Indianapolis – A subplot of today’s Indianapolis 500 is the race between the young and the old.
Rookie Marco Andretti, 19, is skipping college to race full time for his father, Michael Andretti, co-owner of four-car Andretti Green Racing. Marco Andretti, who won three times in six races last year in the Indy Racing League’s development series, qualified ninth and had the seventh-quickest car in Friday’s final practice session.
Michael Andretti, 43, is one of three 40-somethings who have come out of retirement for this race. He hung up his fire suit in 2003, a year after Eddie Cheever, 48, and a year before Al Unser Jr.
The elder Andretti is winless at Indy in 14 tries. Cheever, a former Aspen resident who owns a team, is looking for his second win in his 14th race. Unser, 44, is a two-time winner competing for the 18th time at Indy, most among today’s 33 starters.
“There are so many story lines,” said Dan Wheldon, last year’s winner. “There’s probably too much to talk about, actually, because you’re going to be watching how Michael and Al do, how Danica (Patrick) does, how I’m going to do because obviously I was the champion of the race last year, (and) how the Penskes (Sam Hornish Jr., Helio Castroneves) go. There’s a lot of spark, I would say, to the race. That creates interest.”
Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage wants a piece of that. He is offering Michael Andretti and Unser $50,000 apiece to postpone their re-retirements and compete in his June 10 event.
Dark horses from Vail
Buddy Lazier and Jaques Lazier of Vail are the only brother combination competing, and they are doing so for the sixth time, including Jaques’ substitution stint for Robby Gordon in 2004.
Both are with teams that don’t have the budgets, resources and crew talent of the IRL’s top teams – Penske, Ganassi, Andretti and Rahal – and won’t win without the benefit of extraordinary luck.
Buddy, 38, is with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Jaques, 35, drives for Playa del Racing, which has competed only at Indy.
“We have a very long shot, but we certainly have a shot,” said Buddy Lazier, the 1996 Indy winner who finished fifth here a year ago with Panther Racing.
Jaques Lazier battled a poor-handling car in Friday’s short practice, saying it was “evil loose on entry, then it has a big push.”
Translation: The car fishtailed into turns, and the front tires slid up the track coming out of them.
Footnotes
Given today’s temperature could climb to 90 degrees, teams are expected to make radical setup changes. More heat equates to less down force and excessive tire wear. … One of Jaques Lazier’s crewmen is Nelson Stewart, father of two-time Nextel Cup champion and Indiana native Tony Stewart. Nelson Stewart is a partner in Playa del Racing. … Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, co-owner of P.J. Chesson’s car, will participate in pre-race celebrity festivities. … No. 5 starter Tony Kanaan and Brazilian countryman Rubens Barrichello of Formula One have exchanged helmets for this weekend’s races. Barrichello is competing in the Grand Prix of Monaco.
