John Tzouanakis, who in his 30-year Indy car career has worked with Mario and Michael Andretti, Sebastien Bourdais and Nigel Mansell among others, has joined Andretti Autosport for the 97th Indianapolis 500 Mile race as the pit strategist for rookie Carlos Munoz.

Munoz, the Firestone Indy Lights championship points leader, will drive the No. 26 Unistraw Chevrolet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Opening Day of practice is May 11. Pole Day qualifying is May 18 and Race Day is May 26. He’ll also compete in the Firestone Freedom 100 on May 24.

“After spending my career working my way up the ranks with Newman/Haas, I’m looking forward to again working with (team owner) Michael (Andretti) and taking my career to new levels,” Tzouanakis said. “The Mazda Road to Indy program features drivers with great potential, and the opportunity to work with one of those drivers for his first Indy 500 will be a great new chapter to my career.”

Munoz, 21, a native of Colombia, will have Marco Andretti (No. 25 RC Cola Chevrolet), James Hinchcliffe (No. 27 GoDaddy Chevrolet), E.J. Viso (No. 5 Team Venezuela Chevrolet) and reigning IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 1 DHL Chevrolet) as teammates.

“TZ is a great addition to our team,” Michael Andretti said. “I had the opportunity to work with him in the past, and I think he brings a great deal of racing experience to the table.”