Yahoo Autos How Andretti Global is preparing for an IndyCar future without Michael
Michael Andretti’s departure from Andretti Global shook the world of racing in September.
In the wake of the move that saw team partner and investor Dan Towriss take control of the business that spans multiple domestic and international championships, questions regarding the team’s future and whether more changes are on the way have arisen.
Nearly one month after the change took place, longstanding Andretti COO Rob Edwards shared an array of insights about the business, its core NTT IndyCar Series program, and what’s in the works for 2025.
Will the team undergo a name change?
“No, you will continue to see Andretti Global,” Edwards told RACER.
How might the team behind the three-car squad featuring Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, and Marcus Ericsson look different when it returns next season?
“I think it will look very, very similar to how it was at Nashville,” Edwards said of the season finale won by Herta. “On the engineering side, we haven’t necessarily added staff, but with the Meyer Shank technical relationship not continuing, we were keen to keep some really good people in the fold, and so we have found other projects, IndyCar-related, or non-IndyCar-related, for those folks. And then we are adding targeted crew.”
Andretti allocated Dave Seyfert to engineer Felix Rosenqvist’s Meyer Shank Racing entry and assigned Ron Barhorst to engineer the second MSR car. The pair did an exceptional job, which made finding new in-house roles a worthy effort.
IndyCar’s upcoming calendar, which packs 17 races into five months and 29 days — from March 2 at St. Petersburg through August 29 at Nashville Speedway — has inspired Edwards to seek more mechanics and team personnel to help deal with the busy schedule. Whether it’s using additional staff to expedite car preparations or to spell those in need of a break, the move is one that will likely be implemented by a number of teams in the IndyCar paddock.
AutoNation is thought to be closing down its motorsport sponsorships, which would leave Andretti Global needing to find a new partner for its No.27 Honda. Motorsport Images
“When you look at the schedule next year, obviously the good news is that we’re on FOX,” he said. “The challenging part is that from the time we start racing to the time which we stop racing is very compressed, and so I suspect that all of the top teams are looking at what that means in terms of turnaround, being prepared, making sure that we have the ability to recover from things that we don’t like to happen, but we all know do happen sometimes, and so on.
“So there’s some restructuring and some additions to the crew on the cars and adding some more depth to that area. And as I say, on the engineering side, it is really reallocating some of the resource that was at Meyer Shank.”
The team has also added one or more people to its marketing and sales department, which is another important development for Andretti Global’s IndyCar effort. Among its three entries, two are sponsored by companies controlled by Towriss in Gainbridge and Delaware Life, and car retailer AutoNation has been primary sponsor on the No. 27 car driven by Kyle Kirkwood in recent years.
Although it remains unconfirmed, RACER understands AutoNation, which has supported cars in Formula 1, NASCAR, IMSA, and IndyCar with Andretti’s No. 27 and Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 60 Honda, is ending its motor racing sponsorships. The exit would leave Andretti and MSR with significant funding voids to fill, and to that end, Edwards did not delve into the matter.
“That’s a question best for Dan, to be honest, because that’s not the part of the business that I spend most of my time on,” he said. “But yes, there is a plan and some goals for next year on the on the business and commercial side.”
Of the other questions related to Andretti Global’s immediate future, rumors about fielding a part-time IndyCar program for Jamie Chadwick, who spent two seasons in the Andretti Indy NXT camp and won a race last season, have made the rounds in recent months.
“She will not be coming back to do Indy NXT again,” Edwards said. “She and her team decided that having done two years of Indy NXT, and with the majority of her funding is from the UK, doing more NXT is a bit of a challenge. I know there was some conversations about doing selected races in IndyCar. Candidly, for us, we feel we made gains this year with three cars and a more focused approach. So we would not be rushing to do anything outside of that. Directly from Jamie and her management team, we do not know exactly what she’s planning to do.”
Edwards closed the conversation by confirming the team would continue its practice of fielding an extra car at the Indianapolis 500 but declined to answer whether the car’s traditional driver — Marco Andretti — will be making his 20th attempt to win ‘The Greatest Spectacle In Racing.’
“We will run an extra entry at Indy; that’s in the plan,” Edwards said. “And I will probably not say anything else beyond that.”
