Andretti aiming to continue momentum through Brazil
Dave Lewandowski
MAY 01, 2013
What had been his weakest segment of the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule so far has yielded positives for Andretti Autosport driver Marco Andretti.
He’s fourth in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings – 12 points behind front-runner Helio Castroneves of Team Penske – and is joined by Castroneves and Justin Wilson as the only drivers with top-10 finishes to start the season that has seen three different winners in as many races (including two first-time winners).
“Being fourth in the standings is a great place to be, but we are so close to being at the top of the board,” Andretti said. “The ideal situation is to be in the points lead going into the month of May, then just carry that momentum.”
He’ll carry momentum of a strong run at Long Beach, where he advanced 18 positions to finish seventh in the Chevrolet-powered No. 24 RC Cola car, into the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle on May 5.
Another solid race will at least keep him in the top five in the standings heading to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the May 26 Indianapolis 500, though he hasn’t had results to shout about on the 2.536-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit in Brazil’s largest city: 23rd, 14th and 14th, with a best starting position of 10th last year.
“I think if I keep driving the way we've been, I think the podiums and the wins will come,” Andretti said. “I'm pleased with my performance so far. But obviously it's still early.”
“I've worked on my street courses in the offseason in a big way,” Andretti added. “Really I need to give my teammates credit, especially Ryan (Hunter-Reay). He adapted to the street courses a lot better than I did. I was really over-driving the car. In the offseason I really studied how I was over-driving the car. It ended up working against me, causing more problems for myself, leaving me on the outside looking in.
He’s fourth in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings – 12 points behind front-runner Helio Castroneves of Team Penske – and is joined by Castroneves and Justin Wilson as the only drivers with top-10 finishes to start the season that has seen three different winners in as many races (including two first-time winners).
“Being fourth in the standings is a great place to be, but we are so close to being at the top of the board,” Andretti said. “The ideal situation is to be in the points lead going into the month of May, then just carry that momentum.”
He’ll carry momentum of a strong run at Long Beach, where he advanced 18 positions to finish seventh in the Chevrolet-powered No. 24 RC Cola car, into the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle on May 5.
Another solid race will at least keep him in the top five in the standings heading to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the May 26 Indianapolis 500, though he hasn’t had results to shout about on the 2.536-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit in Brazil’s largest city: 23rd, 14th and 14th, with a best starting position of 10th last year.
“I think if I keep driving the way we've been, I think the podiums and the wins will come,” Andretti said. “I'm pleased with my performance so far. But obviously it's still early.”
“I've worked on my street courses in the offseason in a big way,” Andretti added. “Really I need to give my teammates credit, especially Ryan (Hunter-Reay). He adapted to the street courses a lot better than I did. I was really over-driving the car. In the offseason I really studied how I was over-driving the car. It ended up working against me, causing more problems for myself, leaving me on the outside looking in.
“This year, in qualifying, there's a couple hundredths of a second out of the top six, but it's a lot better than looking in on the top 12, which is where we were last year. I think we've improved. But to get wins we just need to keep driving the way we are.”
Andretti's starts through the first three races this season and the previous five:
2013 -- 3rd, 7th, 7th
2012 -- 14th, 11th, 25th
2011 -- 24th, 4th, 26th
2010 -- 23rd, 12th, 5th
2009 -- 13th, 6th, 6th
2008 -- 2nd, 5th, 18th
