Hoosier Gazette fans know that features writer John Andrews is great at turning
a phrase.
What most of you didn’t know is Andrews is also great at turning the steering
wheel of racecars. For over ten years, he has driven cars that he and father
Bill have built at small racetracks around the Midwest. He has won numerous
trophies racing on the weekends, all the while balancing two jobs to support his
need for speed. Ever since he was a little boy handing his dad tools in their
family garage, he dreamed that one day he would get to take a shiny new car out
on the pavement at America’s great racetracks: Talladega, Daytona, Darlington,
Pocono, and the others.
The 27 year-old West Terre Haute native’s dream is becoming a reality. He has
accepted an offer to drive for Subaru’s new NASCAR Busch Series team beginning
with the Hershey’s Kisses 300 this Valentine’s Day at Daytona International
Speedway. Andrews is ecstatic about this opportunity.
“I’m living the American dream! One day I am an independent racer running on
dirt tracks for next to nothing, the next I am preparing to race against some of
the best up and coming drivers in the nation. It is still hard for me to
believe!”
It is also hard for NASCAR enthusiasts to believe; not that Andrews was a
relative unknown in NASCAR circles when hired, but the fact that a Japanese
company is competing in what is possibly the most American of sports.
“What the hell is going on here!” said a shocked Dale Earnhardt Jr. when told of
Subaru’s entrance into Busch Series competition. “I can’t believe they are
letting the damn Japs in! What is the world coming too?”
All of the other drivers and owners interviewed agreed with Earnhardt, saying
that NASCAR was the one place where white Americans could compete with one
another without worrying about pesky foreigners or minorities interfering. Many
refused to be interviewed at all, fearing their reaction would embarrass their
sponsors. The only driver found who seemed tolerant of Subaru was Andrews
himself.
“I realize I will be vilified for being the lone American driving a Japanese
car. That is how I got this job—no NASCAR insiders would touch it. That is fine
with me. I am here to do a job, not make friends. When Earnhardt comes in behind
me in the Hershey, he will think differently about Subaru and John Andrews.”
