretti was unproven. "We both know now
that we're capable of winning," Andretti said. "The confidence level is
high, but we know it's not going to happen overnight."
Career:
Andretti's season was highlighted by winning the pole for the Primestar 500 and three top-five finishes (Save Mart/Kragen 350, CMT 300 and Exide 400). His average starting position was 20th, but his average finish was 17th. He finished 11th in the point standings with 3,682.
John Andretti spent the first 23 races of 1996 driving for Kranefuss-Haas before making the switch to Cale Yarborough's team prior to the second Richmond event.
Ended 1995 season in 18th-place in the final points standings with five top-10 finishes. Season highlight was winning the Busch pole for the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington and clinching a spot in the Unocal Darlington Record Club.
Finished 10th in 1994 Indianapolis 500 and 36th in Coca-Cola 600, becoming the first driver ever to compete in both races on the same day. Competed in 29 Winston Cup events in 1994, driving for Billy Hagan the first half of the season and Richard Petty the second half. Best finish was 11th in Richmond fall race.
First raced go-karts in 1972 at age nine and began open wheel racing in 1979 at age 16 when he attended Andre Pillette's driving school in Zolder, Belgium with cousin Michael Andretti. Michael's Christmas present to John in 1980 was to Bertil Roos' driving school at Pocono where they raced SCCA Formula Ford regional and national events.
Won 1982 Dorney Park (Pa.) Rookie of the Year honors in stock car division, winning his first stock car race. Joined USAC midget circuit in 1983, won Rookie of the Year honors and was Indianapolis Speedrome champion. Joined USAC sprint car circuit in 1984, finished fifth in points, and started driving IMSA GTP cars. CART PPG Cup series debut at Elkhart Lake in 1987, finished sixth. Best rookie finisher in all five CART races he participated in that year. First LeMans 24-hour start in 1988. Won first Indy car race in 1991, at the Gold Coast Grand Prix in Australia, and was fifth in Indy 500 that year. Made the semifinals in his first-ever NHRA Winston Drag Racing Top Fuel event in 1993, beating Winston champion Joe Amato en route. Made Winston Cup debut at North Wilkesboro in fall of 1993, starting 31st and finishing 24th. He had 33 career Winston Cup starts, $416,835 in career Winston Cup winnings through 1994.
John is the son of Aldo Andretti, Mario's twin brother. Graduated from Moravian College with a BA in business management. Co-owns two auto parts stores. Would be an investment banker or stock broker if not for racing.
Sources: Star/News and SpeedNet staff reports.
