Andretti Autosport Announces Partnership with Vital Speed Motorsports for 2022 Indianapolis 8 Hour

Andretti Autosport Announces Partnership with Vital Speed Motorsports for 2022 Indianapolis 8 Hour

INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 26, 2022) -- Andretti Autosport announced today a new partnership with Portland, Oregon, based Vital Speed Motorsports along with primary partner SiFT Discovery to field an entry in the 2022 Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS endurance race taking place October 7-8 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

The newly formed Andretti Autosport and Vital Speed Motorsports partnership will blend the best of two winning teams to field a Ferrari 488 GT3 with an impressive driver line up and combined engineering effort. 

Co-driving the Ferrari 488 GT3 entry will be drivers Ryan Briscoe, Jeff Westphal and Andretti Autosport driver Jarett Andretti. Andretti, son of the late John Andretti, currently pilots the No. 36 Andretti Autosport LMP3 entry and is looking forward to the opportunity to expand his driving career. 

“I’m thrilled to be joining Vital Speed Motorsports, their partners at SiFT Discovery, Ryan and Jeff for the 8 Hour endurance race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said Andretti. “IMS is a special place for myself, my family and my team at Andretti Autosport. I am excited to compete there again and hopefully bring the team another win.” 

“Joining with Vital Speed and having Jarett behind the wheel for the upcoming 8 Hour race at Indianapolis is a great opportunity for the growth and development of our program,” said Andretti Autosport chairman and CEO Michael Andretti. “Jarett has been doing a great job for us in IMSA and I have all the confidence in his new effort being a strong contender.” 

Vital Speed Motorsports team owner, Rich Baek, echoes the excitement of Andretti by adding, “The opportunity to partner with Andretti Autosport and bring Jarett Andretti into the driving team for the 8 Hour race is really exciting. We have a solid opportunity for success and look forward to the competition ahead.” 

Jeff Westphal is no stranger to the Ferrari 488 GT3 or that of the SRO Indianapolis 8 Hour race event. Having won the inaugural SRO California 8 Hour race and winning at Indianapolis during Grand Am’s final visit in 2014. He most recently took the crown at the Petit Le Mans in a 488 GT3 Evo 2020 and brings experience with the machine, the series and the relay that is international endurance racing.

“I am really excited to be back for Vital Speed, now with Andretti Autosport,” said Westphal. The partnership should make the on track performance better as the depth of knowledge is integrated into both entities.   

“Having Ryan and Jarett alongside me is fantastic as we head into this highly contested, highly competitive, intercontinental GT round with manufacturer based entries from around the sports car world. I will share my expertise with the 488 GT3 Evo to my team mates, the ins and outs of all the electronic and mechanical settings in an effort to make our team as strong as possible.” 

Driver Ryan Briscoe echoes the excitement of Andretti and Westphal, adding, “This is a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved here and I’m super proud to be returning with Vital Speed with their new Andretti Autosport partnership. Jarett and Jeff are top level drivers and I believe we will have everything we need to succeed!”  

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will host the Indianapolis 8 Hour race event, an Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli sports car championship race Oct. 7-9, 2022, in conjunction with its North American series, Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS. Detailed race event and television broadcast schedules will be published at a later date. Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.