Victory Offers Identity to Other Andretti

If it seems that every time you look up there’s another Andretti jumping into a race car, that’s because there is.

At last count, there were four drivers named Andretti active in racing. There are more Andrettis driving than Unsers, Bettenhausens or Vukoviches. In fact, the Unsers, Bettenhausens and Vukoviches, altogether, outnumber the Andrettis by only two.

All the Andrettis have the same roots, and three of them will be driving Sunday in the Indianapolis 500. Who are these guys?

There is Mario, of course, the family patriarch regarded by some as the greatest driver ever.

He has won major races in Indy cars, stock cars, Formula One cars and sports cars. He has won at Daytona and Sebring, at Spa-Francorchamps and at Indianapolis. He has won national championships and world championships. Sunday’s race will be his 26th here.

There is Michael, Mario’s older son and teammate. He, too, has made a name for himself, with nine Indy car victories, 10 seconds and 11 thirds. There are some who say that Michael Andretti will be better than Mario. Others say that has already happened.

Michael has not won an Indianapolis 500 yet, but he is among the eight or 10 drivers regarded as contenders Sunday.

There is Jeff Andretti, Mario’s younger son who drew a lot of interest earlier this month when it seemed he might join his father and brother in the lineup as a rookie. He crashed once and spun once but was in the field briefly, then was bumped by a faster qualifier.

And there is John, customarily known as “the other Andretti.”

He is Mario’s nephew, Michael’s and Jeff’s cousin. His father, Aldo, is Mario’s twin.

John Andretti has driven Indy cars, off and on, since 1987. He has never finished higher than sixth.

He gets little of the considerable attention paid the rest of the clan.

But he says he is a good driver and can be a winning driver. And he does not resent the acclaim that goes to the relatives, although he would like to step up and join them.

“It’s difficult in some respects because you want to have your own identity,” he said. “I want people to call me John, to say, ‘There’s John Andretti,’ and not, ‘There’s that other Andretti,’ or not know who I am or (know) only because my last name is Andretti.

“It’s never brought across in a derogatory way, but you feel like you want to be the Andretti. But the Andretti is the one we all know, and he’s that way because of what he’s done in the record books.

“But it’ll change. Michael was ‘Mario’s son’ for years and now he’s Michael Andretti. Eventually I’ll be able to put my name down and not have to explain who I am.”

Despite his search for an identity, the other Andretti is not about to change his name. He feels very much a part of the family and likes it that way.

“Mike and Mario and I played golf (Wednesday),” John said. “We only become ‘enemies’ when we’re working. Off that, we can enjoy ourselves. Mike and I are very good friends and do other things besides racing. I’d say we’re very close because of racing. We all work at the same place.”

And yet, John Andretti said, he did not become a racer to emulate Uncle Mario, but rather to relate better to his father, who also had been a promising driver in his youth.

“My father was an immigrant and understood racing,” he said. “He was an extremely good racer himself. When he used to come to our grade-school basketball, baseball, football games, he had no idea what was going on. He didn’t know who was winning or losing, and we weren’t really that close then.

“My mother suggested (to Aldo), ‘Why don’t you do something that we can do as a family? Something that you enjoy and know about, and if (the family members) enjoy it, then we can continue to do it.’

“That’s how I got started in racing, and it’s brought me and my father extremely close because we both love it. I got all the breaks, and he didn’t get really any but he’s happy the way it is.”

The record books suggest that Aldo Andretti’s racing career was cut short by a serious injury. Not so, says John.

“In ‘69, he fractured several bones in his face, but he wasn’t anywhere near any problems (that would prevent him) to come back racing. But he and my uncle decided to go into business together, and that sounded like something that was pretty solid.”

So, shortly after his only Indy victory, in 1969, Mario Andretti’s Firestone store opened here in suburban Speedway, Ind., under the management of Aldo Andretti.

“They bought and sold that, then they bought another business and sold it, and my father runs his own business now, a mass-production machine shop,” John said. “He’s a machinist by trade.

“He’s extremely involved with my racing and a big part of it. He’s got enough relatives in this race that he’s always got a place to go and be welcome, but it’s different when it’s your own (son). He comes out and hangs around the pit and really gets into it. He kinda stands back and watches it all, but you know he’s like a kid inside.”

John Andretti is planning on this being a breakthrough season for him, his first as a full-time Indy car driver. He has joined Teo Fabi on the factory-backed Porsche team, which, after more than two years of experimenting, seems now to have a competitive engine.

He qualified 10th at better than 219 m.p.h., and ran at 217 in Thursday’s final practice. Although he is not making wild claims, neither is he discounting the possibility of winning here.

“Joining this team is like a dream come true,” he said. “Making it to the 500 is your first goal, being in the 500 is another goal and winning the 500’s another one. I feel I can achieve all three now.

“Realistically, I think we can run in the top five. And if the dominoes fall in the right direction, we can run for the win. I believe there’s about 10 cars here that can win this race, and I believe that this team has two of them. I think I can hold my own out there. This would be a good place to start a winning streak, anyway. I’d like to get my first Indy car victory here this year.

“If I don’t get my first Indy car victory here, then it better happen before the end of the season. I’ve won a lot of races. I’ve won in sprint cars, midgets, IMSA (sports) cars. I haven’t won in an Indy car, but I’ve won in just about everything else.

“I believe that Indianapolis is my 25th Indy car race, and I don’t think you can go back in too many other people’s careers after 25 races in a single series and picture them with the team that I’m with and competitive as we should be.

“Believe me, I’ll be very, very disappointed if I end up the season without a victory in the Indy car series.”

Nor does this Andretti plan to spend a career “trying” to win, as some drivers with famous names have done.

“I’m not going to be like that,” he said. “It’s very important to get the job done. If I can’t, I’ll go do something else that I can do.

“But I’m not an easy quitter. It’s too easy to quit, and you have to give yourself a fair shot.”