MBNA Armed Forces Family 400 - John Andretti Notes

John Andretti Notes, Quotes: MBNA Platinum 400

‘June – pretty critical four-race period’’

Starting the busy month of June, John Andretti and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge travel to the one-mile Dover (Del.) International Speedway for Sunday’s MBNA Platinum 400. The race will kick off a series of four straight races in the summer month leading up to the race series’ final break at the end of the month. The next four races will challenge the competitors on the circuit’s most diverse tracks from Dover and Pocono, to Michigan and Infineon (formerly named Sears Point).

Andretti is in his sixth consecutive season with Petty Enterprises with over half of his NASCAR Winston Cup starts coming for the legendary organization. Andretti’s vast racing experience ranks him as one of the most versatile and talented drivers on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit. He is one of only two drivers to win in two different major racing series and also win two or more major NASCAR Winston Cup oval races. Winner of the 1991 Gold Coast Grand Prix in Australia, one of CART’s premier events, Andretti was also a winning driver in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1989 in the series then known as IMSA.

The thoughts of Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driver John Andretti heading into Dover:

“Every race is important. We get a day off (meaning weekend) in April, a day off in May, a day off in June, and then it’s adios to any more of that. I think this is an important time for the team to prepare for the long haul after that (a 20-consecutive week stretch). The goal is obviously getting through the next four races as clean and successfully as possible to get a jump start on the second half of the season.

“You’re not always going to have good luck. The way they are building these race cars, building them light and to get the weight where you want it, all you have to do is just brush up against somebody and then you have to cut the entire side off the car. We are just at that league of racing. You can’t just go pound it out and go back racing.

“No matter what, everyone has a lot of work ahead of them. We’ll get in another set of races, get another breather, and then your batteries better be fully charged because the long haul is on. That’s when it gets tough. I think the stronger the team is internally, whether they are having good results or not, the more apt they are to endure the long haul.

“We see people in Daytona every year saying, ‘This is the best crew chief, the best driver, the best team owner,’ and three weeks later they all hate each other. I don’t think at Petty Enterprises that has ever happened. It’s always been, ‘We’re a group, we’re together, we succeed together and we all sit down and figure out how we’re going to succeed together every week.’

“Dover has been a good track for Kyle (teammate Kyle Petty), but hasn’t always been a good track for me. When we run well, it seems like something always happens.

“Goodyear really has its hands full there. It’s probably the most demanding track on the right-front tire that we have. Because of the concrete surface, we demand a lot out of cars. It’s concrete and it’s bumpy. You try to run up on the outside, and because you always seem to have a tight car at Dover you’re always demanding more out of the tires than anywhere else. Goodyear does a great job, but it’s certainly the biggest test for them.

“I don’t think we’ve had any problems there the last few years. We need to get up there and run good the whole event. We just need to follow Kyle. He seems to excel at Dover and every time I follow him in practice, I go faster. Kyle is well in control of what he’s doing in Dover, I just need to figure it out with the help of this Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team.”

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