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closeFor Andretti, it's 'exciting for me to go back home' with Petty plans
The Associated Press
Wednesday, Jun. 13, 2007
John Andretti is returning to Petty Enterprises for the third time in his career.
The 44-year-old nephew of longtime IndyCar star and 1967 Daytona 500 winner Mario Andretti will be in the Petty team’s No. 45 Dodge for four of the next five NASCAR Nextel Cup races, beginning this week at Michigan International Speedway.
He will be filling in for Kyle Petty, who is taking a sabbatical from racing to work as an analyst on TNT’s telecasts of the races.
Andretti first raced for the Petty team for part of the 1994 season, his second year in Cup. He left at the end of that year, but returned in 1998 and drove in another 186 races for the team based in Randleman, N.C., before leaving midway through the 2003 season.
One of his two Cup wins (1999 at Martinsville) came with the Petty team.
Andretti has not had a full-time ride in Cup since his final season with the Pettys but was runner-up for rookie of the year last season in the Busch Series.
When Andretti heard that Kyle Petty was considering finding a part-time replacement this season, he contacted the team.
“I was the one that did the pursuing to race again for Petty Enterprises,” Andretti said. “I went and spoke with (competition vice president) Robbie Loomis and then I went and I asked Kyle. It seemed as quick as I asked him we were able to work on putting this together.
“You are never quite sure what the answer will be, but I wanted to be a part of this. The reason I was at Petty Enterprises before was to be an asset. If I can come back, be part of it and provide something, it will be something I will enjoy. I am taking this as serious as anything. It’s exciting for me to go back home.”
Andretti, who also has victories in the former CART series – now Champ Car – and in the National Hot Rod Association, raced last month in the Indianapolis 500 after a 12-year absence from that event. He crashed and finished 30th in the 33-car field.