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Jeff Andretti
Andretti in 2012
Nationality	American
Born	(1964-04-14) April 14, 1964 (age 60) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Awards	1991 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 1991 CART Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year
Champ Car career
21 races run over 5 years
Years active	1990–1994
Team(s)	TEAMKAR International (1990) Bayside Motorsports (1991) A. J. Foyt Enterprises (1992) Pagan Racing (1993) Euromotorsports, Hemelgarn Racing (1994)
Best finish	15th (1991)
First race	1990 Miller Genuine Draft 200 (Milwaukee)
Last race	1994 Slick 50 200 (Phoenix)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR driver
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
3 races run over 1 year
Best finish	64th (1999)
First race	1999 Pronto Auto Parts 400K (Texas)
Last race	1999 NAPA Autocare 200 (Nazareth)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

Jeff Andretti (born April 14, 1964) is a former American professional race car driver. He competed in the Champ Car World Series and was the series' Rookie of the Year in 1991.

Early life and education

Andretti was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on April 14, 1964, the youngest son of Dee Ann (Hoch) and Italian-born 1969 Indianapolis 500 and 1978 Formula 1 World Champion Mario Andretti. His older brother is Michael Andretti, and his uncle is Aldo Andretti. His nephew is Marco Andretti, who is the son of his brother, Michael. He is also the cousin of Aldo's two sons, John Andretti and Adam Andretti. The Andretti family became the first family to have four relatives (Michael, Mario, Jeff, and John) to compete in the same series, which occurred during the CART series.

Career

In 1983, Andretti was racing in Formula Fords, winning both the USAC Pro Ford Championship and the Skip Barber Formula Ford Eastern Series. After qualifying for his Sports Car Club of America national license in 1984, he won the Northeast Division title in Formula Ford. In November, he made his Formula Super Vee debut, at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

He continued in Formula Super Vee the following season, with the Ralt America outfit, winning the third race of the season, on the Milwaukee Mile. In the CART race at the same event, Mario did the same, marking the first time a father and son had started from pole and won races on the same track, in the same weekend. Andretti would also win in Cleveland and Phoenix, on his way the fifth in the Robert Bosch/Valvoline Championship.

In 1986, Andretti moved into the new American Racing Series with Ralph Sanchez Racing. Like his Milwaukee win the previous year, his only race win was a "family affair". He earned his first ARS victory, at Pocono, as his father won the CART race at the same meeting, after his brother, Michael had started from pole, giving the Andretti family a "clean sweep". Andretti went on to finish second the overall ARS standings. For 1987, Andretti switched to Arciero Racing for another attempt at ARS, winning the opening race of the season, in Phoenix. He would revisit the top step of the podium in the series finale, in the race around Tamiami Park, Miami, snatching second place in the championship away from Tommy Byrne in the process.

In 1989, Andretti competed in the Toyota Atlantic, while developing a new chassis. Although the season was winless, he did earn Rookie of the Year honours, on his way to sixth in the Atlantic Division.

He moved into the CART ranks in 1990, joining his father and brother, making racing history, making it the first time a father has competed against his two sons in a CART race. After failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, he make his race debut with TEAMKAR International in their Lola-Cosworth T89/00 in the Miller Genuine Draft 200 on the Milwaukee Mile, only to suffer mechanical problems and not finish. He sat out the rest of the season, returning in 1991, doing a full season with Bayside Disposal Racing, driving their Texaco Havoline Star sponsored Lola-Cosworth T91/00. With four top ten finishes throughout the season, three of which were the first three races, the best being a 7th place in the Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix; the race incidentally won by his cousin, John, earning the CART Rookie of the Year title.

In May 1991, Andretti qualified 11th for the Indianapolis 500, coupled with an outstanding performance before mechanical problems earned him the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year title. He followed Mario and Michael in making it the first time ever that three members of the same family had achieved this.

Earlier that year, Jeff joined Mario and Michael to race for Jochen Dauer Racing in the SunBank 24 at Daytona. Although their Porsche 962C was classified in fifth place, they failed to finish due to overheating.

Without a full-time drive for 1992, Andretti returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with A. J. Foyt Enterprises. However, he became yet another victim of the infamous Andretti Curse at the famed race track when on lap 109, a right rear wheel came loose off his car at turn 2 and he crashed violently head-on into the wall, smashing both his legs. He spent three weeks at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, before the long road to recovery, determined to race again in 1993.

It was February 1993, when Andretti set the unofficial closed-course speed record for IndyCars of 234.50 mph, the fastest speed ever recorded at Texas World Speedway, while testing for the Indianapolis 500. This marked his first time back in an IndyCar since the accident the previous year. Andretti's fast run came at the conclusion of two days of testing where he consistently posted laps in the 230 mph range. Andretti's Buick-powered Lola was prepared by Pagan Racing. It was at the Indy, that Andretti made his complete his comeback, only to record a third straight DNF.

The accident severely hampered Andretti's career, at least in terms of his competitiveness, since he was never the same afterwards. In 1994, Jeff did a one-off race with Euromotorsports, finishing 17th in the Slick 50 200, held at Phoenix Raceway, 21 laps adrift. In May 1994, Jeff switched to Hemelgarn Racing, but his bid for a fourth consecutive start failed due to a blown Buick engine.

