Veach on the Beach

By ROCKET SPORTS and ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK on April 17, 2013

courtesy of BRANDed Management

LONG BEACH, CA — Andretti Autosport K12 driver Zach Veach is looking to rebound on the Streets of Long Beach this weekend, while also soaking in the rich history of the storied popular street race in the backdrop of Hollywood’s glitz and glamour. The popular Firestone Indy Lights driver will also continue his campaign as a finalist for an interview with Larry King. Put all that together and perhaps Veach will be drinking chocolate milk in victory circle at the close of the race weekend.

“The Long Beach Grand Prix has been a race I’ve been looking forward to since I was a kid and especially when I first started on the Mazda Road To Indy in 2010,” said Veach, who was just announced as a sponsored athlete with Got Chocolate Milk?. “It’s such a legendary place, and an honor to be racing at. I want to thank my team for working so hard and K12, for allowing and helping my dream along.”

The recently named Larry King interviewee finalist-who is collecting votes at www.ZachVeachOnLarryKing.comthrough April 19-left his last Firestone Indy Lights race at Barber Motorsports Park with the fastest lap of the race, despite finishing ninth amid a right-rear tire issue. His first race of the season on the Streets of St. Petersburg didn’t pan much better for the ESPN The Magazine-named NEXT in motorsports. Despite spending much of the season-opening race in fourth, Veach spun late in the race but was able to continue on to finish fifth in his first start in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. This weekend he hopes to change his fate.

“With a little unfortunate luck at Barber two weekends ago, we had a right-rear tire go flat mid-race due to a puncture, causing us to give up a top five finish, and finish 9th besides having the fastest lap of the race,” continued Veach. “After a lot of studying and hard work in preparation, my K12 crew and I are ready to rebound here at Long Beach and really start our 2013 season!”

The Long Beach 100 will be a race that all five Firestone Indy Lights rookie drivers, including Veach, will be making their first start at. They’ll need to quickly learn the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit. The drivers will have just two practice sessions to get acclimated with the course before heading into Sunoco Pole Qualifying.

“This is a new track for a lot of the drivers this year, so it’s going to come down to who can learn the most the fastest,” said Veach.

Veach and his fellow competitors will have one, one-hour practice session on Fri., April 19 at 12:15 p.m. (PAC) followed by a 45-minute session on Sat., April 20 at 8:30 a.m. (PAC). Qualifications will follow on Sat. at 12:55 p.m. (PAC) for a 45-minute all-skate qualifying session. The race will follow on Sun., April 21 at 10:15 a.m. (PAC).

The 45-lap Long Beach 100 will be shown at 3:00 p.m. (ET) on NBC Sports Network (Verizon FiOS 90/590, DirecTV 220, DISH 159 and AT&T UVerse 640) on Sun., April 21as part of NBC Sports’ comprehensive Sunday coverage of INDYCAR racing. The race will be shown via same-day tape delay but will be broadcast live by the IMS Radio Network, including on Sirius and XM Channels 211 and www.indycar.com. Live timing and scoring is also available via the INDYCAR 13 phone app.

This season Veach is competing for the $1 million Mazda Road to Indy scholarship to move up to the IZOD IndyCar Series and attempt to qualify for the famed Indianapolis 500 in 2014. He’ll also be competing for “Rookie of the Year” honors among a promising class that includes Jack Hawksworth, Gabby Chaves, and former teammate Sage Karam, all of whom he competed against in Star Mazda in 2012.

In addition to K12, Veach’s Firestone Indy Lights effort is also supported by: The Young Marines, ADS IT Solutions, Zakosi Data Backup, Replay XD, OMP, Bell Helmets, and Art Rotondo.

Sanctioned by INDYCAR, the Firestone Indy Lights is one of three series part of the Mazda Road to Indy developmental ladder system, designed to prepare drivers for the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. Andretti Autosport is currently the only INDYCAR team to compete in each level of the Mazda Road to Indy as well as the IZOD IndyCar Series.

For more information, please visit www.ZachVeach.comor www.AndrettiAutosport.com.

About Zach Veach:
Zach Veach is a 18-year-old autoracing driver who competes in INDYCAR’s ‘Mazda Road to Indy’ Firestone Indy Lights Series, an important open-wheel stepping-stone to a career in the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. In 2012, Veach captured the Formula Car Challenge Winter Series Championship and in 2011, he secured the USF2000 Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship. In 2010, Michael Andretti signed Veach to his team, Andretti Autosport, while also being named one of CNN’s “Intriguing People,” being named by ESPN the Magazine as a NEXT athlete in motorsports and was voted the “Most Popular Driver” in both 2011 and 2012 in USF2000 and Star Mazda. In addition to his racing, Veach is an advocate for safer driving as the national spokesperson for FocusDriven and for bullying prevention, headlining a national anti-bullying campaign through the Cyber Safety Academy’s “No BULL Challenge.” Veach has been a guest or profiled on a variety of national platforms including NBC’s The Today Show, among many others, and is sponsored by K12, Got Chocolate Milk?, Zakosi Data Backup, The Young Marines, Replay XD, Arai Helmets, OMP, ADS IT Solutions, and Oakley. He has also authored a book, 99 Things Teens Wish They Knew Before Turning 16, and released a phone app, urTXT, and entered his senior year of high school at K12 this past fall. For more information, please visit www.ZachVeach.com.

About K12 Inc.:
K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), a technology-based education company, is the nation’s largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs for students in kindergarten through high school. Using 21st century tools to prepare 21st century students, K12 provides a new choice for children to learn in a flexible and innovative way, at an individualized pace. K12 provides curriculums and academic services to public and private online schools and districts, traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and directly to families. K12 is accredited through AdvancED, the world’s largest education community. Additional information on K12 for schools and districts can be found at www.K12.com/educators.

About Andretti Autosport:
Based in Indianapolis and led by racing legend Michael Andretti, Andretti Autosport fields multiple entries in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Andretti Autosport also campaigns multiple cars in Firestone Indy Lights, the Star Mazda Championship and in the USF2000 National Championship. The company boasts four IZOD IndyCar Series championships (2004, 2005, 2007 and 2012), two Firestone Indy Lights titles (2008 and 2009), one USF2000 championship (2010) and has won the Indianapolis 500 twice (2005 and 2007). For more information, please visit www.AndrettiAutosport.com.

About Firestone Indy Lights:
Firestone Indy Lights is the premier ladder series for drivers and teams striving to compete in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. The top series in the Mazda Road to Indy development system, teams compete in cars that are second in speed only to the IZOD IndyCar Series at most tracks they visit. Graduates of this fast and cost-effective series include 2011 champion Josef Newgarden, 2009 champion JR Hildebrand, Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, James Hinchcliffe and Charlie Kimball.