True, it has now been over five years since Marco Andretti nearly won the Indianapolis 500 as a teenager. As we all know, Sam Hornish Jr. blazed by him on the final straightaway, thus denying history.
Still, the impressive, surprising drive seemed to presage future greatness. Here, we all thought, was the future of American open-wheel racing. After all, he had the genes and, seemingly, the talent.
Five years later, the third-generation driver had become something of an afterthought, with only one controversial win at Sonoma a few months after his Indy battle with Hornish (teammate Bryan Herta “mysteriously” spun at just the right moment, allowing fuel strategy to pay off). After this past May, Marco had seemingly been eclipsed by J.R. Hlidebrand and Graham Rahal as the American future of IndyCar. The younger Andretti had his shot and it seemed time to move on.
Such thinking (which was/is also applied to Rahal) was always unfair. It’s easy to forget that Marco IS only 24. Michael Andretti probably moved him up to IndyCar too early, but that doesn’t mean he’s old. Last Saturday at Iowa Speedway, he showed he’s still got a lot of time left in this sport and put together all the raw talent that has previously come in flashes.
Obviously, we now wonder if he can build upon this. It seems silly to think one win in the sixth season of a driver’s career could be a springboard to bigger success, but given his still young age, that’s certainly on the table. Confidence has a way of bringing out one’s true talents after all.
Whether you like the Andrettis or not, it was impossible not to respect his drive at Iowa. It was aggressive, but never wreckless; meteoric (he started in P17) but steady. It was an outstanding drive. If he can build upon it, great potential might finally be realized.
It’s easy to speculate, like ESPN’s John Oreovicz and SPEED’s Robin Miller, that continued success by Marco and, say, Graham Rahal, might be what “saves IndyCar.” It may be easy, but it’s also wrong.
For one thing, it’s totally unfair to ask one or two drivers to save a sport. It was unfair to Danica, and it would be unfair to Marco. Secondly, as Tony Johns notes, there is no “quick fix” for our sport. Rebuilding properly won’t be an easy process that will be over quickly. Can success by the likes of Marco Andretti be a small contribution to the process? Sure, but it will only be one of dozens of steps that will need to be taken. Patience is truly a virtue for IndyCar.
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