When Rob Edwards decided to take an offer he couldn’t refuse to join Andretti Autosport he didn’t have very far to go. The man who has been general manager of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports could probably walk to Andretti Autosport in nice weather.

The distance from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports on Coffman Road to Andretti Autosport on Zionsville Road in Indianapolis is about 1.5 miles. That’s a good thing for Edwards, who has spent this week working for both teams before he completes his transition next week.

“Part of my arrangement with Michael Andretti is to be able to make sure I leave the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports ship in good stead,” said Edwards, who was announced as the director of engineering and race operations at Andretti Autosport on Jan. 5. “This week I’m splitting my time between a very steep learning curve at Andretti but also making sure I wrap things up and leave things in good shape at Schmidt Peterson as well. If you are looking for me this week I’ll be between one shop or the other.”

Edwards became part of SPM when the team acquired the FAZZT Racing Team. Under Edwards’ guidance, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports became a highly competitive team with driver Simon Pagenaud winning four races and finishing third in the 2013 and fifth in 2012 and 2015 in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship.

Edwards was excited to work with driver James Hinchcliffe, who ironically left Andretti Autosport to join Schmidt Peterson. But the opportunity to return to what he loves best – engineering and race operations – and leaving the business side of running a team behind is what lured Edwards to Andretti.

“I think anyone that stays the business for as long as I’ve been in the business now I think you are in it because you want to win and you want to be successful,” Edwards said. “But you are also in it for fresh challenges. I’m really fortunate over the last five-and-a-half years since we started this team taking what I call a clean sheet or paper and built an organization that I think is part of the big four.

“Andretti Autosport has a rich heritage of championships and Indy 500 wins so the opportunity to be part of that success over the next few years is what really drove me to say this was the right thing to do.”

In his new role, Edwards will be part of all Andretti Autosport operations across all platforms, including the Verizon IndyCar Series.