Andretti Tries a Last Time to Shake Indy 500 Jinx : This Is His 29th and Final Race; He’s Won Once

Can it be true that today will be Mario Andretti’s 29th and last Indianapolis 500--and he has won it only once?

Since he came here and finished third as a rookie in 1965, Andretti and the 500 have been as synonymous as bacon and eggs, mother and apple pie or Babe Ruth and baseball.

He won in 1969, before several of the drivers in today’s race were born, but his presence has dominated the month of May almost every year he’s been here. He has started on the pole three times, been on the front row eight times and led more laps than anyone but Al Unser Jr. and Ralph DePalma.

He has been the favorite more times than he can remember. But only once has he taken the checkered flag, and when he did it was the least expected. He had crashed his car in practice, burning his face, before painfully driving a year-old backup car to victory.

“When I won, I felt it was about time, it was going to be just the first of many, but something happened, I guess you could call it fate,” he said. “I’m still looking for that second one. Maybe this year.”

Although Andretti has announced that this is his final season, he is not leaving the way that A.J. Foyt, Richard Petty and some others have left--as noncompetitive drivers hanging on and embarrassing themselves with back-in-the-pack runs.

Andretti figures to be a force in today’s 500 miles. He qualified on the third row in one of new Lola-Ford Cosworths entered by Paul Newman and Carl Haas. He has been running well all month and last Thursday was the quickest car on Carburetion Day.

“I’m not saying I’m as quick as I used to be, but I’m quick enough to be involved,” he said. “I feel that I’m still a factor and I can be part of the boys who are playing up front.”

Last year, Andretti led 72 of the 200 laps and was still in front after 435 miles.

“I could have won it except for a bad set of tires we put on during my last pit stop,” he said. “They unbalanced the car, and I dropped back and finished fifth. But I had been in the hunt.”

When Andretti won the Phoenix 200 last year at 53, he became the oldest driver to win an Indy car race.

“I hear people say I fell into it after (Paul) Tracy and Emmo (Emerson Fittipaldi) dropped out, but I look at it as payback,” he said. “I’ve given up more than my share of them that way . . . especially at this place.

“Indianapolis might not owe me one, but it sure would be nice if it were kinder to me. I’ve certainly had a lot of disappointments here because of the fact that I’ve led a lot of laps, but not the right one.

“If this were the Indianapolis 400, I’d probably have five wins.”

It is hard to catalogue Andretti’s biggest disappointments.

Would it be 1987 when he had the fastest car all month, sat on the pole and led for 170 laps before announcer Tom Carnegie intoned those dreaded words, “Mario is slowing on the backstretch”?

Or was it 1982 when he was equally dominant and was wrecked before the race started?

Or how about 1981 when he was declared the winner after Bobby Unser was penalized for illegal passing, only to have the ruling changed and Unser reinstated as the winner?

Or maybe 1966 and 1967 when he set qualifying records both years before dropping out with niggling engine problems?

“This place is crazy. Nothing makes sense,” Andretti said. “I win when I shouldn’t have because it was my day. It was like the year Danny Sullivan won. He spins all the way around and doesn’t hit anything and goes on to beat me. It was his day.

“Look at Rick Mears. He’s led 429 laps and won four times. I’ve led 556 and won once. On the other hand, thank goodness I got that one under my belt. If I had been blanked, it would be like Dale Earnhardt and the Daytona 500. You can’t tell me he’s not a helluva better driver than a lot of guys who have won, but as long as he doesn’t win, he’s got the monkey on his back.”

Even though his personality has thrust him into the spotlight every year since he came here with Al Dean three decades ago, this has been Mario’s busiest month ever. Media requests for interviews have been overwhelming, he has been the honored guest at a host of civic and racing functions, and last Thursday night he was toasted and roasted at an “ Arrivederci , Mario” dinner in downtown Indianapolis.

“I’m savoring every moment,” he said, “but not at the expense of the race. I knew it would be difficult but not impossible. I still came here with the same purpose I came with in 1965, to win.

“You better believe I want to win this race. The pressure is on but that’s the kind of pressure we like. We live under pressure so it’s nothing really different, except it’s the last opportunity I will have.

“I’ve talked to myself at night. I’ve said, ‘Don’t do anything different.’ It doesn’t work. The real test of how I handle the situation is the real challenge itself. I think I’ve been around long enough to know how to control that. I don’t want to go into uncharted waters.

“My focus is the same as it has always been. I want to be competitive. If I can be competitive Sunday, maybe the fates will shine on me.”

If not, it will still be Arrivederci , Mario.