John Andretti Loves to Feel 16 Again

John Andretti has found the fountain of youth -- and it's in the cockpit of an IndyCar.

Once he straps in, the 47-year-old Renaissance man of racing says he feels like a kid again, and plans to continue to drive that way.

During an interview Friday, Andretti talked about the role of money in racing throughout his career, some of the trends he's seen, tips for battling the Goliaths and how long he'll continue to go racing.

pressdog: Tell me about Indy qualifying. Is it one of those deals where you have to change your underwear after or not a big thing?

John Andretti: It’s as easy as your car makes it. If your car is not cooperating, it’s very miserable. If you are struggling for seed or you have a car that just won’t find speed, then you have to give more to it and it sort of raises the hair on the back of your head to make it faster and it’s no fun.

It’s all over the place. I’ve had cars that where really good and and really comfortable and they were quick. I’ve had other ones that I got out I was so glad it was over. The biggest problem with Indianapolis is it's the biggest race and so everything is on the line for that. If you qualify for the 500, you’ve got a shot at winning the 500. Even if they qualify for the 500 and go out on lap one, you were still in the Indy 500.

It’s pretty hair raising. Lot of anxiety and it all depends on your car. If you have a really fast car the only disappointment you have is maybe not getting the pole or qualifying quite as good as you should have. That’s a good disappointment to have.

pressdog: How will the reduced qualifying time for Indy affect you?

John Andretti: I think for me it's not really that different. When I came back in 2007 for the first year since 1994, I was a second-weekend guy and didn't get in the car until Thursday.

I hadn't been in the car in 13 years and got in on Thursday and I qualified Saturday morning with not a whole lot of laps. I had a really good car, and it came right back to me. So the next year I got hired in late to replace somebody and so therefore I was second-weekend qualifier again. We had a car that was a really fast again and got qualified right away.

Last year I thought, well we're going to do to the whole month then ended up qualifying minutes before the gun went off the last day. I qualified well into the field at that point, but all the way up to that point I was on the outside looking in. So at that point what I thought was going to be the easiest of the programs was the one that ended up pushing all the way to the limit.

I think I've seen all aspects of it. I think that this year is going to be no different for me. The people that it's going to be different for are the ones that usually have it just hanging out. You can hang it out there, way out there, and try to get a pole and you always have the next week if you stuff it in the fence. Now this year, do you try to get into the fast nine so you can have a run for the pole or do you just say 'look, big picture we're 10th, 11th, 12th, let's just be happy and move on and be done with it'?

pressdog: Will the fact that you don't have extra time in case something goes wrong change how you drive? Will you be more conservative?

John Andretti: For me, the last couple years, I've been pushed against that where if anything happens what are you going to do? And, you know what, it doesn't really matter. You have to run fast enough to make the race. So just go out there and take that out of your mind and go out there and push it and try not to do anything stupid. On the other hand, every time the car hits the race you are certainly putting it at risk of having an accident.

I think the biggest issue for me probably is I think I have a great opportunity to maybe run well in the Indy 500. The race, and of course the race practice, are going to come way down to determining when you are going to practice for the race and when you are going to practice for qualifying because you are going to have to do them on top of each other.

pressdog: Which is more stressful, doing laps or sitting around looking at other times?

John Andretti: (Laughter.) I think it depends on where you are at. If you are at the very front or the very back, it's tough to sit around and watch other people run. Because if you are at the back they are pushing you back further and if you are at the front, is anybody going to knock you off the top? If you are anywhere but those two places, it's more nerve wracking to run the laps.

pressdog: Over the course of your career would you say the effort to try to find money or find sponsorship is the same now as when you started?

John Andretti: I think that there hasn't been a big change at all in that. Money has always been an integral part of the racing program. On that side of it too, motorsports is the one professional event where the ticket sales aren't how race teams are funded. Race teams are funded by sponsorship, so therefore fans passively or indirectly support the racing needs by buying the products of the race car sponsors.

If you have a sports team, and you go to buy a ticket for their event, you're paying for the athletes to be there directly. I think there's a big distance there. For us it's a different kind of support -- support from the corporation and not the individuals (ticket-buying fans). That never has changed, and I would say it's never going to change.

Motorsports is one sport where you actually can never have enough money, because you can always spend it on more development, more R&D, all the things that you want to do to go faster can never be exhausted. There is always something else you can try or test. It's kind of a dark hole that never gets filled.

