Andretti: Unfazed by High Line

JOLIET, Illinois - Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti has been on the verge of a breakthrough most of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season.  Nowhere was that more evident than at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday night.

The No. 26 Team Venom-sponsored car started in fifth on the grid.  He was optimistic about his car going into the race, tweeting:  “Think we have a car under us tonight.  Hope I can back that up!  Should be fun.”

Back it up, he did.  And much to the fans’ delight.

Early on in the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300, Andretti made his way to the front of the pack, becoming sandwiched between the ever-so-dominant cars of Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves.

He did not back off.  From the get-go, it was clear that Andretti had a good car--and he, most importantly, knew it.

Frequently he made runs on the tail end of Briscoe’s car, coming close-- yet not close enough--to clear the No. 6 car cleanly.  So, he went high.  As a result, for much of the night, Andretti  gravitated confidently up towards the wall; a place that most drivers, avoid.

Explaining how he makes use of whatever track space is available to him, regardless of where it is, Andretti said:  “I normally set my car up to run there because if you’re one of the few that can run up there, it’s normally clean air and you can just stay flat-out.  If somebody is running on the white line, you can’t pass them, so that’s the only way to pass them.”

Andretti lost track position on the last pit stop of the night, pushing him from second position to seventh, but because his car is set up to run the high line, he was able to work his way though the field again and ultimately, finish third.

Like race winner Dario Franchitti, Andretti and his crew debated whether to forgo taking a fresh set of wheels during their final pit stop; they didn’t, and in hindsight, he said, that “appeared to be the call.”

Nonetheless, Andretti has demonstrated that he can balance patience with calculated aggressive moves regardless of his position on track.  

Robyn Lynne Schechter