Level Cross NC (November 18, 1997) the two most
famous names in motorsports will reunite for the 1998
NASCAR Winston Cup Series. John Andretti returns
to the driver’s seat of the STP Pontiac owned by
seven-time Winston Cup champion, Richard Petty, as
announced in a joint release by the two.
Andretti's first Winston Cup Victory came at the Pepsi
400 in July of 1997 at the Daytona International
Speedway. He joins his uncle Mario Andretti, his
godfather A.J. Foyt, and the late Mark Donahue, by
becoming the forth driver in motorsports history with
major race victories in the country's three most
prestigious racing series: NASCAR, CART (1991
Gold Coast Gran Prix in Australia), and IMSA (1989
24 Hours of Daytona).
"I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to
getting back with Richard, (crew chief) Robbie
Loomis, (team manager) Dale Inman and all the guys
with the STP team," explained Andretti. "The half year
I spent with them before was fantastic. We achieved a
great deal during those 11 races. We were running up
front and leading races. Since then, they have won and
I've won. We feel by getting back together, we hope
to add to the win total for both the team and STP."
The association first took the spotlight in 1994 when
Andretti, an Indianapolis, Indiana native took over the
driver's seat for the STP Pontiac in the last 11 races of
the season.
"We are excited to say, John Andretti is our driver for
1998," said Petty. "When we got together a couple of
years ago, it wasn't the right situation for John, as well
as for Petty Enterprises. This time things are different,
John has won in this series and Robbie Loomis has
guided our STP team to the next level with two
victories in two years. I think now it is the right fit. John
is hungry for more Winston Cup victories and so is the
Petty Enterprises STP Racing team. I think that Kyle
(Petty, driver of the #44 Hot Wheels Racing Pontiac)
and John will be able to work together successfully
and that is an important factor."
"As excited as I am to return to Petty Enterprises, I
have mixed emotions," said Andretti. "I've had a great
time with Cale Yarborough, Tony Furr and all the guys
on the #98 team. We've won a race in a very short
time together, and I feel like we were right on the
verge of doing a lot of great things. It really boiled
down to timing. Cale has been working hard to bring
another sponsor and I have done everything I could to
help him, however, I will be driving for Richard Petty
in 1998."
Robbie Loomis will remain at the helm of Petty
Enterprises as crew chief and Dale Inman will remain
as team manager.
