The racing legends' entry for the May 24 event is 'not a publicity stunt,' says Richard Petty, whose car will carry Petty's famed No. 43 and driven by veteran John Andretti.
Two of the most celebrated names in auto racing, Petty and Andretti, will team up for the first time at this year's Indianapolis 500.
NASCAR stock-car racing legend Richard Petty said today that he will field a car for the Indy 500 on May 24 with veteran driver John Andretti, nephew of open-wheel racing great Mario Andretti.
John Andretti, 46, has driven both stock cars and Indy cars in his career, and has driven for Petty's NASCAR teams in the past.
Andretti has started the Indy 500 nine times, with a best finish of fifth in 1991. He mostly has focused on stock-car racing since 1994 but competed in the Indy 500 the last two years. He finished 16th in 2008.
At this year's 500 on May 24, Andretti's car will be painted blue and red, and will carry the famed No. 43, which adorned Petty's cars when he won seven NASCAR championships during his storied career.
Andretti spearheaded the effort to include Petty in this year's 500, which started with inviting Petty to attend the race a year ago.
"Last year was the first time I was ever here when they threw the [green] flag at the 500, and that was very impressive," Petty, 71, said in a teleconference with reporters from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"I finally said, 'Yeah, let's just give it a try,' " adding that the entry was "not a publicity stunt. We're serious with this deal. It's going to be up to John now."
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series also has a race May 24, at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., and Petty would join Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi as team owners who are fielding cars in both races that day.
Petty merged his NASCAR team with another stock-car team, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, over the winter and the combined operation was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports.
The Petty-Andretti car will mainly be prepared by the IndyCar series team Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and will be sponsored by Window World, which also sponsored Andretti's stock car in this year's Daytona 500. He finished 19th in that NASCAR race.
Two of the most celebrated names in auto racing, Petty and Andretti, will team up for the first time at this year's Indianapolis 500.
NASCAR stock-car racing legend Richard Petty said today that he will field a car for the Indy 500 on May 24 with veteran driver John Andretti, nephew of open-wheel racing great Mario Andretti.
John Andretti, 46, has driven both stock cars and Indy cars in his career, and has driven for Petty's NASCAR teams in the past.
Andretti has started the Indy 500 nine times, with a best finish of fifth in 1991. He mostly has focused on stock-car racing since 1994 but competed in the Indy 500 the last two years. He finished 16th in 2008.
At this year's 500 on May 24, Andretti's car will be painted blue and red, and will carry the famed No. 43, which adorned Petty's cars when he won seven NASCAR championships during his storied career.
Andretti spearheaded the effort to include Petty in this year's 500, which started with inviting Petty to attend the race a year ago.
"Last year was the first time I was ever here when they threw the [green] flag at the 500, and that was very impressive," Petty, 71, said in a teleconference with reporters from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"I finally said, 'Yeah, let's just give it a try,' " adding that the entry was "not a publicity stunt. We're serious with this deal. It's going to be up to John now."
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series also has a race May 24, at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., and Petty would join Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi as team owners who are fielding cars in both races that day.
Petty merged his NASCAR team with another stock-car team, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, over the winter and the combined operation was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports.
The Petty-Andretti car will mainly be prepared by the IndyCar series team Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and will be sponsored by Window World, which also sponsored Andretti's stock car in this year's Daytona 500. He finished 19th in that NASCAR race.
