Andretti Autosport reveals IndyCar liveries, full 2014 plans

By Jan 13, 2014, 2:45 PM EST
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Andretti Autosport took the wraps off its 2014 IndyCars on Monday at its Indianapolis shop. Three of the four entries have new liveries compared to 2013, and the fourth has a new (old) number.

The 2012 series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay retains the yellow, white and red DHL colors and returns to the number 28 after his title defense with No. 1 in 2013 featured myriad bad luck.

His teammates all have different colors. Marco Andretti, who retains sponsorship from the Dr Pepper Snapple group, shifts to a yellow-and-blue livery on his No. 25 Honda. The Snapple brand itself takes over from RC Cola, which it had been the last two seasons. This marks the group’s eighth season with the team; Andretti’s car had previously featured Venom Energy Drink, Dr Pepper, Dr Pepper TEN and RC Cola liveried cars.

James Hinchcliffe’s new United Fiber & Data entry, the No. 27, carries a blue-and-white livery that almost brings back memories of another Canadian era of motorsports: the Player’s/Forsythe liveries driven by Canadians Jacques Villeneuve, Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier, Alex Tagliani and the late Greg Moore. Villeneuve won the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and CART championship in the No. 27.

Meanwhile rookie Carlos Munoz rounds out the lineup with the No. 34, rather than the No. 26, with sponsorship from Cinsay, an Austin-based social/online video commerce company. Munoz steps up to a full season of IndyCar after racing two full years in Indy Lights, and also making three outstanding cameo appearances in IndyCar in 2013.

The reason for the No. 34, which had previously been run by the mid-pack Conquest and Coyne teams, is due to a partnership with the 34 Solutions group. Cinsay was named one of the Forbes Top 100 Most Promising Companies in 2012 and formed a relationship last March with 34 Solutions, a company co-chaired by All American football legend Herschel Walker. Under the 34 Commerce banner, the relationship names 34 Solutions as the licensed reseller of Cinsay’s Smart Store technology and provides payment gateway services to process the Smart Store™ platform transactions.

Munoz’s car is still run in partnership with HVM Racing, same as E.J. Viso’s car was in 2013.

There were two other announcements at the team launch. Andretti Autosport will expand into the Global Rallycross Championship as the factory team for VW; Andretti Sports Marketing is involved in some promotion with the series, so this was a natural progression.

The team also confirmed its Mazda Road to Indy lineup with the previously announced Matthew Brabham and Zach Veach in the team’s Indy Lights cars, with Garett Grist and Shelby Blackstock in the team’s Pro Mazda entries. The team will not field a USF2000 lineup as they have; Grist moves up for 2014 and Austin Cindric’s future is now to be determined as a result.

Here’s the four liveries in full:
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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).