Indy NXT
IPS: Andretti's win turns into more racing
There was no doubt Marco Andretti wanted another crack at the Menards Infiniti Pro Series after winning his debut at the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg on April 3rd under the most strenuous set of circumstances. Shepherded by his father ...
Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 11:54 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
There was no doubt Marco Andretti wanted another crack at the Menards Infiniti Pro Series after winning his debut at the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg on April 3rd under the most strenuous set of circumstances.
Shepherded by his father Michael, grandfather Mario (attending his first non-Indy 500 IRL race for this purpose) and the Zen-master of melding good racers Tony Cicale, was there any doubt this 18-year-old would succeed in his first MIPS race?
Well, yeah. Marco overcame winning and losing and regaining pole position, losing his best friend in an auto accident, relinquishing the race lead with a dumb move and regaining it with a masterful one reminiscent of his famous grandfather.
Afterward Andretti indicated he'd like to be back to the Indy Racing League's ladder series, most likely for the USGP weekend on June 18th; Marco also said he'd like to race at The Milwaukee Mile, the seminal oval where Mario (4 wins) and Michael Andretti (5) cut their oval racing teeth.
Today those desires were fulfilled and augmented, as Andretti intends to contest five additional Menards Infiniti Pro Series races in his #26 Vonage Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone racer.
He's planning to race in the Futaba Freedom 100 on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval on May 22; in support of F1 June 18; at The Milwaukee Mile July 24; on the 2.26-mile Infineon Raceway Sears Point road course on August 28 and finally, on the historic Watkins Glen International circuit September 25.
"Obviously I'm pretty excited about everything," the soon-to-be Notre Dame grad said. "Getting the opportunity to run at Indy twice in one month is pretty unbelievable." Andretti never thought the race in St. Petersburg "would go as well as it did for us, but it did."
Working out of the Keith Duesenberg Racing garage, one that has brought home three victories in 29 starts, Marco Andretti and Andretti Green Racing put their own stamp on the operation with Cicale calling the shots to victory for Marco at St Petersburg.
In addition to his five Menards Infiniti Pro Series starts, Marco Andretti is entered in the Star Mazda Series with the intent of winning that crown. He finished seventh at Road Atlanta last weekend against many of the same driver's he has raced against in karts.
His father doesn't think Andretti's being rushed through the process: "This is a great opportunity for Marco and exciting for the whole family," who were all on-hand to cheer him on in Florida. "He was so impressive in the way that he raced in St. Petersburg with all the pressure and expectations on him," Michael explained.
"I just think it's good for him to get as much experience as he can right now and running five different courses like this over the rest of the season in these cars is going to be really good for him."
Marco Andretti has said all along he wants to drive in all types of competition and aspires to race for his father in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. It should be a busy summer for young Andretti, but surely one he'll savor. "I have a passion for racing and the joy of winning," Marco declared.
Does that sound familiar?
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article IPS: Marco Andretti to compete in additional races
Next article IPS: Milwuakee Mile welcomes younger Andretti
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Marco Andretti
The five closest Indy 500 finishes in history
IndyCar
IndyCar
110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
The five closest Indy 500 finishes in history
Marco Andretti reacts to "frustrating" early Indy 500 wreck: "Shoved into the wall"
IndyCar
IndyCar
Indianapolis 500
Marco Andretti reacts to "frustrating" early Indy 500 wreck: "Shoved into the wall"
Marco Andretti credits Hampson, Wickens for stronger 2024 Indy 500 bid
IndyCar
IndyCar
Indianapolis 500
Marco Andretti credits Hampson, Wickens for stronger 2024 Indy 500 bid
Latest news
Belgian firm to take over Renault/Alpine engine facility in Viry
WEC
WEC WEC 10 min
Belgian firm to take over Renault/Alpine engine facility in Viry
Jorge Martin the slowest Aprilia in Australia practice: “I'm used to riding with the Ducati here”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
50 min
Jorge Martin the slowest Aprilia in Australia practice: “I'm used to riding with the Ducati here”
2027 Winter Series calendar: Three series across five circuits
General
Misc General 1 h
2027 Winter Series calendar: Three series across five circuits
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe