Backstretch Motorsports

Montagny, Kanaan, Andretti Set for Petit Le Mans; Montagny, Kanaan to Drive at Laguna Seca

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (September 12, 2008) - Andretti Green Racing (AGR) announced today that IndyCar Series drivers Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti will join Franck Montagny in the #26 XM Radio Acura for the 11th running of Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Kanaan will also join Montagny for the final race of the season at Laguna Seca.

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LEXINGTON, Ohio, Saturday, July 19, 2008 - Helio Castroneves put himself in the perfect position to chip away at the 63-point deficit in the IndyCar Series championship point standings. The series all-time leader in poles added No. 25 to his career tally during PEAK Motor Oil Pole Qualifying for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance.

Castroneves advanced through the first two qualifying elimination rounds to the Firestone Fast Six for the 13th time in 14 IndyCar Series road/street races. In that session, he lapped the 2.258-mile, 13-turn circuit in 1 minute, 7.2480 seconds, 120.878 mph to earn his second consecutive pole of the season and his second consecutive pole at Mid-Ohio.

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RICHMOND, Va., Friday, June 27, 2008 - Tony Kanaan won the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by Advance Auto Parts for Saturday’s SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway.

The Andretti Green Racing driver recorded a four-lap qualifying effort of 1 minute, 4.3333 seconds, 167.876 mph in the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven machine. The pole is Kanaan’s second of the season and the 10th of his IndyCar Series career.

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (June 26, 2008) - Andretti Green Racing (AGR) announced today it has signed Franck Montagny to become the primary driver of the #26 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-01b for the remainder of the 2008 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season, beginning with the next tour stop at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Ct.

Bryan Herta and Christian Fittipaldi handled the driving duties for Andretti Green in the four previous ALMS starts this season along with Marco Andretti, who rounded out the AGR lineup in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

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The age-old question in auto racing: Is it better to be lucky or good? Scott Dixon is both right now.

In fact, send Dixon a dollar and have him buy your next lotto ticket. That’s just how lucky the New Zealand racer is.

With just a slight question of maybe being tight on fuel to make it to the end of the Bombardier Learjet 550k at Texas Motor Speedway under green, Dixon would’ve welcomed just another couple of caution laps.

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WEST ALLIS, Wis., May 31, 2008 - Marco Andretti became the youngest pole winner in IndyCar Series history when he claimed the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award for the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile. The 21-year-old will be joined on the front row by 19-year-old Graham Rahal.

Andretti, driver of the No. 26 Team Indiana Jones presented by Blockbuster Dallara/Honda/Firestone, captured his first career pole with a four-lap average speed of 168.079 mph. At the age of 21 years, 79 days old he eclipsed the mark of Tomas Scheckter, who was 21 years, 260 days old when he won the pole at Texas in June 2002.

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INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - Marco Andretti was the fastest of 31 drivers who completed laps on the first day practice for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 was opened to all drivers.

Andretti, who finished second in the race as a rookie in 2006, lapped the historic 2.5-mile oval in 39.7177 seconds, 226.599 mph in the No. 26 Team Indiana Jones presented by Blockbuster car.

Tony Kanaan, Andretti’s Andretti Green Racing teammate, was second fastest with a lap of 225.269 mph. Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and 2005 winner Dan Wheldon were third and fifth, respectively, while Team Penske teammates Ryan Briscoe and two-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves were fourth and sixth, respectively.

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The new era of American open-wheel racing started with a bang with last night’s GAINSCO Indy 300. New Zealander Scott Dixon picked up right where he left off last year by notching another season’s first event win on his already impressive IndyCar Series resume. It is Dixon’s second victory on the 1.5 mile Homestead-Miami oval.

It wasn’t a cakewalk for the Target Chip Ganassi pilot with a continuation of last year’s battles swapping turns at the point with Andretti Green Racing’s Tony Kanaan from the drop of the green flag.

“Yeah, today was a tough race.” said Dixon, “I think early on we thought we had a pretty good car. We opted to go a little lighter on downforce than some of the others on the grid. In those longer stints, it started to hurt us. We couldn’t keep the car on the bottom or the middle, to be honest. I tried running high where the other guys were. I couldn’t keep the car down, especially in (Turns) 3 and 4. (Turns) 1 and 2, I didn’t have a problem.”

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