John Sweeney is a race car driver who competes in the Historic Motor Sports Association which requires the cars to be historically correct based on the period of time the cars raced in. That means that the memories of the fans who watched these cars raced back in the day, get to see them in the glorious liveries that they remember. We caught up with Sweeney at the 2024 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where he was scheduled to compete in the Pennzoil Indy car that John Andretti originally raced for Jim Hall. His story at Long Beach is quite convoluted on many fronts and includes yours truly getting some fantastic pit work from him and his crew! John explains everything well and is one of the friendliest people you will ever meet. The respect he has for his crew and the sport is impressive. Enjoy!

NOTE: One thing that a dedicated racing team will always do, is get to the root of any problems when it comes to the race car. Sweeney explains what actually happened to the brakes on his race car: “After the car left Long Beach, it returned to Doran Racing in Lebanon, Ohio. It was quickly discovered that the problem at Long Beach was caused by a faulty brake master cylinder. The master cylinder was replaced and the car ran three events later in the summer without a single issue. The car is now as good as it can possibly be and a thrill to drive.” 

Next up, we’ll have an interview with Sweeney’s crew chief, Dave Looper, who gives us a behind-the-scenes story on how the team and a local college auto shop worked together to repair Sweeney’s race car.

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2025 Larry Mason

John Sweeney is happy to share his love of motorsports with fans around the country by racing his John Andretti/Jim Hall Pennzoil Indy car.

Left to right; Quinn Sieverts, John Welch (in the Pennzoil shirt), Dave Looper (chief mechanic), Cale Sieverts (son of Quinn).

Interview and photos Copyright © by Larry Mason (unless otherwise noted)