Andretti Global has been in a well-documented fight to join the Formula 1 grid over the last few years, but the organization has been making behind the scenes moves concurrently to put themselves in a position to swoop into the NASCAR space as well.
In a new video released on Wednesday by Andretti Global via the team’s YouTube channel, Andretti Global President JF Thormann officially put the Andretti team’s NASCAR Cup Series ambitions out in the open.
“We’re the only ones that compete in the amount of series that we do, and then the ambition that [Michael Andretti] still has of, we still have to close the loop obviously with Formula 1, that’s well documented. Hopefully, NASCAR,” Thormann stated. “Then, we’re going to have a race virtually every weekend. And it’ll keep our name out there, keep us busy.”
Over the last few years, Marco Andretti, the son of Michael Andretti has begun dipping his toe into stock car racing, and Gainbridge, one of the team’s largest partners, has begun laying its foundation in NASCAR through sponsorships with Spire Motorsports and REV Racing, a developmental team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, and other various local short track series.
The younger Andretti sliding behind the wheel in stock cars, along with Gainbridge sponsoring teams in NASCAR led many to speculate whether there could come a day where the Andretti team could be a fixture in the NASCAR garage.
In July last year, Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star reported that Michael Andretti indicated Gainbridge’s multiyear primary sponsorship partnership with Spire Motorsports could very well be the beginning of Andretti, “setting an early groundwork with solid connections in the [NASCAR Cup] series.”
In Thursday’s video, Thormann cited the overall love of motorsport for the Andretti name wanting to expand into so many forms of big-league automobile racing at once, and the team president feels an expansion into F1 and NASCAR along with the organization’s current IndyCar, Indy NXT, Formula E, IMSA, Super COPA, and Australian Supercars entries, would make the team an ideal landing spot for the most versatile racers in the world.
“I think that’s the biggest differentiator is that we’re doing these at the same time. So, the opportunities — if you’re really into motorsports, and you’re a young kid and you want to go to a team, I mean, what better place,” Thormann stated. “You come in, and, ‘I’ll try IndyCar for a bit, and then I’ll ask for a transfer and go international with F1 and do this or,’ it’s really an amazing opportunity. It’s a sport that is fueled by passion anyway, so, what a perfect place to come.”
As Andretti Global prepares for the 2025 grand opening of its new 90-acre state of the art campus in Fishers, Indiana, the goal is to be an industry-leader.
“It’s really a team that’s going to be, I think, at the front edge, the cutting edge of today’s world and we’re keeping it exciting,” Thormann said. “Being able to do it and to make a difference in the sport and to do it humbly and legitimately and to go get championships, I think that’s the goal.”
Will Andretti Global officially join the NASCAR Cup Series grid? Time will tell, but the team is openly indicating that the end goal is for Andretti Global to be in the NASCAR space. With less hoops to jump through than in Formula 1, you’d imagine if Andretti truly wants to be in NASCAR, it’s more of a question of when, not if.
