Newly crowned 2004 Formula Dodge champion, Marco Andretti, seems on
the fast track to live up to his family’s legacy. But the perennial
turmoil in USA’s open-wheel scene might jeopardize it.
Editor's Note: Cássio
Côrtes is a young Brazilian journalist who writes for
AutoRacing1.com.
Multilingual (English, Portuguese, Spanish and French), Mr.
Cortes brings a fresh South American perspective to our
staff.
Marco Andretti waits to start Sunday's race
Mark Scheuern
It’s hard to believe this beardless kid in
front of me is only 17. Sitting by a table of fruits under
Skip Barber’s large tent at Road America, Marco Andretti’s
attitude is so down-to-Earth, so unpretentious and mature,
it’s almost annoying. Though this certainly does not apply
to everybody, I can only imagine what kind of over-the-top
brat I would be at 17, if my granddad was one of racing’s
living legends, his son one of the most successful American
open-wheel drivers of the 90’s, and their combined annual
income tax payments could buy small islands in South
America.
But then, I’m not Marco Andretti, the 2004 Formula Dodge
champion. Less than a couple of hours before the tumultuous
race that will give him the title, Marco looks unfazed,
almost blasé – but not in an arrogant way. “Winning this
thing would be huge”, he quips. “The money would really help
dad for next year.”
I think of making a sarcastic remark about how the $100,000
purse paid to the series champion is probably what his
father spends every time Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti or
Dan Wheldon have a tête-à-tête with the IRL’s concrete
walls, but keep it to myself. Where exactly would that cool
100k be sparing Michael’s bank account?
“Things are changing
dramatically”, Michael proceeds. “Only the strongest series will
survive. And from the size of the crowd I see here at Road America,
I can tell you it won’t be Champ Car”. - Michael Andretti-
“We want to do Formula Mazda next year”, Marco
says, giving away how much of the decision process still
lies with his dad. Then he lets out his only juvenile moment
of the afternoon, evidently enthusiastic as he states:
“Those cars have 250 horsepower!”
This is bound to be the biggest weekend of Marco’s career so
far. Eating a banana with gusto, the Michael Andretti that
hops off the Skip Barber trailer is not a former superstar
driver or an already successful team owner. He’s just a
father, willing to be a dad on his son’s moment of glory.
And unashamed to feel proud: “Marco’s way ahead of where I
was on his age”, he admits. “He’s showing a lot of speed and
skill, under a lot of pressure.”
After they look together at the warm-up timesheets, Michael
gives an unnecessary justification to have shown up this
weekend: “Conquering this championship would be one of those
things that stay forever with you.” The optimism is
well-founded, since the young Andretti only needs a second
place to edge Florida’s Gerardo Bonilla for the crown.
“Going out there and keeping my nose clean” is Marco’s
strategy.
Of course, racing’s a sport where nothing can ever be taken
for granted. When the green flag drops, pole sitter Bonilla
holds on to the lead, while third-place starter Andretti
settles for second. That’s how they go for five long Road
America laps, until when, after a restart, Marco shockingly
spins all by himself on the tricky turn five. For a precise
4.048 miles, it looks like Michael will have to pony up a
thousand portraits of Franklin for next season. But then we
are reminded that kids like Marco and Gerardo Bonilla are
just that, kids, being asked to handle tons of pressure in
an early stage of their lives.
Lonely
moments in front of timesheets are de rigueur when your last name’s
Andretti. Marco Andretti goes over race setups with father
Michael - Click to enlarge
Cassio Cortes
On the same spot, on the immediately following
lap, Bonilla goes off-course and gets stuck in the gravel
trap, making the Andrettis’ sorrow last for less than three
minutes. Climbing to the pinnacles of racing is a game that
demands talent and luck, and apparently, both were all over
Alvise Andretti’s genes when he made the long haul from
Italy half a century ago.
Marco’s title is secure, and so are his plans for next year,
it seems. But what about ’06 and on? Does he dream of making
fairy-tale history by becoming the first American World
Champion since his own grandfather?
“That’s every kid’s dream”, he concedes. “But driving for my
dad [in the IRL] would be amazing.”
Yet dad’s thoughts are more business-minded. “We’re not
looking at Europe [in the future]. It’s not what our
sponsors want.” Taking that as a statement that Michael sees
his son driving one of Andretti Green Racing’s IRL cars in a
few years, I proceed to an obvious trick question: “But you
were such an accomplished road racer. Don’t you want your
son to also be one?”
Suddenly, this conversation is no longer about Marco
Andretti’s future. It’s about what will happen to a sport
that has been living its hardest years for almost a decade
already. Michael brushes off my question with ease as he
states his “vision” for American open-wheel racing:
“Absolutely. The IRL will be road racing next year, and
increasingly more in years to come.” It is clear that he
believes Tony George’s league will eventually erode Champ
Car’s fan base as it begins to turn both sides.
“Things are changing dramatically”, Michael proceeds. “Only
the strongest series will survive. And from the size of the
crowd I see here at Road America, I can tell you it won’t be
Champ Car”.
But even Michael recognizes that it isn’t all
black-and-white. He doesn’t even speculate on where Marco
might be racing two years from now: “We don’t know what kind
of ladder system there will be [in 2006].”
Marco doesn’t seem to worry about it. And if his father’s
backers don’t want him to follow into his grandfather’s
footsteps, fine. He can dream stateside, too. “Maybe all the
luck dad didn’t have at Indy is stored in there for me.”
The exact day when we might finally see a second Andretti
face on the Borg-Warner trophy is not costing Marco any
sleep, though: “Hey, I’m 17. There’s no rush”.
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