AGR hires ex-Team Green man Anderson.

Andretti Green Racing has hired John Anderson as team manager and race strategist for the Klein Tools/Jim Beam car of Dan Wheldon, who is aiming to go one better than last season, where he finished as overall runner-up on the back of three race wins.

Anderson comes to AGR after a two-year stint as director of operations for the Champ Car World Series, but previously spent time with the squad in its previous incarnation as Team Green. Prior to joining the staff at Champ Car, Anderson spent two years between 2001-02 as race strategist for Paul Tracy, running the Canadian alongside current AGR driver Dario Franchitti.

"We are very excited to bring John back on board," said AGR co-owner Kevin Savoree, "He brings a wealth of experience and a good understanding for how Andretti Green likes to operate. He has been a good friend to many of us at this team for a lot of years and is a great addition."

An ex-pat Australian, Anderson is now entering his fourth decade of involvement in the motorsports industry. He began as a mechanic for an F5000 team in his homeland, before moving to the United States in 1981. He joined the Indy racing arena in 1984 as a mechanic for Forsythe Racing, before going on to higher positions at
Mike Curb Motorsports (1986), Galles Racing (1989) and Truesports (1990). Moving on, he served as team manager and crew chief at King Motorsports, where he won the 1992 Indianapolis 500 pole and Indianapolis Motor Speedway's mechanic of the year award, before joining AJ Foyt Racing as team manager for 1992-93. From there, he worked for PacWest as vice president of race operations between 1994-2000, before joining Team Green.

"Andretti Green Racing has quickly established itself, not just in the IndyCar Series, but in the motorsports industry, and it is going to be great to be a part of it," Anderson commented, "I'm really looking forward to working with Dan Wheldon and everyone on the team. Hopefully, we can bring another championship to this building and continue the great things that have been started here."

Wheldon, who is preparing for his second full season of competition in the IndyCar Series, is equally looking forward to building a successful relationship with his new strategist.

"To have someone of John's calibre come in and take over in this role is certainly exciting for me," the Briton admitted, "I hope we can pick up where we left off in 2004, win some more races and make another run at the IndyCar Series championship."