The better race teams are the most funded. You certainly have some drivers who bring the money. Other drivers get hired in. I've been on both sides of it. If you control the sponsorship side of it, you can control where you go with it. Therefore maybe create better opportunities for yourself. It just all depends. It's one of those things where you pick up one stone and there's 20 more underneath it. It's pretty complex. In general terms, motorsports, from (the money) side of it, is exactly the same as it was 20 years ago and it's going to be the same 20 years from now.

pressdog: As a driver if you're not on a well funded teams what do you do to keep yourself motivated, keep yourself going when you go out there and you know, realistically, your odds of winning are very slim?

John Andretti: Hard work is free. So you you just work hard and you hope the harder the work you create some value and that you can somehow conquer Goliath. I think that is a difficult task, but it's doable and it's been done occasionally.

In general terms coming to Indy if you got three Penskes and four full-time Andretti Autosport and me in the fifth car, and you have the Ganassi cars. All of those people you gotta beat first just to be able to say, 'OK that doesn't even account for everybody else you have to beat.'

There is plenty of talent in good teams elsewhere. So it's a difficult place to be. But, you know what, just because you are one of the bigger teams, the Penskes or Ganassi or Andrettis, there's no guarantee of success either. There's always hard work going on there. That's where the difference comes in. Those teams are going to continually make it hard on you because they are going to continue to work hard too. So it doesn't mean you can't win. I's happened before, but it's going to take some doing for that to happen.

pressdog: So as a driver you have to focus on working as hard as you can and take satisfaction in that?

John Andretti: If you're in the 500, you have a shot at winning the race. So you don't lose sight of that. But you say 'OK what are the things we need to do to beat them? How are we going to beat them?' That's what you really focus on. Where as (big teams) are focused on 'OK, let's not just beat ourselves.' You have to focus on beating that. And it's doable.

I tell you, there's no way you ever get in a race car an say 'Well, I don't have a chance.' Because then why get in it? Even if you realistically don't have a chance you you get in it then and you say 'OK these certain circumstances are going to have to happen, but you know what, they can. I'm here and I'm gong to do the best I can to put myself in a position so that if they do happen I'm gong to take advantages of them.'

What are some of the changes or trends you have seen over the span of your career, things that strike you as different now?

pressdog: I think one of the biggest things has been the turn toward making a much narrower gap to sort of be creative (with the car development). It's become -- and I hate the word but -- it's become much more spec. racing. And that's for a reason. It's all about making competitive racing. People in the grandstands like ingenuity and all the things that go with it, but they want to see a great race.  The closer you make everybody, the better the race.

The thing I find ironic is people say 'Oh that wasn't that good of a race.' And yet 10 years ago, they weren't saying 'that was a great race' but they are acting like 10 years ago the race was great, but it wasn't. If you watch them back-to-back you would say this (modern) race was a much better race than that one.

People want to see five cars cross the finish line together on the last lap, and you know what? That isn't going to happen. It never has and it probably never will. Even when they run four drag cars side-by-side they don't all finish right together.

The level of competition, everybody has gotten better. Everyone has gotten smarter. The cars are more developed. The teams have become more of a machine. The pit crews all work hard their detail analyzing races (is great). There is much smaller gains to be made, so therefore it's much more competent. I think that's the biggest difference. I think it's going to remain like that and get even more so like that. Which I  see is a good thing in a lot of ways.

pressdog: Throughout your career you've driven basically everything. You don't see a lot drivers doing that today. Is there some sort of barrier to more people taking your path of driving many different things?

John Andretti:  I think what has really happened is drivers have gotten to the point where they are locked into contractual agreements that keep them in certain places. Therefore they are not eligible to do more races. Obviously, there's an easy way to argue both sides of it. What happens, with the amount of money the sponsor pays that driver, he becomes their spokesperson. If he gets hurt or can't be their spokesperson and it happens in something other than the vehicle which they are sponsoring, it becomes a big issue. So therefore that's where it all comes into play.

I think the drivers are the ones that lose out because there is so much fun to be had for drivers in different types of race cars, different disciplines. I just feel really fortunate that I have gotten to drive against so many great drivers, champions in all different series therefore I think that they have really missed out.

