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THE SEASON MAY BE ENDING, BUT ZACH VEACH HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN

Andretti Autosport's Veach Plans to End His First USF2000 Season Making Passes and Headlines


Braselton, Ga. (Sept. 28, 2010) 15-year-old Zach Veach has spent the 2010 USF2000 season proving he is wise beyond his years. The young Andretti Autosport driver has made it his mission to put an end to distracted driving and has, in turn, brought a lot of much-needed attention to his cause; this week along being prominently featured on AOL.com. If he wasn't on track perfecting his driving skills, he was making headlines for his efforts to convince other drivers to practice safer habits while behind the wheel.

Veach has also made some friends along the way. He went to The Oprah Show in April to speak to the audience and the host about his safe driving campaign. He was a guest on The Gayle King Show. He convinced many of his fellow drivers and teammates to join his efforts, including IndyCar drivers Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves. Just this month, FocusDriven Spokesperson Veach gave a speech at the TEDx Conference at Microsoft Headquarters and attended the National Distracted Driving Summit and NOYS Conferences in Washington, D.C. with Sec. of Transportation Ray LaHood. He is also a semifinalist for Sports Illustrated's "SportsKID of the Year" award; and all this before his sixteenth birthday.

"I really feel that distracted driving is an issue we have to be talking about," said Veach. "Putting an end to this rapidly growing problem will help save a lot of lives. I'm just trying to do my part."

But it's not all interviews and hand-shaking. Veach is also doing his part on the race track. He's had eight top-five finishes this season, including three podium finishes. He is in the top five for driver championship points despite missing two races and his performance behind the wheel has contributed to Andretti Autosport capturing first place in points standing for the team championship.

"My ADS crew and I are ready for Road Atlanta," said Veach. "We've been working really hard this season to have a great, competitive car and I'm ready to put all that work to good use this weekend. I want to finish this season on top."

This weekend's race marks the 13th Annual Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda2 event and will consist of another double-header on Thurs., Sept. 30 and Fri., Oct.1.

The series will close the 2010 season at an awards presentation on Friday night for the MazdaSpeed Motorsports Development Ladder Awards Dinner.

To keep up with the Andretti Autosport team and the rest of the USF2000 series, visit: usf2000.com.

About Zach Veach
Zach Veach is a 15-year-old autoracing driver that competes in the Indy Racing League's 'Road to Indy' USF2000 Championship Series for Andretti Autosport. Veach began his racing career at age 12 in go-karts. It was in 2007, where Veach caught the eye of Dave Fisher, father of IZOD IndyCar Series driver and team owner, Sarah Fisher. For the next two years Fisher [Dave] coached and developed Veach's talent, as he did with Fisher [Sarah] in the early stages of her career. By the middle of 2009, in just 16 months, Veach had progressed from entry-level karting to Formula BMW. In late 2009, Veach signed with Jensen Motorsport to compete in the Atlantic Championship Series, before it folded in early 2010. Veach has created a safe-driving initiative: Ziggy's Teen Safe Driving Campaign, with seminars and supportive school programs to be held in race markets where Veach competes in 2010. He'll release his first published iPhone and Droid application, due out in mid-2010, to help consumers avoid dangerous text messaging while driving. Further, he's set to author a book, due out on his 16th birthday, "99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Getting Your Drivers License," which will serve as a supplemental read for driver's educations programs across the country, set to be released Dec. 9, 2010. For more information, please visit www.zachveach.com.

About Andretti Autosport
Based in Indianapolis, Ind., Andretti Autosport is led by racing legend Michael Andretti. Andretti Autosport, which is the winningest team in Indy Racing League history, fields multiple entries in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Andretti Autosport also campaigns multiple cars in the Firestone Indy Lights series in a joint venture with AFS Racing and two cars in the USF2000 National Championship. The company boasts three IZOD IndyCar Series championships (2004, 2005 and 2007), two Firestone Indy Lights titles (2008 and 2009) and has won the Indianapolis 500 twice (2005 and 2007). For more information, please visit www.AndrettiAutosport.com.



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