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Wilson To Join Andretti Autosport At Indianapolis

Michael Andretti and Justin Wilson at the announcement press conference. [Joe Jennings Photo]

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Andretti Autosport announced today that veteran Verizon IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson will be joining the potent team for both races in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to include the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500. The announcement came during a press conference hosted by Honda.

Wilson, 36, driver will pilot the No. 25 Honda. To date, the likable Brit has competed in the Verizon IndyCar Series for 11 seasons, scoring seven wins, 26 podium finishes, eight pole positions and 700 laps led.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Andretti Autosport,” said Wilson. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me and this should be a strong program. I’m looking forward to continuing my relationship with Honda and to working with Ryan (Hunter-Reay), Carlos (Muñoz) and Marco (Andretti). Thank you to Michael (Andretti) for bringing me the board and giving me this great opportunity. I know that the team has everything in place to do well, and I’m really confident about what the group is capable of this year. Michael has worked very hard in the off-season to make this happen. Hopefully, I will have a good month of May as this is a great opportunity. I am really honored and proud for this to happen.”

Wilson indicated he has been very impressed upon seeing the new aero kits. “It is great to see them and what it has added to the cars, giving them a more dramatic look. I can’t wait to try it,” he noted.

“Believe it or not this is something we have been working on for 4 or 5 years to get Justin in one of our cars,” Michael Andretti said. “At the moment we are able to get him in the car for a couple of races, but the goal is to get him in a lot more. I think this will be a great program, and we are thankful to Honda for making this happen. Honda has been such an awesome partner for us, and it couldn’t happen without them. We have a lot of irons in the fire and before the end of the year we want to get him in a lot more races.”

Andretti indicated the sponsorship hunt is never-ending and if possible, he would like to have five cars for the Indianapolis 500, to include Wilson and Simona de Silvestro, who is piloting an Andretti-fielded Honda this weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg. “We are pushing hard to get her in the car for more than just this race. She just did her test a couple of days ago, and everyone that was there was really impressed with what she did, not only for what she did on the track but what she was able to offer outside the car.”

Regarding sponsorships, Andretti said he had one or two full-season backings fall apart and another for four or five races fall through.

For now, Wilson is flying high and he’s been working out full-time over the winter, as he knows the new cars will be more physically demanding. Also, he knows he’s joining a championship team, one that knows how to win at Indianapolis.

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