Andretti, ppc plan full-time schedule in Cup

Victory Brand LLC, APlus at Sunoco to sponsor team

CONCORD, N.C. -- New NASCAR teams come and go, as Greg Pollex knows all too well.

Back in the mid-1990s, he helped form Mark Rypien Motorsports with the former Washington Redskins quarterback.

John Andretti Credit: Williams Company/Special to NASCAR.COM

After a successful Busch Series venture with driver Chad Little, the team struggled in Cup and eventually broke up and was sold.

Pollex vows to make his second undertaking in NASCAR's highest form of racing last longer. He announced the formation of a new Nextel Cup during a press conference Tuesday at Lowe's Motor Speedway, with veteran John Andretti as driver.

The sponsorship comes from Victory Brand, a cigarette maker based in Michigan, and Aplus at Sunoco, a convenience store chain.

The team will start at Lowe's Motor Speedway next week and will run every race the rest of the year - minus Martinsville.

Andretti said the sponsorship deal is through 2006, with options to extend the deal.

"Victory Brand ... is going to give us the resources we need to do all the things that are necessary at this level of competition," Pollex said. "I don't want anybody to think that I've underestimated the task we're about to undertake. I have a clear understanding of how difficult it is."

He learned that first-hand, taking on a lower-budget sponsor for his Cup effort. That -- and other mistakes -- won't be repeated, Pollex said Tuesday.

To that end, he's hiring some "great people," Pollex said. One is Andretti, a two-time NASCAR winner who has driven for Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Richard Childress, among others.

Pollex also hired former DEI engineer Dave Charpentier, whom he called "a tremendous talent."

Credit: Williams Company/Special to NASCAR.COM

The team will campaign Fords, with engines from Roush-Yates. Four cars are built, and the team will test several more times this year. Ford is behind the team at "tier one" level, Andretti said, meaning ppc is getting the same level of technical help as Roush and Yates.

Jason Keller's Busch Series team will pit Andretti in Nextel Cup events. That's why they're not doing Martinsville, for the Busch Series races elsewhere that weekend.

The team expects results soon. Ppc Racing won the 2000 Busch Series championship with driver Jeff Green and has finished second in Busch points four times. Pollex expects results to come pretty quickly.

"I know in this series, everybody says, 'You've all got to get acquainted, you've got to do this, you've got to do that. It's going to take a year, 18 months,'" Pollex said. "We're not at that program. We are going to go after this from Day 1.

"We know we're going to grow, we know we're going to make some mistakes, we know we're going to stumble occasionally, but it will not be for a lack of effort."

Andretti helped engineer the deal between Victory Brand and ppc. Andretti starting talking with VB CEO Steve Swick in 2003, back when Winston was still title sponsor of NASCAR's top series.

Now that Nextel is in the sport, VB becomes the only cigarette manufacturer involved. That doesn't worry Andretti.

"I don't have the issues because I think we are addressing the issues that are important, which are the awareness and targeting the people that are smokers," Andretti said. "We're going out there to create brand loyalty.

"The sport's come a long way because of (cigarette sponsors). To be here with it is just a continuation of a sponsorship. It's no different than another oil company or another cereal."

Andretti left Petty Enterprises in 2003 and hasn't had a full-time ride since. He's competed in five races this year, all with DEI.

"Over time, you wonder about some of the things that happen and where you go and what you're going to do," Andretti said. "For me, I've been working through it and focusing on trying to get to a position that is solid, one that is competitive."

Andretti believes he has that at ppc.

"In a way it is because we're giving birth to something new that is extremely exciting with a lot of great people," Andretti said. "For me to be a part of it, I'm overwhelmed in a lot of ways."

Andretti could end up in ppc's Busch car, Pollex said. Pollex wants to continue the Busch and Craftsman Truck Series team, but the Busch car is without sponsorship for 2005. That leaves Keller's future in the air.

"We full intend to run the truck full-time, and the Busch car," Pollex said. "Currently, we're searching a sponsor for the Busch car. It appears that Miller is not going to return next year. We're trying to secure sponsorship for that right now."

If the Busch team goes to a partial schedule, Andretti will be the driver, Pollex said.