It doesn't mean they don't have great careers and they aren't satisfied, but wouldn't you love to see someone like Jeff Gordon at the Indianapolis 500? People like that who are able to cross over and do other things. I know I would, because they are great drivers. Forget the idea that they are the promotional guy and think of more of it that he is the great race car driver he should be racing against these guys over here who are great race car drivers too.

pressdog: I think you're a little younger than me. I'm 46. (Actually John is 47.) So I wonder what keeps you going? What gets you you up in the morning and saying "I'm going to race today"?

John Andretti: Lots of things. I always love what I am doing. I always felt really fortunate that I get to do what I for a living. I've got a great family, a really supportive family. So I have no reason not to wake up being excited about the day. I get to have fun and I get to do what I love to do.

I think everyone will agree that reaching our age, that unfortunately you have to get to the point where some day you have to grow up and you have to quit being a kid and do something else for a living. Like in my case I can't do this forever, but in the meantime I'm very lucky that I do get to do it (now).

I guess I'll do it as long as I feel like I can remain competitive and still have a great time. This year, one of the things I did realize after racing full time last year, was that my kids are getting older and I want to spend time with them. I want to be around them. I want them to know their dad as much as they can before they take off to college and start a whole different life.

That was one of the parts of growing up for me to say 'You now what? I need to back off' and yeah there are certainly more racing to be had and more money to be obtained, but a lot of it is not just about money and what you get out of it, but also about what you give to your family. So this year I'm backing off some and still having a good time and having fun doing what I love to do, and still and spending time with my family which I enjoy doing a lot.

pressdog: I'm putting myself in your place and I'd be thinking when I get into the car at Indy "maybe this is the last time" and maybe I'd savor it more.

John Andretti: I'll tell you what, I said it right before Kansas, when I get in an IndyCar I feel like I'm 16. And when you're 16, you think the world is at your feet and you're going to live forever and therefore that's the way I feel. I feel invigorated and enthused and when I get in, I'm getting in like I climbed it in the first time and going at it like I'd gone at ti the first time.

My motivation if anything is more so now because the one thing that has come with age and time is the appreciate it for what it's about, and the opportunity that I've been giving. As far as the driving side of it goes, when I get in, I'm back to being 16 again.

pressdog: What's your favorite part of the Indy experience? The moment that you most enjoy?

John Andretti: Without saying the whole experience, I think the one that stands out that the one that sort of been indescribable ... is walking out on the grid on race morning. There is something special about the grid of the Indianapolis 500. I've been in a lot of races in my life and walked on a lot of grids and, I have to be honest, there are none that felt special. But the Indianapolis 500, somehow you walk out there and it's some kind of electricity. It's not any one individual thing. It's not this and it's not that; it's not the band, it's not the people; it's not any of it -- it's all of it. It's just like you're someplace that's significant at that point in time.

One of my Twitter followers (@pressdog) just Tweeted me to ask you would you be open to being full time IndyCar driver again?

Running full time in IndyCar would be easier than running a full-time Cup car, just because of the number of events. But I think at this point, I do like the oval and road course championships in IndyCar, so going after one or the other of those would be kind of fun I think.

I do like the various types of cars like drag racing, stock cars. I've enjoyed everything I've tried. I think at this point in my life, rather than going back in one thing full time, maybe it'd be run for the IndyCar oval championship, some stock car races and a couple of drag races and that would be enough to give me a fix. But full time, it would probably take a lot of hard talking to get me to do that.

Comments

[pressdog and IndyCar fan]

nice interview

[Spencer]

Hey PDog,

Great interview! John Andretti is always someone worth listening to..

And again time for some shameless plugging.

I just posted,(a day late..but I work at the track so I'm sure it's ok haha), on my blog about Opening Day.

I'd love it if you'd check it out.

http://thefirstturn.blogspot.com/2010/05/trackside-report-opening-day.html

Thanks

[Mike R]

John Andretti was, and still is, the most gracious and cordial of all his family, a genuinely nice man whose talent was never fully rewarded with the success one would hope for. I watched him race Sprint Cars on the west coast in CRA, in which he was very capable. In 1991, I had the pleasure of some minor interactions with him when he was driving for Jim Hall in CART. This includes running into him in a lounge in the airport in Hawaii on the way back from Surfer's Paradise after his win there. As always, he was approachable and pleasant and seemed genuinely grateful for the congrats I offered. I hope he has a great run at the Speedway this year.