Yankees Steinbrenner family to sponsor Andretti car for Colton Herta (2nd Update)
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| Steinbrenner Racing will employ Brian Herta's son Colton as its driver. After two years the plan is for Colton to move up to IndyCars |
12/15/16 Hank Steinbrenner, who has been in the shadows in recent years while his younger brother, Hal, has run the Yankees, is partnering with another sports scion — the retired racecar driver Michael Andretti — to make an entry into auto racing writes Billy Witz of the NY Times.
Steinbrenner Racing, which will be run by George Michael Steinbrenner IV — Hank Steinbrenner's son and a grandson of the longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner — is teaming with Andretti Autosport to race next year in Indy Lights, a developmental circuit under IndyCar.
"The Andrettis want to be partners with Steinbrenners; the Steinbrenners want to be partners with the Andrettis," Hank Steinbrenner said. "It's a natural match."
Steinbrenner Racing will own the car and employ its driver — Colton Herta, the son of the former driver Bryan Herta — while Andretti Autosport will provide the shop, transportation and crew. The agreement is for two years, Andretti said, although both parties have a longer vision.
"The plan is for them to eventually come with us to IndyCar racing," Andretti said. "They're hoping to get experience in the next two years as owners, and the goal is in three years to have Colton drive for us in the Indy 500."
While the Yankees have teamed with the Dallas Cowboys and Manchester City in an attempt to associate themselves with well-known brands in football and soccer, this more modest partnership came about more organically.
The families were brought together by Sean Jones, George Steinbrenner IV's stepfather and a business partner of Bryan Herta's, Andretti said. The families began discussing the idea of a partnership last summer. They signed a contract Tuesday and were to hold a news conference Thursday in Indianapolis. The circuit's first race is March 11 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Hank Steinbrenner said his son, who is 20, and Colton Herta, 16, were like brothers and were both passionate about racing. Herta spent much of the last two years racing in Europe while the younger Steinbrenner has been learning at the knee of his uncle, Chris Simmons, an engineer for the Chip Ganassi Racing team.
"Our brand with the Steinbrenners is a win-win situation," Andretti said. "The more we got to know the Steinbrenners, the more we're seeing they're big fans of auto racing. George is like a walking encyclopedia on racing. He's really into it, so this was a way to get George into racing, as well as Hank."
Hank Steinbrenner said that while his father's interest in horse racing was well known, he was also an auto racing enthusiast, having partnered with Pat Patrick's IndyCar team in the early 1970s and passed on his interest in the sport.
The Steinbrenner Racing car will have racing stripes, but they may not be pinstripes.
"It will be whatever the sponsors want," Hank Steinbrenner said.
He added of Andretti's father: "When I was a kid, Mario Andretti was one of my heroes. We're just excited about the partnership." Billy Witz/NY Times
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12/13/16 With storied family legacies, the Andretti and Steinbrenner names evoke only the best talent and thrive on success. Andretti Autosport and the Steinbrenner family will make an announcement for an Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires program announcement Thursday. Michael Andretti, along with the New York Yankees' Hank Steinbrenner and George Michael Steinbrenner IV, will be present.
Unconfirmed reports say the NY Yankees may sponsor one of Andretti's Indy Lights cars.
The NY Yankees are not new to motorsports. In the early 90s recall the Gwynn/Steinbrenner Racing New York Yankees Top Fuel dragster in the NHRA. The Gwynn/ Steinbrenner Racing partnership also included Hank Steinbrenner, George’s son; and Darrell Gwynn’s father, Jerry Gwynn, who served as team general manager with Hank serving as the Steinbrenner family’s point man.
In an interview with USA Today just after the partnership was formed, the elder Steinbrenner (now deceased) admitted he didn’t know too much about racing but that his son was quite interested in the sport. Hank Steinbrenner also runs the family's thoroughbred racing operation.