STP, Tony Stewart Racing’s Donny Schatz Unveils Mario Andretti Tribute Car

INDIANAPOLIS – Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Donny Schatz was joined by racing legend Mario Andretti and STP Marketing Manager Jonathan Paluga Tuesday at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum (NSCHoF) in Knoxville, Iowa, for the official unveiling of the No. 15 STP/ParkerStore/Chevy J&J entry that Schatz will drive in the 49th running of the Knoxville Nationals.

The specially schemed car commemorates Mario Andretti’s STP-sponsored Brawner Hawk that the legendary race driver piloted to victory in the 1969 Indianapolis 500. The No. 15 entry Schatz will compete in will duplicate the look of Andretti’s winning Indy 500 machine, with its distinctive “Hunting Red” color and gold wheels. Andretti was inducted into the NSCHoF in 1996 and today’s event marked his first visit to the facility.

“This is awesome,” Schatz said. “Driving for a team like Tony Stewart Racing allows us the opportunity to work with great marketing partners like STP, Armor All and Chevy. This is a special chance for me to get to meet one of the greatest drivers of all-time, and through STP, have something in common. We’re really excited. Everyone at TSR has done a great job of making this happen. I want to thank my team for all of the time they put into building this racecar. I hope we can get on the track with it tomorrow (Wednesday) and be fast enough that by Saturday night we can lap the field by two laps like Mario did back in the 1969 Indianapolis 500.”

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Andretti’s thrilling victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He dominated the race, winning by more than two laps, and was welcomed famously in victory lane by his car owner Andy Granatelli, the former President and CEO of STP. Granatelli became the CEO of Studebaker subsidiary Chemical Compounds in 1963. He soon changed the company’s name to STP, transforming the brand into a pop culture icon. The Clorox Company acquired the STP brand in 1999 following the acquisition of First Brands Corporation.

The Knoxville Nationals is the largest Sprint car race in the world. Its stature in short-track racing mirrors the magnitude of the Indianapolis 500 in Indy car racing. Each year, the Nationals attracts the best Winged Sprint car drivers and race fans from all over the world to a four-day marathon, during which more than 30,000 attendees converge on the “Sprint Car Capitol of the World” in Knoxville. The prestigious event culminates with a 40-lap feature on Saturday that will be broadcast live by SPEED-TV.

After finishing second four times at the Nationals from 2000 to 2005, Schatz conquered the 2006 Nationals and returned to victory lane again in 2007 and 2008. This year, he will be vying for his fourth consecutive Knoxville Nationals crown. Legendary Sprint car racer Steve Kinser is the only driver to have won four Nationals in a row since the event’s inception in 1961.

“I’m really excited about trying to win another Knoxville Nationals title,” admitted Schatz, who’s also won the last three World of Outlaws Series championships. “Winning the Knoxville Nationals once was a dream come true, but I can tell you it gets sweeter every time you do it. Working with Armor All and the Clorox Company has been a lot of fun during the last year-and-a-half. To be able to represent the brand and carry the STP colors that Mr. Andretti won Indy with is really going to be an honor. ”
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