Special purpose acquisition company, Andretti Acquisition Corp. (NYSE:WNNR) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 13.

"I felt like we could bring some things that other people can't," Andretti Acquisition Corp co-CEO Michael Andretti said Wednesday on "Benzinga Live."

Andretti thinks the company can bring a unique presence to the market because of the Andretti brand and the experience of the leadership team in the EV space.

"We really know the space well," he said, adding that he also has a lot of contacts who could help, depending on the company's acquisition target.

"There are a lot of things that I thought we could bring to the party," Andretti said. "The first person I called was Bill Sandbrook."

Sandbrook, who interviewed alongside Andretti, is the former chairman and CEO of U.S. Concrete and co-CEO of Andretti Acquisition Corp.

Sandbrook told Benzinga that the company received nearly 40 inquiries from prospective merger partners before listing on the public markets. All of the companies are in sectors that Andretti Acquisition Corp is targeting, which includes electrification, racing, disruptive tech, auto service and retail, auto aftermarket and the luxury/performance market. 

"We have a very, very fertile target list right now," Sandbrook said.

See Also: EXCLUSIVE: Andretti Acquisition Corp. Vrooms Into SPAC Space

The Andretti Acquisition Corp leadership team is made up of current and former executives from McLaren Racing, Blockbuster, AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), the NYSE and more.

"The connections that the Andrettis bring to this venture far exceeds what any other, let's say, celebrity SPAC sponsor could bring to a SPAC," Sandbrook said.

"The whole goal here is to take a company public, help it with the Andretti brand, the Andretti network, the Andretti technologies...and then make that company extremely valuable to its investors."

See the full interview here:

Photo: courtesy of Andretti Acquisition Corp.