It’s only the first week of 2015 and Verizon IndyCar Series team owner Michael Andretti is off and running.

He announced Rob Edwards as director of engineering and race operations. He continues to work toward finalizing a fourth full-time entry for the Verizon IndyCar Series season and remains interested in bringing 2004 NASCAR Cup champion Kurt Busch back for the 2015 Indianapolis 500. On Jan. 8, he boarded a plane for Buenos Aires, Argentina, for this weekend’s Formula E Series race that will feature Verizon IndyCar Series driver Marco Andretti.

As a driver, Andretti was one of the fastest competitors in Indy car history. He is just as fast as a team owner.

“We had to get things organized on our side but we wanted to see if there was interest on Rob’s side and he was interested,” Andretti said. “So then we started working on things and the timing for the move around the New Year was the perfect time. We are excited about the move and it’s good for the team. We are doing a bit of restructuring.

“Some people have termed it Rob is replacing Kyle Moyer but I wouldn’t look at it as a replacement. I think it is more of an addition. A lot of the responsibilities that Kyle had on the IndyCar side are now going to be handled by George Klotz. Rob will be more over all of our motorsports series. He will get us more organized and a lot more efficient. I’m pretty excited about it.”

Edwards helped guide Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to success with Simon Pagenaud as the driver. But there was also an intangible about the man that convinced Andretti he was the right fit.

“Not only do his credentials show it and what he has done especially at Schmidt but what I really like about Rob is when you talk to him is he gets it,” Andretti said. “The amazing part about this business is you have people in this business that have been in it for years and years and still don’t get it but he does. That is one thing that I was really impressed with about him.

“I think he is going to be a nice addition to our team. We have a lot of talent on the team and he will get us more organized. We are getting bigger and need to be more efficient. I think he will be able to that for us.”

As for the search for a fourth full-time Verizon IndyCar Series driver, Andretti promises more to come.

“We have a lot of irons in the fire that could be really exciting,” he said. “All I can tell you is stay tuned and hopefully we will have something to say in a few weeks.  We want to have four full-time cars. That is our goal. We are working very hard to get to four cars.”