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IU Health and PitFit Training join Andretti Autosport to enhance on and off track performance

INDIANAPOLIS (May 8, 2013) - Indiana University Health is now the official sports medicine and sports performance provider for Indianapolis-based Andretti Autosport®, based on a newly formed partnership between the two organizations.

Through the multi-year agreement, IU Health will provide Andretti Autosport with sports performance coaches to train staff and pit crew on a weekly basis, in coordination with performance race partner PitFit Training, sports medicine specialists to perform in-season injury evaluations and certified athletic trainers who will travel with the championship racing team for select IZOD IndyCar Series events taking place throughout North America, including major racing events in Detroit, Houston and Toronto. IU Health will also provide on-site sports medicine services for Andretti Autosport drivers, including Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, E.J. Viso and reigning IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the month of May.

In addition, IU Health will provide Andretti Autosport's executives, employees and their spouses with access and discounts to all adult fitness programs hosted at its Carmel-based IU Health Sports Performance facility.

"This agreement brings our nationally ranked health system together with a nationally renowned champion racing organization to enhance performance, prevent and treat injuries, and improve safety," said Scott Handlon, business director of IU Health Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. "Now, Andretti Autosport athletes and staff have access to our Olympic-level training facility, expert training staff and our comprehensive, medically integrated training program here at IU Health Sports Performance."

At IU Health Sports Performance, nationally certified specialists customize sport-specific strength and conditioning programs that combine medically integrated sports performance training and sports science to help athletes and active individuals maximize their speed, agility and power while reducing their risk of injury.

"We are really excited about this partnership with IU Health Sports Performance," said said Doug Bresnahan, Vice President of Marketing Partnerships for Andretti Autosport. "So much effort goes into preparing our race cars for optimum on-track performance and we now have a partner that can bring that same level of focus and attention into maximizing our team's overall fitness level, health and wellbeing. As an organization, it's in our DNA to seek continual self-improvement and IU Health Sports Performance will help us accomplish this across every facet of our company."

For more information about IU Health Sports Performance or PitFit Training, please call: 317.848.JUMP (5867) or visit: www.iuhealth.org/sportsperformance.

RACING VETERAN JOHN TZOUANAKIS JOINS ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT 2013 INDIANAPOLIS 500 EFFORT

INDIANAPOLIS (May 6, 2013) – Andretti Autosport is pleased to announce John "TZ" Tzouanakis will be joining the Indianapolis-based team for the 2013 Indianapolis 500. Tzouanakis will serve as the Pit Strategist for Andretti Autosport's fifth Indy 500 entry, the No. 26 Unistraw Chevrolet piloted by Indianapolis rookie Carlos Munoz.

"After spending my career working my way up the ranks with Newman/Haas, I'm looking forward to again working with Michael (Andretti) and taking my career to new levels," said Tzouanakis. "The Mazda Road to Indy program features drivers with great potential, and the opportunity to work with one of those drivers for his first Indy 500 will be a great new chapter to my career."

During his 30-year tenure with Newman/Haas Racing, Tzouanakis has worked alongside drivers that include Mario and Michael Andretti, Sebastian Bourdais, Nigel Mansell and Cristiano da Matta. With eight open-wheel championships under his belt with Newman/Haas, and as a well-known figure in the racing community, the racing veteran offers a wealth of experience and competitive attitude that cemented his name at the top of the board for potential candidates. Prior to his Newman/Haas reign, Tzouanakis worked with Chaparral Cars during the 1980 Indy 500 and championship run of Johnny Rutherford.

"TZ is a great addition to our team," said team owner Michael Andretti. "I had the opportunity to work with him in the past and I think he brings a great deal of racing experience to the table. We look forward to having him on board to help Carlos (Munoz) through his first Indy 500."

Munoz, a Colombian native, is currently competing full-time on the Firestone Indy Lights circuit for Andretti Autosport. The May 18 Pole Day will mark his first Indy 500 qualifying attempt alongside Andretti teammates Marco Andretti (No. 25 RC Cola Chevrolet), James Hinchcliffe (No. 27 GoDaddy Chevrolet), E.J. Viso (No. 5 Team Venezuela Chevrolet) and reigning series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 1 DHL Chevrolet). Andretti, Hinchcliffe, Viso and Hunter-Reay are each running full-season efforts with Andretti Autosport for the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season.

The 97^th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place May 26 at the famed 2.5-mile oval in Speedway, Indiana. Qualifying will be broadcast by NBC Sports Network May 18 while race day coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway begins at 12:15 p.m. ET on May 26, live on ABC.

For more information, please visit www.AndrettiAutosport.com.

An unexpected end to a very promising weekend is what the Andretti Autosport IZOD IndyCar teams experienced in sunny Long Beach, California. The hot streak continues in their Firestone Indy Lights program, however, as veteran Carlos Munoz found victory lane once more.

