Catchfence

“Despite Running on Old Tires, USF2000 Driver Zach Veach Finishes Third at Elkhart Lake”

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (Aug. 25,2010) Andretti Autosport driver Zach Veach ran as high as second during practice at the Road America track in Wisconsin and drove the No. 7 Team ADS car to finish third for the weekend. The Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase featured another double-header for the USF2000 series drivers, but that didn’t stop 15-year-old Veach from getting himself up on the podium twice after racing the 4.048 mile, 14-turn road course.

“I can’t thank the crew and especially Ross Kippenbrock enough for working so hard these last 2 weeks,” said Veach. “We’ve been fast since the first session and keep finding more speed. We had the opportunity to stay one and two with Sage [Karam] until the last lap when I had a tire problem. But I won’t complain about having both cars on the podium. This is an ideal situation for our team.”

Veach drove a lap faster than his qualifying time during the race, despite being forced to run on old tires.

“At the beginning of the race, we had a bad start and moved back to fifth,” described Veach. “Eventually we worked our way up to third and kept on moving closer to second place. Luckily, we could run the full distance on old tires and we kept getting faster near the end of the race. I can’t thank the crew enough. We really worked hard, set goals and gave 110 percent. It definitely paid off this weekend.”

His third place finishes at Road America put him in fifth place in championship points, despite missing the first two races of the season. Veach and his fellow drivers will go on to Road Atlanta to finish out the season Sept. 30 – Oct. 1, for the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda.

In the meantime, Veach doesn’t plan to rest on his laurels. The young driver has been working hard on his campaign to end distracted driving.

In an effort to further spread his message, Veach will be a guest speaker at the TEDx (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference at Microsoft headquarters next month. He will also attend a throng of distracted driving conferences in Washington D.C., as well as be putting the finishing touches on his book, 99 Things Teens Wish They Knew Before Turning Sixteen, due out this fall.

The young, driven Veach also returns to his studies after summer break to begin his sophomore year of high school this week.

To keep up with the Andretti Autosport Team and the rest of the USF2000 series, visit: USF2000.com.

About Zach Veach

Zach Veach is a 15-year-old autoracing driver that competes in the Indy Racing League’s ‘Road to Indy’ USF2000 Championship Series for Andretti Autosport. Veach began his racing career at age 12 in go-karts. It was in 2007, where Veach caught the eye of Dave Fisher, father of IZOD IndyCar Series driver and team owner, Sarah Fisher. For the next two years Fisher [Dave] coached and developed Veach’s talent, as he did with Fisher [Sarah] in the early stages of her career.

By the middle of 2009, in just 16 months, Veach had progressed from entry-level karting to Formula BMW. In late 2009, Veach signed to compete in the Atlantic Championship Series, before it folded in early 2010. Veach has created a safe-driving initiative: Ziggy’s Teen Safe Driving Campaign, with seminars and supportive school programs to be held in race markets where Veach competes in 2010. He released his first published Droid application, urTXT, in the Marketplace for Droid, to help consumers avoid dangerous text messaging while driving. Further, he’s set to author a book, due out this fall, “99 Things Teens Wish They knew Before Turning 16.” For more information, please visit www.zachveach.com.

About Andretti Autosport

Based in Indianapolis, Ind., Andretti Autosport is led by racing legend Michael Andretti. Andretti Autosport, which is the winningest team in Indy Racing League history, fields multiple entries in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Andretti Autosport also campaigns multiple cars in the Firestone Indy Lights series in a joint venture with AFS Racing and two cars in the USF2000 National Championship. The company boasts three IZOD IndyCar Series championships (2004, 2005 and 2007), two Firestone Indy Lights titles (2008 and 2009) and has won the Indianapolis 500 twice (2005 and 2007). For more information, please visit www.AndrettiAutosport.com.

- Andretti Autosport Press Release