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Michael Andretti will leave driver seat
2007-05-28
Michael Andretti will leave the driver's seat to focus on running Andretti Green Racing after finishing a disappointing 13th in the Indianapolis 500. The second retirement of Andretti's career comes after his 16th -- and apparently last -- appearance at the Brickyard on Sunday. The 45-year-old Andretti has led more laps (426) at Indy than any other non-winning driver. "I'm glad I did what I did," Andretti said Monday about his last two races at Indy. "It was all good, but I was going crazy this month. I just felt there were a lot of things I could have been doing for the team and I couldn't do. So then it just distracts you. It's just too stressful and too much." Michael, the son of 1969 Indy winner Mario Andretti and a longtime open-wheel star, retired following the 2003 May classic. He returned to the Indy 500 last year to race against his then 19-year-old son Marco. Michael finished third and Marco second that year, with Sam Hornish Jr. passing the youngster on the final straightaway to continue the saga of dismal Andretti luck at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since the win by Marco's grandfather. Michael, who said he came back this year for no other reason than to try to finally win a 500, was never a factor in Sunday's strange event, a truncated race interrupted by a 3-hour rain delay and then cut 34 laps short by more rain. His son, who again had a shot at winning the race, led three times for 13 laps. He wound up 24th after a spectacular and frightening crash that included a slide through the infield grass upside down. He was not injured. Sunday wasn't all bad for the Andrettis, though, as AGR driver Dario Franchitti gave the team its second Indy win in three years, Danica Patrick was competitive all day and finished eighth and Tony Kanaan led a race-high 83 laps before an accident relegated him to 12th place. Franchitti stood on the speedway's main straightway Monday morning, posing for the traditional winner's photographs with actress wife Ashley Judd, team members, sponsors and others. Franchitti looked surprised when told of the decision by his boss and friend. "That's sad," the Scotsman said. "I think when your heroes stop driving, it's tough. But I think it's the right choice for him. He really enjoys being a team owner and he's bloody good at it." Andretti doubted he'd change his mind about returning to the driver's seat. "I've become a lot more involved with the team than I ever have been," said Andretti, who co-owns AGR with Kim Green and Kevin Savoree. "I really felt that I needed to be there at the end of last year because we just weren't getting it done. I just really feel like I need to be there pushing to make sure we get everything right and done and just to try to help Kim and Kevin as much as I can. "Now that I've committed more time to that, it makes it even more difficult to do both sides of it." Andretti said last year, his focus was on Marco. "I was in the car to try to help him with my experience and stuff like that, so it was a little different," he said. Franchitti is impressed by Andretti's career. "To me, Michael doesn't need to win a 500 to prove anything," Franchitti said. "He's one of the best drivers I've ever seen. Even yesterday, when I was coming back through the pack, he's as hard to race as ever. The fact that he didn't win at this place has nothing to do with his skill behind the wheel."
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