IPS: Adam Andretti plays it smart in rookie test.

Adam Andretti, the younger brother of veteran racer John Andretti and nephew of 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti, passed his Indy Pro Series rookie test at Chicagoland Speedway on Thursday [August 30].

The 28-year-old, who will drive the #44 SpeedWorks car at the 1.5-mile track in the season finale on September 9, last competed in 2004 in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

"With cool air and good air density, the car was very stable from the start. The SpeedWorks crew did a great job, and I was very comfortable from the start," said Adam.

"After the morning session, we spent the rest of the day making setup adjustments to find more speed so we can come back on September 9 and show what SpeedWorks and I can do as a team."

Peter Parrott, co-owner of SpeedWorks, was pleased with the job done by Andretti: "Adam did an excellent job all day. He hasn't been on this track before, and he played it very smart, starting off nice and easy," he continued.

"He had to find his line and find his feet, and that's what he did. After that, he charged ahead."

"It is easy to see how Adam's ability to give and receive valuable engineering feedback will be beneficial to the team and to his driving performance," added IPS technical director, Butch Meyer, who was also impressed.

"This ability certainly helped him come up to speed quickly, and he was very smooth and consistent out there. He did a great job, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in the Indy Pro Series and in the Chicagoland 100."