By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
This year, for only the second time since 1965, there wasn't an Andretti racing in either the Indianapolis 500 or Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Mario Andretti, his sons, Michael and Jeff, and his nephew John had combined to make 63 starts at Indy between the two races since Mario's Indianapolis 500 debut in 1965. But this year all were on the sidelines although Michael was trackside as co-car owner for four qualified drivers in the Indianapolis 500.
John Andretti had kept the streak going after Mario and Jeff retired and Michael was racing elsewhere by being a Brickyard 400 regular through the first 10 editions of the annual NASCAR classic at Indy. He intended to be in the 11th Brickyard 400 on Aug. 8 of this year.
But it didn't happen.
And John, who had started at Indy every year since 1988, somewhat faded off the NASCAR radar screen during the summer. Until last week.
On Oct. 6, Andretti and ppc Racing of Mooresville, N.C., announced they had formed a team and will perform in five of the final six NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races this year and all 36 of the 2005 season. Andretti and the team will make their debut Oct. 16 in the UAW-GM Quality 500 NEXTEL Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. The Ford Taurus will carry Victory Brand/APlus at Sunoco sponsorship.
This means an Andretti will be racing again next year at the Speedway. The 2005 Brickyard 400 is scheduled for Aug. 7.
"I'm looking forward to it," Andretti said.
Andretti tried to line up a ride for either or both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 for this year. Nothing worked out. He watched the Brickyard as a spectator. For someone who attended high school a mile from the track and grew up dreaming about racing there, it was tough to handle.
"That really did hurt in a lot of ways to watch something going on at the Speedway and not being part of it," he said. "But on the other hand, I have to understand you don't always get everything you want. And in this instance, it just wasn't meant to be."
Andretti signed with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and drove in fives races, finishing 13th in the Daytona 500. But he didn't have a start after the Tropicana 400 on July 11 at Chicagoland Speedway. He turned his attention to watching his son, Jarrett, 11, play soccer and his daughter Olivia, 9, ride show horses.
To many, it appeared his career - it has included midgets, Indy cars, sports cars and Top Fuel dragsters - was nearing an end.
"I get that question asked a lot, and I guess other people think that," he said. "I never did. I think they think it because they don't know what I was thinking.
"You've got to look at all aspects of it. It's just like anything; it's easier to fail than it is to be successful. It's easier not to race than it is to be with a competitive team.
"I guess people didn't understand why I wasn't at the racetrack, why I wasn't driving a lot. It was by my choice. I found a lot more pleasure going to watch my son win a soccer game, my daughter get ribbons at a horse show than I did going out there bloodying my head against the wall trying to make something happen that wasn't going to happen."
Behind the scenes, Andretti was working hard to acquire the solid sponsorship to continue his driving career. He noted he has known some of the people at Ford since he was a child and has become close friends with Steve Swick (CEO of Victory Brand) and Greg Pollex, who owns the ppc team that won the 2000 NASCAR Busch Series championship with Jeff Green and also has had four runner-up finishes in the series.
The team purchased four cars from Robert Yates Racing and plans to purchase more. Andretti expects the cars to be competitive. Additionally, Yates has been supportive in providing information about the cars and how they handle on the racetrack.
Dave Charpentier is the interim crew chief. He has engineering experience with a number of teams, including Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Inc. Charpentier recently left PPI Motorsports, becoming available for his role with the new team.
"We have great people on staff already," Andretti said. "So given all that, I think we've come a long way in 30 days."
Andretti originally tried to talk the team into holding off running its first race until next February's Daytona 500. He feared that so much would be necessary to build cars and a fabrication shop that it wouldn't have been feasible to start this season.
"It would have been nearly impossible," he said. "A huge thank you to Ford and Robert Yates Racing for their help, because everybody who's been involved in this thing has been over the moon."
Andretti was fastest in testing Sept. 29 at Lowe's Motor Speedway at 181.751 mph with his new team.
Hanging around DEI and getting to drive a few races for that powerful team has been another bonus, Andretti said. He learned what a first-rate team does to compete for the championship.
"I think I did learn at DEI that you can keep buying equipment, you can do all that, but it's all about people," Andretti said. "And in racing anymore, it's just getting the right people doing the right job and getting them working together. That's the hurdle."
He said he sees that ability to unify talented people in team owner Pollex.
So Andretti has renewed enthusiasm. He's pumped to get going again.
"People talk about recharging their batteries in December," he said. "Well, I've had time even between events that I did to recharge them. I've got more energy now then I had for the last five or six years.
"I'm enthused. I'm excited about it. I'm ready to go." ***
2005 tickets: The 12th Brickyard 400 is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005. Customers who are upgrading or purchasing Brickyard 400 tickets for the first time should act quickly to increase their chances of obtaining their desired seats.
To purchase tickets, camping or parking, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, (317) 492-6700 locally or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
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