These days, team owner Michael Andretti is far more comfortable sitting in front of the media than he ever was as a driver, but still, it’s not his favorite activity. So it was a pleasant surprise to see him twice visit the Long Beach media center last weekend. But he had good reason: at this venue where he scored his first Indy car win (1986) and his 42nd and final win (2002), he saw three of his drivers finish qualifying in first, third and seventh. The next day, in the race, they were 1-2-4.
Mixed in with the pleasure was the satisfaction of knowing that Andretti Autosport’s form in St. Petersburg (first, second and sixth on the grid) had not been deceptive. The majority of IndyCar drivers and race engineers will tell you St. Pete and Long Beach are disparate in terms of corners, curbs and track surface, despite both being classified as street courses. But this year, at least, AA was the fastest team at both.