Marco Andretti went into today's race with the odds stacked against him, as he started 25th on the grid. Making a slow and steady climb through tough competition, Marco worked his way as high as eighth before sustaining front end damage. Showing no signs of slowing down, he battled his way into the top 10 before finishing seventh overall in the field. "Going into this, I knew that this would be about the best we would finish. I am definitely pleased with how we climbed our way through the field and how we stayed consistent throughout the day. We knew that if we just stayed in the race and didn't make any mistakes, we would be good. I had some front wing damage and a lot of understeer the whole race." Andretti remains fourth in the championship points standings.

Twenty-eight-year-old E.J. Viso felt the car that his No. 5 crew gave him was going to bring him to victory lane. Seen as high as sixth place after the second restart, E.J. was reordered back to P8 following a series of pit stops amongst the competition. The Venezuelan remained in the top 10 position until receiving the brunt of a run-in between two other competitors, and Viso returned to the pits and was brought back behind the wall to have his rear suspension worked on. Crew guys from the Go Daddy and Team Venezuela camp worked feverishly and pushed E.J. back out to the race on Lap 49. Calling it a day, the No. 5 team called in the Andretti Autosport "rookie" with 10 laps to go being shown in 22nd. "A very tough weekend for the team. It was looking like a good weekend for me after our very difficult beginning. It was a very tough Friday, a bit better Saturday in qualifying – we were able to qualify in the top 10 – and then in the race I really had a good, good recovery with some changes for the race which were in the right direction. The team gave me a car that was very competitive with new and old tires. I was able to have a very good rhythm and good pace with fuel. I believe we had a car that was able to win this race. I feel bad for the outcome of the team: one driver took three Andretti cars out – it's a shame. Now to Brazil."

2010 Long Beach race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay also ended the day early due to on-track contact with fellow competitors. After showing promising speed all weekend and rolling the DHL Chevy off from the second position, he found himself in an undesirable position more than once during today's 80-lap race. The No. 1 machine entered the pits for a front nose replacement after simply being in the wrong place and the wrong time and being collected in a Turn 1 incident. Losing valuable track time for repairs, the American found himself stuck in traffic and then part of another collision, this time ended his day. "We missed some of the grip today that we had in prior days. Some of the corners that were my strongest were my weakest today. I was definitely handcuffed, so we just started trying things. We were in the back anyway, I had to move forward again and I just got in too hot, no grip on the inside there. Just trying things, trying anything to make a bad day go a little better, but it just went from bad to worse. I feel really bad for the guys, they gave me a great car all weekend, we just missed it today. I absolutely missed it out there on the track, so we have to rebound in Brazil for sure and try to get the DHL Chevy on top again." Today's incident dropped Hunter-Reay from third to sixth in the points standings.

The GoDaddy.com machine of James Hinchcliffe was full of top-five capability when the Canadian driver fell victim to the same fate three of his teammates suffered. A restart left James entering Turn 1 from the inside line with no where to go but into the wall as competition turned in on the No. 27 Chevy. "Two in a row (not finishing due to contact) – what a kick in the pants. It's really unfortunate because I think the Go Daddy team had done a good job giving us a great race car. And on that restart… I didn't get the best restart and Tony (Kanaan) had a smokin' one and I was trying to keep, I think it was (Simon) Pagenaud, behind me on the inside and as we got down to Turn 1. I haven't seen a replay so I don't know if Tony was trying to do a last minute pass or if he was getting squeezed by someone else, but he moved in the brake zone and I just had nowhere to go and day done. So really tough break for the Go Daddy guys because I genuinely think we were podium contenders today and it was going to be a good comeback from not the strongest of weekends. But one thing I love about this team is they pull out on Sundays – they do Sunday as well as anybody, and often better, and I think today was going to be one of those days. But we'll get our momentum back and move on to Brazil."

Carlos Munoz's momentum continues to roll as he won today's Long Beach 100 in a seemingly dominant fashion. Starting from the pole position for the third straight time this season, Carlos started the race ahead of the pack and never looked back. Making this back-to-back wins this season, Carlos has now pulled ahead in points standings. "In the beginning I think I did a really good start, so Jack got nervous or something and there was a big crash behind me, I don't know what really happened I just saw it in the mirrors. After that it was my race, I knew that Peter and Jack were some of my two biggest competitors on the track for the championship and they were out, so I was taking it easy. The main key was to finish, but it was a really good car for a second victory of the season, I had a really great car."

Zach Veach made his Long Beach debut today filled with optimism after qualifying third fastest in the field during yesterday's session. Zach's luck would run short as he collided with another car going into Turn 1 of the first lap. Disappointed, Zach now looks forward to Indy and will begin preparing himself for his first oval race with the Firestone Indy Lights next month. "We had a really good start. With Carlos ahead of me I had a pull, something that (Jack) Hawksworth didn't have. Obviously he could tell in a way that I was gaining on him. I felt that we were going to get him going into Turn 1. I kept gaining on him and he kept trying to muscle me to the wall. At that point I was to a spot that I couldn't lift. I was to the wall so I gave him as room as I absolutely could."

The IZOD IndyCar Series will pack up and head to the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil for the next round of competition on May 5. The Firestone Indy Lights drivers will next take to the track in May for the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In the meantime, keep up to date on all things Andretti Autosport by joining us on Twitter (@FollowAndretti) and don't forget to 'Like' us on Facebook where you can enter to be our featured Fan of the Week.

