J. Andretti Rolls With Changes Through Three Decades At Indy

John Andretti will make his ninth Indianapolis 500 start May 25.
By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Saturday, May 24, 2008

In 1988, John Andretti finished 21st as a rookie in the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. On May 25, 20 years later, he will start from that same position as the only remaining driver from that 33-car starting field still competing.

Andretti raced that year with his uncle Mario and cousin Michael, and three years later the trio was joined by Mario's other son Jeff. Now for the second straight year, he will take the green along with Michael's son Marco, who qualified seventh.

This pushes the Andretti clan's total races to 58, second only to the 73 by Unser family.

But while the Unsers have nine victories between them, the Andrettis only have one. And that happened so long ago - by Mario in 1969 - that race fans younger than 39 years old weren't even born yet.

But John Andretti predicts all of that losing is about to come to an end.

Andretti, a man who at 45 was not afraid to jump out of an airplane for the first time this week, also had no fear in forecasting that an Andretti is his favorite to win the 92nd running of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

Not him, but Marco.

"You look at the Unser family, and this place has been awfully good to them," John Andretti said. "You look at our family, and it's really been rough on us. Michael and Mario - you look at it - easily combined should have probably eight or nine total wins. And there's one.

"Of course, Marco had an opportunity a couple of years ago (in 2006 when Sam Hornish Jr. passed him just before the finish line). He did a great job. There wasn't anything he could have done different.

"I think that our time will be coming in a lot of ways. Marco's probably my pick for the race. He'd better be my pick. He's a family member."

John Andretti pointed out that driving for Andretti Green Racing, Marco has the full package to challenge again right down through the final lap. John added that a victory in Marco's rookie year might have been somewhat of a surprise, but not this year at the wheel of his Team Indiana Jones presented by Blockbuster Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine.

"But now there's no reason he couldn't go out there and dominate this race, like his dad used to, and his grandfather," John Andretti said of Marco.

For John, it is a little different. He drove in seven straight Indianapolis 500s from 1988-94 with a best finish of fifth in 1991, then moved to NASCAR and missed 13 Indy 500's in a row before returning last year. He showed up this year helmet in hand and got a last-minute ride in the second Roth Racing car. He qualified it on the outside of the seventh row.

Age-wise, at 45 only his boss, Marty Roth, at 49 is older among the 33 starters.

Andretti's qualifying speed of 221.550 was uneventful, much different than his first one in 1988 when he blew two engines on qualifying attempts and then squeezed into the field with a speed average of 208.442 mph. Another blown engine knocked him out after 114 laps.

Andretti points out that the car, the track and the rules today are much different than they were 20 years ago.

"The racetrack is the same, but even it has changed," he said. "You can't race on the apron anymore. Before, the track was a lot wider, because you'd just drive down on the apron. They've got bigger wings. They've got different downforce. The tires are different. The engines were turbo-charged.

"It's a big evolution, plus there're a lot of gadgets in the car that make it easier in a lot of ways. I think the last time I drove here 'til last year we didn't have pit road speed limits at that time."

Also, the SAFER Barrier was not in place.

Andretti turned his mind to something new and challenging during the week - parachuting from a plane - to divert some of the pressure facing him Sunday.

"I wasn't superstitious, I was pretty much praying," he said with a laugh.

He did the jump with the U.S. Golden Knights, who helped former President George Bush make his late-in-life leap.

"To me, that was the only way I could do it," he said. "It was like riding with my uncle in the two-seater.

"Turn 1 (at 220 mph) is under my control by me and that right foot. Jumping out of an airplane, I've got no protection. And I'm thinking, if the parachute doesn't open is it me or him (his jump partner) who is going is going to hit first. But it really doesn't matter."

Actually, two women jumped before it was his turn. Did he have to be pushed out?

"There's some claw marks on the plane," he said, tongue-in-cheek, "but they managed to get me out of the door."

Although John is the only driver from 1988 still competing, the first five finishers that year are also involved in the 92nd Indianapolis 500 in other capacities. Winner Rick Mears and third-place finisher Al Unser are Indy Racing League driver coaches and consultants. Second-place finisher Emerson Fittipaldi will drive the Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car, and the drivers coming home fourth and fifth - Michael Andretti and Bobby Rahal - are IndyCar Series team owners.

***

Indy 500 tickets on sale: Tickets are on sale for the 2008 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25, the 92nd running of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or at the ticket office at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.

Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (ET) Monday-Sunday during May, with special hours of 6 a.m.-1 p.m. on Race Day, Sunday, May 25. Online orders can be made at any time. Race Day ticket prices start at just $20.

Indy 500 TV, radio: ABC and ESPN2 will provide live Race Day television coverage of the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25. Pre-race coverage starts at 11 a.m. (ET) on ESPN2, continuing at noon on ABC. Race coverage begins at 1 p.m. on ABC.

IMS Radio Network Race Day coverage starts with a pre-race show at noon, followed by the race at 1 p.m. The radio network's coverage also will be broadcast live on XM Satellite Radio Channel 145, "IndyCar Series Racing," and XM Channel 144.


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