Coca-Cola 600 - John Andretti Notes

John Andretti Notes, Quotes: Coca-Cola 600
"We're back, tested and ready to race'

John Andretti has been part of Coca-Cola 600 racing lore for over 10 years now, since the Indianapolis, Ind., native became the first driver to run both the 600 and the Indianapolis 500 in the same day.

One of the top names in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Andretti is one of a handful of active drivers with multiple wins in the major leagues of stock car racing. He is driving for another legendary name - Earnhardt - and is behind the wheel of DEI's #1 Chevrolet for this weekend's Coca-Cola 600.

Andretti and his DEI teammates have prepared well for the 600-miler at Lowe's Motor Speedway. They tested for two days at Lowe's and one day at Kentucky Speedway last week.

Andretti's vast racing experience ranks him as one of the most versatile and talented drivers on the NASCAR Nextel 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 Nextel Cup oval races. Winner of the 1991 Gold Coast Grand Prix in Australia, one of major league open wheel racing'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 #1 DEI Chevrolet driver John Andretti heading into Charlotte:

"If nothing else, we're prepared for this weekend. Not having the chance to race the past several weeks will get your mind working in that direction but the time we've been able to put on the race track last week, and the time we've spent in the shop the past several weeks, has us really ready to go.

"We tested two days at Charlotte last week, and then had a really good one-day test at Kentucky. This was the first time I had been able to test with the No. 1 team, but things went really well. I had tested with the Chance 2 team at Indy last year but they were out of tests other than that.

"We've done a lot of talking and figuring and working the past several weeks, pointed towards coming to the Coca-Cola 600. That's pretty important for me. I've had a good relationship with the folks at Coca-Cola for a long time, and I really wanted to run their race. Of course, I want to run everybody's race, I want to run all of them - Cup, Busch, Indy cars, whatever. But the Coca-Cola 600 is really special, especially because of Coke's involvement.

"It was good to actually get to test and try some of the development things DEI is working on. Martin (Truex) drove the 8 car at Kentucky and they tested with us, both of us trying different things. I felt like we were able to try enough things that we can add to what DEI is trying to do, especially on the mile-and-a-half tracks, plus we get the benefit of a race organization that is obviously running very well.

"I was hoping to be able to put together something so we could do the Charlotte-Indy double again. It really looked like one or two deals for Indy might come together but they just didn't get done in time. We got really close but not quite there. I wanted to be in a competitive ride if we were going to do it, and that part was pretty well covered too. If they had moved Indy to the first half of June for this year, we might have made it. Still, I haven't given up on that for 2005 and on beyond that.

"This is just the beginning as far as the DEI No. 1 car is concerned. We have some more races coming up that we are going to do, but the Coke 600 is a great starting point for us. Our goals are the same as any other weekend. We're pretty well prepared. The team is small but we're not actually there every weekend, so there is good and bad to that. (Crew chief) Tony Gibson has been going to the track a lot with the 15 and the 8, so he is up on things. I've been going to the track and hanging out a day or so, talking to a lot of people so I have an idea of what's going on. And I spend a lot of time in the shop. So we're not out of touch, we're just not actively doing it each weekend.

"When we went testing, it was sort of like our season was finally starting. That was good, got everybody's blood boiling again. We're coming out with our guns loaded and we feel really good about things. We're going to do the best we can to get a great finish, and this team is capable of doing that.

"We have an excellent pit crew - the Chance 2 guys are going to pit us. That's usually one of the things a part-time deal would struggle with but we'll be as good as anybody else in the pits. We want to come out at the Coke 600 this week and have a great run, and build some momentum that we can carry into some other races this year as well."