JACK DANIEL’S RACING SIGNS ANDRETTI

June 22, 2012 - INDYCAR star Marco Andretti will join Jack Daniel’s Racing for the ARMOR ALL Gold Coast 600 in October.

The 25-year-old American has signed a deal to drive with the Melbourne-based team for the international event and will make his V8 Supercar debut alongside Todd Kelly in the team’s #7 Commodore.

The grandson of former F1 World Champion, Indy 500 and Daytona 500 winner Mario and son of former Gold Coast Indy winner Michael, Andretti Jr currently drives for his father’s Andretti Autosport team in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

He currently sits 18th in the series, which races this weekend on the short oval at Iowa – the venue where he scored his latest IndyCar victory last season.

“I’m really looking forward to the Gold Coast V8 Supercars event,” said Andretti.

“The sport is growing in popularity in the US and the event has become very popular among the IndyCar drivers, so I’m pumped about the chance to compete.

“In terms of results, I definitely want to be competitive. I expect to run in the top 10 and hopefully Todd and the Jack Daniel’s boys can help me get straight up to speed.”

Andretti was runner-up in the 2006 Indianapolis 500 on debut and finished third in he famous race in 2008 and 2010. He is in his seventh season in the IndyCar Series.

He competed in the non-championship IndyCar race on the Gold Coast back in 2008, finishing 13th.

While his career has been focused on open-wheelers, he’s not entirely new to racing with a roof.

Andretti competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour in 2010 in a closed-top prototype Lola and also ran in a Grand Am car in this year’s Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona.

He’s also part of the General Motors racing family given he drives a Chevrolet-powered IndyCar in the United States.

For more on Marco Andretti: www.marcoandretti.com

For more on Jack Daniel’s Racing: www.kellyracing.com.au