Andretti Global unveils plans to expand into NASCAR Cup Series

Andretti Global is ready to join the world of NASCAR soon. On Wednesday, the organization released a video of President JF Thormann announcing Andretti Global is planning to expand its operation into the NASCAR Cup Series.

“We’re the only ones that compete in the amount of series that we do,” Thormann said. “And then the ambition that Mike [Andretti] still has – we still have to close the loop obviously with Formula 1, that’s well-documented – and hopefully NASCAR. Then we’re going to have a race virtually every weekend and it’ll keep our name out there and keep us busy.”

Thormann added that makes sense for Andretti Global to move since the family has a long history in stock car racing. “A lot of times when I travel if I have the branding on, the amount of people that will actually ask and say ‘do you work for the Andretti race team, is it Mario, is it Michael?’ You realize the power of the name and how recognized it is,” he added. “It represents that hard work, Mario’s story of coming over with just their shirt on their backs. It’s just pride to wear that.”

Andretti Global currently competes in multiple racing organizations, including IndyCar Series, IMSA Sports Championship, Indy NXT, Formula E, Extreme E, Supercars Championship and Super2 Series. In its history, Andretti Global has won 18 championships and six Indy 500 races.

The Andretti family members are no strangers to NASCAR

The Andretti NASCAR racing history began with Mario Andretti. He has competed in a handful of NACAR races and won the Daytona 500 in 1967. His nephew, John Andretti, competed in 393 Cup Series races and earned two victories. Marco Andretti, Mario’s grandson, has competed in multiple NASCAR National and Regional Series races since 2022.

“I think the ship has sailed on me doing fulltime IndyCar. I think what it takes to be competitive there, you need everybody pulling the same road there and I think that ship’s sailed,” Marco said in a 2023 interview, per Motorsport.com. “You know, I’ll never say never (to NASCAR). I’m really loving the stock car stuff. So, who know if it’ll keep going?”