Andretti Autosport Season Preview

A Fresh Start
There's just something about starting a new season — a clean slate, new goals, fresh ideas. You just can't help but feel energized. That's exactly the mind-set of Andretti Autosport as we kick off the 2017 racing season. With the new Verizon IndyCar Series and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires seasons rapidly approaching, we're here to provide updates on some of the changes we've made, the thoughts our drivers have going into the 2017 season and how to keep up with this years progress. Here is our 2017 Season Preview.

Change Is Good

BEHIND THE WHEEL.
While you'll see several familiar faces this season, we do have a few new team member for you to get to know — starting with four new drivers to our line-up for 2017 competition.

TAKUMA SATO – INDYCAR, No. 26 ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT HONDA
Sato joined the team in December 2016 and is looking forward to a fresh start in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Having previously driven for KV Racing Technologies, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and AJ Foyt Enterprises, the Japanese driver has collected statistics for iconic racing names before landing with Andretti. Inclusive of one victory and five poles, the 40-year old racing veteran brings seven years of racing experience to our stable.

NICO JAMIN – INDY LIGHTS, No. 27 SYNOVA MAZDA
A native of France, Jamin joins Andretti Autosport for his rookie season of Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires competition. The 21 year-old earned the title of Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda Champion in 2015 and has quickly worked his way through the Mazda Road to Indy program.

RYAN NORMAN – INDY LIGHTS, No. 48 FLIPSIDE MAZDA
Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires rookie, Ryan Norman won the Formula Atlantic Championship title last year before switching his focus to Indy Lights. The 18 year-old is eager to get the season underway and learn from his teammates and crew.

COLTON HERTA – INDY LIGHTS, No. 98 DELTRO ENERGY MAZDA
In December, both second-generation driver Colton Herta and the Steinbrenner family were welcomed to Andretti Autosport Indy Lights program. Herta, son of two-time Indy 500 championship team owner Bryan Herta, spent the last few years collecting victories in Europe. Deciding to focus on the American racing circuit, the 16 year-old American landed in the seat of the No. 98 with co-entrants Andretti Autosport and Steinbrenner Racing, dubbed Andretti Steinbrenner Racing.

BEHIND THE SCREEN.

Beyond new drivers, we also have new engineers. We have welcomed two new minds to our engineering team this year.

JEREMY MILLESS
Milless will head up the engineering efforts of the No. 98 NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb Honda driven by Alexander Rossi. Milless comes with racing-winning experience working with several successful drivers.

DOUG ZISTER
Zister will be working with Colton Herta and his No. 98 Deltro Energy Mazda for 2017. Zister has previously won five Freedom 100 races and holds three Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship titles.

IN THE PADDOCK.
Crew lists for our Verizon IndyCar Series teams have been restructured, creating more integration between all four teams.
SCOTT "SKID" MARKS
Formally the No. 28 DHL Chief Mechanic has moved to the No. 98 NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb entry.
JEFF GRAHN
Has transitioned to be the Chief Mechanic on the No. 28 DHL Honda. Grahn has also worked with Dario Franchitti and Marco Andretti during his Andretti career.
JASON "J ROBB" ROBB
Will serve as Chief Mechanic for the No. 48 FlipSide Mazda.

DERRICK "TEX" STEPAN
Oversees the No. 27 Synova Indy Lights entry.

IN THE OFFICE.
Additionally, we've had some changes within our shop walls that have had a positive effect our IndyCar and Indy Lights programs.

ERIC BRETZMAN
Eric Bretzman has joined Andretti Autosport as Technical Director. Bretzman has previously worked in both IndyCar and NASCAR.

DON LAMBERT
Don Lambert joined the team last year with Bryan Herta Autosport. Lambert is now actively serving as Indy Lights Team Manager, overseeing all four entries. Lambert has previous experience in Global Rallycross, Indy Lights and IndyCar, working as Team Manager for Herta's team for eight years.

TITLE CHANGES.
Michael Andretti – CEO & Chairman, Andretti Autosport
J-F Thormann – President, Andretti Autosport
Rob Edwards – COO, Andretti Autosport
Jody Bennett – Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Partnerships
Ryann Rigsby – Vice President of Communications

IN THEIR WORDS.
		No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda Verizon IndyCar Series "I am extremely excited about this coming 2017 season. Not only because it’s always exciting for new season, but it’s a new environment and new challenge for me — it’s my very first year with Andretti Autosport. I haven’t had a lot of on-track testing this pre-season, but it has certainly been one of the most productive winters and I already have a good feeling that we are going to have a great season. I have a lot to learn to work seamlessly with the team, but I am confident that we will get there very quickly. It will be a thrilling 2017 season."
		No. 27 hhgregg Honda Verizon IndyCar Series "I'm looking forward to a fresh start this 2017 season. I am going to try to have more fun this year and am confident that will bring results. I feel a lot better about myself, both physically and mentally and I think that is a good start. As a team, we are feeling better about our approach and the changes we have made in the offseason. I'm really excited to get the season started – there's good things to come from the hhgregg boys."
		No. 28 DHL Honda Verizon IndyCar Series "I’m more than ready to get back to work! Following a 2016 season in which we had a few major missed opportunities, we’re hoping to make up for it in 2017. Testing for 2017 has been drastically reduced so we’re all looking forward to getting back to the track, behind the wheel and making progress from last year. We have one goal at this team and that is to win. We’re all very determined to get that iconic No. 28 DHL Honda back into victory lane."
		No. 98 NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb Honda Verizon IndyCar Series “Returning to Andretti Autosport for a second consecutive season is something that I am not only excited about, but proud of. While we accomplished a lot last year, we still felt that there was a lot of room for improvement. Being able to keep the continuity within the team is something that is often very underrated in motorsports and can have hugely positive impacts on on-track performance. With that said, I am proud of what we have accomplished this offseason in conjunction with Honda and I look forward to getting in my NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda at the season opener, which is just around the corner."
		No. 27 Synova Mazda Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires “I’m super excited to head into the 2017 season with Andretti Autosport. We had amazing winter testing and I love the car. I feel really good in it and I’m sure we can have a good season. I can’t wait to get started."
		No. 28 K-LINE Insulators USA Mazda Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires “We’ve been working really hard all offseason, doing a fair amount of testing. The Andretti Autosport crews have done a great job to get the No. 28 K-Line Insulators USA Mazda ready for the season and we’re looking forward to building and working on progressing from last year. The theme this year is definitely building on last year’s progress, with 2016 being my first year in the car. I think we’re going to be able to take that knowledge and do really well."
		No. 48 FlipSide Mazda Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires “I’m really excited as I have three great teammates this year. I know Nico and Colton have tons of experience and with Dalton’s past experience in the Indy Lights series, I have a lot of room to grow. We have great engineers and I think it’s a great learning environment for me. Coming from Atlantic last year, we hopefully can build and go through a good year this year. We’re hoping to get great experience to go back a second year and win a championship."
		No. 98 Deltro Energy Mazda Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires “We’ve been doing a lot of testing pre-season down in Sebring and Homestead, and it’s going really great. I’m also excited to get the cars on track at St. Pete for the first race. We’ve found some good stuff, building speed in the car, and it should be a good year."