4.7.13 – After a strong start to the season, Andretti Autosport continued its winning streak this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Respectively, Andretti Autosport drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay and Carlos Muñoz won the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and Legacy Indy Lights 100 on Sunday, giving the team three wins overall on the 2013 campaign.

Defending series champ Ryan Hunter-Reay got back to form Sunday, winning his first race since Baltimore last September, completing a near perfect weekend which saw him take the Verizon P1 Pole Award, then keep the field behind him as he took the checkered flag. After battling throughout the race with Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and Will Power, Hunter-Reay was able to track down leader Castroneves and pass him on lap 75 of 90. “(Helio’s) tire strategy worked in our favor. We had new reds on when he had blacks on, and he was just a sitting duck at that point. I just kept patient and made it happen when I needed to. It was very challenging out there today.” Today was Ryan’s 10th career win and his first at Barber Motosports Park.

Marco Andretti continued to show his competitive nature this weekend by tallying another top-ten finish for the 2013 season. Throughout the weekend, Marco seemingly progressed during every on-track session. Starting inside the fourth row, Marco spent his day fighting his way through tough competition, and climbed his way as high as third, but sufficed for a seventh-place finish, his second top 10 in two races thus far. “I thought the RC Cola car was quicker on track than where we ended up. Not finding the podium is always tough to swallow, but having back-to-back top-10 finishes keeps us in a good position going into Long Beach.” Marco will bring the RC Cola Chevy to Long Beach in the top five in points, and will look to keep the No. 25 in position for a championship run.

Although E.J. Viso did not have the weekend he had hoped, the 28-year-old Venezuelan is not discouraged and is proud of his teammates. “Probably not the race that we wanted,” he commented. “Anyways, we stayed out of trouble and we did all we could. Unfortunately in our race there were not many (yellow) flags to give us any margins to risk and to work on strategies. It was a very clean race. Not much action on track – just trying to keep the pace with the others. That’s about it. I’m very happy for Ryan – he won the race! Hopefully my turn is coming soon.” After qualifying in 16th, Viso approached the 90-lap race with an open mind and ended up finishing in 12th – picking up two spots on the final lap as he approached the twin checkers.

Following his first career win at St. Petersburg, James Hinchliffe looked poised to establish himself as the man to beat in 2013, but unfortunately a tough result in qualifying and a first lap incident ended his day early. Heading into Turn 8 on the opening lap, Graham Rahal bumped into the back of Oriol Servia, who then ran into James. Although nothing broke immediately, something broke in the left rear shortly thereafter, and James lost drive. The safety crew began to tow the No. 27 Go Daddy Chevy towards pit lane, but a tire rolled off at Turn 5. The series made the decision to leave Hinch behind the wall and would tow him back at the next yellow; that yellow never came. “Certainly not the race that we wanted, but it wasn’t really our weekend at all,” said a frustrated mayor of Hinchtown. “It’s too bad because I think the strategy we had with the tires was going to be a good one, and obviously the car was strong with Ryan bringing home the win. It sucked to have to sit there – praying for a yellow, staying in the car, hoping we’d get the car back to the pits and maybe salvage a position or two. But ultimately it didn’t work out for us.” Hinchcliffe will still remain among the top of the charts in the points chase, but gave up a good amount of ground with his 26th-place finish. Still, James looks forward to ridding the demons at Long Beach, where he recorded his first top-five finish in 2011. “There’s nothing else you can do at this point – put it behind us and move on to Long Beach, and try to put the Go Daddy car into a better position.”

Firestone Indy Lights driver Carlos Munoz had a successful weekend at Barber Motorsports Park capturing both the pole position (his second consecutive) and the win in Sunday's 40-lap race. This is the third career Firestone Indy Lights victory for the Colombian. Teammate and K12 driver Zach Veach turned the fastest lap of the Firestone Indy Lights Legacy 100 race at Barber Motorsports Park, but that wasn't enough to secure the promising rookie a spot atop the podium.  Instead, Veach had a cut tire early on in the race which would send him to pit lane for service.  The 18-year-old managed to finish the race, recording a ninth-place finish when the checkered flag flew.

Team owner Michael Andretti was ecstatic with the team’s results this weekend. “It really was a perfect weekend. We got the pole in both races and the win both races and led most of the laps, you can’t ask for much more than that. I’m really happy and proud of the whole DHL crew and of the Firestone Indy Lights team. Everyone did a great job all weekend.”

The IZOD IndyCar and Firestone Indy Lights series will head to the streets of Long Beach for round three of competition in two-weeks’ time. James Hinchcliffe recorded his first career podium finish at the famed street circuit in 2012 while Ryan Hunter-Reay captured the checkered flags in Southern California in 2010.

In the meantime keep up to date on all things Andretti Autosport by joining us on Twitter (@FollowAndretti) and don't forget to 'Like' us on Facebook where you can enter to be our featured Fan of the Week.