Michael Andretti steps back from Andretti Global ownership role

Daniel Towriss, CEO of the Group 1001 insurance and financial services company based in Zionsville, Indiana, and primary investor of Andretti Global, has taken control of the business. Team co-founder Michael Andretti, the 1991 CART IndyCar Series champion, will remain attached to the organization in an advisory and ambassadorial role. News of the sizable change in leadership structure was first reported by Sportico. The reason for the alleged change was not cited by the sports business site owned by Jay Penske, son of NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske. A growing division between Andretti and Towriss has been alleged by numerous paddock sources in recent months, but no proof of the matter has been established. In a statement provided by the team, Andretti Global suggests Andretti — a lifelong racer — is willingly handing over the reins of the team and company that bears his name. “Michael’s goal has been to transition to a more strategic role with Andretti Global and focus less on the operational side of the race team,” Andretti Global said. “Michael and Dan Towriss have been working closely on developing this new structure, one which Michael is excited to see take shape under Dan’s guidance. “Michael remains engaged and will continue to serve as a strategic advisor and key ambassador. We will have more to share in the coming weeks, after Michael and Dan have had an opportunity to speak to the team.” Towriss entered IndyCar in 2018 as the sponsor of driver Zach Veach with Group 1001 and its Gainbridge property represented on the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda. The three-year deal ended prematurely for Veach, but Andretti retained Group 1001/Gainbridge relationship and funding, and by 2021, Andretti and Towriss were actively searching for a Formula 1 team to purchase. Unable to buy their way into F1 with Towriss’s financial backing, the duo established a new business, Andretti Global, in an effort to gain entry to F1 as a constructor. In 2022, Andretti Acquisitions Corporation was formed and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission with a stated goal of raising $250,000,000 for business-related investments and purchases. With Towriss’s rumored and separate investment into Andretti Global said to match or exceed that figure, Andretti’s new partner is understood to have taken a directorial role within the expansive racing organization, and within the IndyCar paddock, is often characterized as Andretti’s new boss. Drawing from the alleged nine-figure infusion from Towriss and Group 1001, Andretti’s footprint in the sport expanded at a rapid rate. Along with its three-car IndyCar team that features primary sponsorship with Gainbridge on Colton Herta’s No. 26 Honda and Delaware Life, another Group 1001 property, on Marcus Ericsson’s No. 28 Honda, Andretti/Towriss also purchased Wayne Taylor Racing’s two-car IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team in 2023, maintains a four-car Indy NXT program that won the championship in 2024, has an ongoing effort to launch a two-car F1 effort with General Motors through its Cadillac brand, and is building a vast new base in Indiana as a result of Towriss’s investment. Andretti Global is also allegedly at the center of another storm with last week’s raid of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing IndyCar and IMSA team by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in relation to a former Andretti Global employee, who is alleged to have taken intellectual property from Andretti to RLL. RACER understands more operational changes with Andretti Global personnel are being considered, which could extend to personnel shifts in its IndyCar program and its F1 initiative.