He returned to racing full-time at the Indy Lights with Canaska Racing in 1995, but recorded just one top-ten finish. In 1996, he stepped away from open-wheel racing and joined the tin-top brigade, racing to seventh place overall in the North American Touring Car Championship in a Leitzinger Racing prepared Ford Mondeo. After a gap of three year, he moved to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 94 Chevrolet for Enerjetix Motorsports, he raced in three events in 1999, posting a best finish of 30th at the Milwaukee Mile.

Andretti is now retired from competitive racing, and works as a driving instructor.

Racing record

Career highlights

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1984	901 Shop	Mike Schaefer Nick Nicholson Jeff Refenning	Porsche 911 SC	GTU	258	43rd (DNF)	12th (DNF)
1988	Buick Momo March	Steve Phillips Michael Roe	March-Buick 86G	GTP	485	53rd (DNF)	14th (DNF)
1991	Jochen Dauer Racing	Mario Andretti Michael Andretti	Porsche 962C	GTP	663	5th (DNF)	3rd (DNF)

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1993	Auto Toy Store	Wayne Taylor Morris Shirazi	Spice-Chevrolet SE90P	GTP	165	37th (DNF)	7th (DNF)

American open wheel racing results

(key)

American Racing Series / Indy Lights

CART

Indianapolis 500

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Craftsman Truck Series

North American Touring Car Championship

(key)

References

1. "Motorsports matriarch Dee Ann Andretti dies at 76".
2. Schwartz, Larry. "Mario Andretti synonymous with racing". Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. ESPN. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
3. ^ "Everything about Jeff Andretti Driver Coach for Jeff Andretti Coaching Group". jeffandretticoachinggroup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-06-26.
4. "1985 Robert Bosch Formula Super Vee Championship". teamdan.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
5. ^ "Jeff Andretti". driverdb.com.
6. "Jeff Andretti Career Statistics - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info.
7. ^ "1989 SCCA Toyota Atlantic Championship - Atlantic Division". champcarstats.com.
8. "1990 Miller Genuine Draft 200". racing-reference.info.
9. "CART Results for 1991 - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info.
10. "1991 Indianapolis 500". racing-reference.info.
11. "Jeff Andretti (USA)'s cars - Photo Gallery - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com.
12. "1992 Indianapolis 500". racing-reference.info.
13. "Lodi News-Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". google.com.
14. "1994 Slick 50 200". racing-reference.info.
15. "Jayski's® Silly Season Site - Past News Page". jayski.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
16. "Jeff Andretti". racing-reference.info.
17. Auto-racing.speedtv.com Archived May 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
18. "Formula Super Vee USA Robert Bosch/Valvoline Championship 1985 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
19. Teamdan.com
20. "American Racing Series 1986 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
21. "CART American Racing Series standings for 1986". racing-reference.info.
22. "American Racing Series 1987 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
23. "CART American Racing Series standings for 1987". racing-reference.info.
24. "HFC American Racing Series 1988 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
25. "CART American Racing Series standings for 1988". racing-reference.info.
26. "Formula Atlantic SCCA - East Coast Division 1989 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
27. "HFC American Racing Series 1989 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
28. "CART American Racing Series standings for 1989". racing-reference.info.
29. "CART standings for 1990". racing-reference.info.
30. "CART standings for 1991". racing-reference.info.
31. "USAC Gold Crown Series standings for 1991". racing-reference.info.
32. "IMSA Camel GTP Championship 1991 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
33. "IMSA - final positions and tables". classicscars.com.
34. "USAC Gold Crown Series standings for 1992". racing-reference.info.
35. "CART standings for 1992". racing-reference.info.
36. "USAC Gold Crown Series standings for 1993". racing-reference.info.
37. "CART standings for 1993". racing-reference.info.
38. "PPG Indy Car World Series 1994 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
39. "CART standings for 1994". racing-reference.info.
40. "PPG/Firestone Indy Lights Championship 1995 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
41. "Firestone / Dayton Indy Lights standings for 1995". racing-reference.info.
42. "North American Super Touring Championship 1996 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
43. "North American Touring Car Championship standings for 1996". racing-reference.info.
44. "NASCAR Truck Series 1999 standings - Driver Database". driverdb.com.
45. "NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings for 1999". racing-reference.info.
46. "Jeff Andretti – 1990 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
47. "Jeff Andretti – 1991 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
48. "Jeff Andretti – 1992 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
49. "Jeff Andretti – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
50. "Jeff Andretti – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
51. "Jeff Andretti – 1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.

External links

• Jeff Andretti driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Jeff Andretti at Champ Car Stats
• Official Andretti family website

• Living people
• 1964 births
• 12 Hours of Sebring drivers
• 24 Hours of Daytona drivers
• A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers
• American people of Italian descent
• Andretti family
• Atlantic Championship drivers
• Champ Car drivers
• EuroInternational drivers
• IMSA GT Championship drivers
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year
• Indy Lights drivers
• NASCAR drivers
• Nazareth Area High School alumni
• North American Touring Car Championship drivers
• Racing drivers from Pennsylvania
• SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers
• SCCA National Championship Runoffs participants
• Sportspeople from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania