Friday
33 Indianapolis 500 Drivers Join Oprah Winfrey’s No Phone Zone
Press Release“15-year-old Racer Zach Veach Assembles All-Star Cast of Racing’s Elite for Winfrey’s Initiative; Including Danica Patrick, Helio Castroneves and Janet Guthrie”
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. June 04, 2010 – When the IZOD IndyCar Series drivers took the green flag for the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500 May 30th, most of them had signed Oprah Winfrey’s “No Phone Zone” petition through 15-year-old Andretti Autosport USF2000 National Championship driver
“It was a task to get so many professional race car drivers to support this initiative,” said Veach, who placed fourth in the Night Before the 500 event at O’Reilly Raceway Park Sat. night. “In addition to racing, I was catching up with the Indy 500 drivers at parties, sponsor obligations and media functions. I’m really thankful that so many people chose to support this important cause. I hope adding these 33 race car drivers to Oprah’s No Phone Zone initiative helps bring awareness to her campaign and saves lives.”
Veach, who talked about his campaign on Oprah Radio’s The Gayle King Show, got signatures from 30 of the 33 drivers that competed in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. Although drivers Sarah Fisher, Simona de Silvestro and Dan Wheldon chose not to support the anti-texting campaign, retired Indy 500 drivers including the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500, Janet Guthrie, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, and 1992 Indianapolis 500 “Rookie of the Year” award winner Lyn St. James, all jumped on board to take their places.
The American standout, Veach, also obtained support for Winfrey’s anti-texting program from several Firestone Indy Lights drivers, IZOD IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard, Vision Racing team owner Tony George and American journalist and anchor of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Anderson Cooper.
In addition to signing Winfrey’s petition, over 30 of the most popular Indy 500 drivers also signed a 16 GB Apple iPad, which is being auctioned off along with a Miami IZOD IndyCar ticket package, including a meet-and-greet with three-time Indy 500 winner and season five Dancing with the Stars champion, Helio Castroneves at Homestead-Miami Speedway this October. The auction is being housed on chairtybuzz.com and benefits FocusDriven, an advocacy group for victims of motor vehicle crashes involving drivers using their cell phones and the official partner in Winfrey’s “No Phone Zone” campaign.
Veach returns to the cockpit of his Andretti Autosport race car June 19, at Iowa Speedway in a support race for the IZOD IndyCar Series’ Iowa Corn Indy 250.
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About FocusDriven
FocusDriven is an advocacy group for victims of motor vehicle crashes involving drivers using cell phones. We work with those who support our mission and want to make our roadways safer for all motorists. We help victims and their families share their experiences in a healing manner that promotes safety and educates others about the tragic outcomes that can result from driving while using a cell phone. We encourage those who support our efforts to join us. Share with friends, family, coworkers and legislators your thoughts about motorists engaging in this deadly behavior. For more information on FocusDriven, please visit www.focusdriven.org.
About the No Phone Zone
For more information on the “No Phone Zone” campaign, please visit www.Oprah.com/NoPhoneZone.
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 with Jensen Motorsport 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’ll release his first published iPhone and Droid application, due out in mid-2010, to help consumers avoid dangerous text messaging while driving. Further, he’s set to author a book, due out on his 16th birthday, “99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Getting Your Drivers License,” which will serve as a supplemental read for driver’s educations programs across the country, set to be released Dec. 9, 2010. 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
Article Tags: AFS Racing, Anderson Cooper, Andretti Autosport, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Dan Wheldon, Danica Patrick, Firestone Indy Lights, Helio Castroneves, Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway, IMS, Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IZOD IndyCar® Series, Janet Guthrie, Johnny Rutherford, Lyn St. James, Michael Andretti, Oprah Winfrey, Randy Bernard, Sarah Fisher, Simona De Silvestro, The Gayle King Show, Tony George, USF2000 Championship Series, Vision Racing, Zach Veach, “No Phone Zone”
