Mario Andretti to test at Indy on Wed.

[AGRfan]

Mario is going to test TK car and then maybe Qual. it for him then. This is greeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttt!!!!!!!!

[GTRMagic]

I would think it would be greater if Mario ran in the race himself and won

[marcus]

very odd thing to see , I dont really know why he is doing it, my beliefs are once you have retired stay retired , but at the same time i hope he enjoys the experience

[BootsOntheSide]

I'm surprised Mario is willing to do Mikey a favour after all that has gone between them in the past year, but I'm sure Mario will enjoy it, even thing Tony will ahve to start from the back if he returns to do the race.

AGR's lineup this year will be fascinating - Mikey's last ever race, Mario returning to an oval race for the first time in nearly a decade, Wheldon making his debut, series challenger Kanaan returning from injury at the back of the grid, and Tony Stewart returning to try to win it for the NASCAR boys. Whatever, we can't say that the team would ahve some racers with awesome credentials.

[Jay]

I'm sure he's just helping his son out. Indy is indy, and Mario was going to be there anyway. My hope is that the car doesn't break or something, it seems like every time an IRL car crashes, another driver is injured.

[climb]

Originally posted by Jay
I'm sure he's just helping his son out. Indy is indy, and Mario was going to be there anyway...

In the last few years Mario has been at Indy, BUT AS A SPECTATOR, not as a driver!!!!
The fact that someone drives at indy at the age of 63 cannot be seen as something "expected"

[Jay]

It's just turning left though, I'm sure there are forum members (drivers albeit) that could qualify for Indy.

It should also be noted that Mario quite frequently strapped himself into Michael's car in Champ car testing to help out in any way he could. This sounds very similar.

[Tim Northcutt]

Never been to Indy or listened to anyone who has driven there, have you Jay?

1. Every corner is different (at least drives differently), and there are really only a couple of ways to get around the place fast and consistent...it takes experience to master this art of accuracy and precision known as "The Brickyard.." Miss your marks in one of the four corners and it'll cost you at least 2 mph....

2. The track drives very different from day-to-day depending on sunshine, heat, humidity and wind...and it changes from hour-to-hour...set-ups are difficult to maintain, and a car that drove perfectly at 10 a.m. in practice may drive like a loose dirt car at 2 p.m., depending on how the conditions have changed....

3. Running fast at Indy is one thing...being able to race there is another...many have tried, and even the world's best road racers acknowledge the challenge at Indy once they have tried it...look at Johnny Herbert last year...superb driver...wasn't even close to making the show...

[Jay]

Yes, I have spoken to a driver that raced at Indy about the subject...unfortunately he has since sold himself out...quite literally.

Obviously every oval brings unique challenges. Probably the largest at Indy (from my observations) is keeping away from bad drivers that will end your day in a flash. Other than that, it's 4 fairly uniform, flat out corners.

Johnny Herbert never even made an attempt at qualifying on pole day, and had a more important event to run in on the second qualifying day.

[Tim Northcutt]

Johnny wasn't up to speed...that's why he didn't post a Pole day time...and he had made arrangements to make a run and travel to Sears point to catch the 2nd half of the race...he decided better for it when he found out the weather forecast was too dicey for the Sunday run, and the timetable was too tight for him to have to sit around 0n Sunday if the track was wet at all...why sufer through it only to be disappointed, then have to bust your neck to get to the West Coast to race???

In hindsight, he made the right choice...the Sunday session started about 90 min. late due to morning rains...he never would have gooten to the ALMS event...

But without that race conflict, he probably would have made the show on Sunday...he would have gotten the needed speed that day...perfect Indy racing weather once the track dried and the sun came out...lots of 1st weekend people got bumped....