Andretti Curse

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The Andretti Curse, sometimes referred to as "the Andretti Luck," is in reference to the poor luck the Andretti family of motor racing drivers have experienced over the years when competing in the Indianapolis 500. As of 2008, five Andretti family members in three generations (Mario, Michael, Jeff, John, and Marco) have competed 54 times in the famous 500 mile race with only a single victory - Mario's win in the 1969 event. Rather ironically, Michael, Jeff and Marco all followed in the footsteps of Mario by winning the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award, but none of those three, nor John, have yet managed to win the race.

Over the years due to the many misfortunes, public address announcer Tom Carnegie made the words "Mario is slowing down," dubiously famous.

1 Mario Andretti
- 1.1 Indy 500 troubles
2 Mario Andretti and Le Mans
3 Michael Andretti
- 3.1 The Next Chapter: Win the Race, Lose the Champion Driver
4 Marco Andretti
5 Jeff Andretti
6 John Andretti
7 References

[edit] Mario Andretti

Mario was the first of the Andretti family to have success in top level motorsport, going on to have a long career and become one of the most successful drivers of all time. During his career, Andretti won four IndyCar titles, the 1978 F1 World Championship, and IROC VI (1978-1979). To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500 (1967), and the Formula One World Championship. Andretti had 109 career wins on major circuits. ^[1] He was the first driver to exceed 200 miles per hour while practicing for the 1977 Indianapolis 500. ^[2]

In addition to his individual wins, Andretti has been enshrined in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, as well as the Automotive Hall of Fame. He was named Driver of the Year three times, and Driver of the Quarter Century as well.

Mario competed 29 times in the Indianapolis 500, with only a single victory in 1969 to his credit, which occurred very early in his career. His quest for a second victory, to no avail, was well-documented by ABC Sports by about 1986 and 1987, when the broadcasts began airing features about a perceived bad luck "curse" that had overcome him at the Speedway.^[3]^[4] Andretti himself even mentioned that "Lady Luck" seemed be against him at times.^[4] Meanwhile, fellow "Brickyard" legends of his era (A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Al Unser, Jr., Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, and Rick Mears) all racked up multiple Indy 500 wins to their credit.

In his lone 1969 victory, Mario drove car #2, from the second starting position. Never again in the 1900s would a car win from the second starting position. In fact, few cars ever mananged to finish the race from the second starting position in the decades following. Juan Pablo Montoya finally broke the streak by winning from the middle of the front row in 2000.

[edit] Indy 500 troubles

1966: Mario avoided the massive 11-car pileup on the start, and led 16 laps. However, despite the thinned-out field, he dropped out after only 27 laps with a bad valve.

1967: Mario loses a wheel and drops out after only 58 laps.

1968: Mario drops out after only 2 laps with a bad piston, and finished in last place.

1969: During practice, Mario wrecked his revolutionary 4-wheel drive Lotus, suffering burns to his face. A week later, he climbed into his back up car and still managed to qualify for the front row. His twin brother Aldo stood in for him for qualifying pictures. Despite the incident, Mario went on to win the race in impressive fashion. Aldo, however, was not as fortunate, as less than three months later, he suffered a severely fractured face in a career-ending sprint car accident.

1971: Mario wrecks out in turn 3 after 11 laps, placing 30th.

1972: Mario runs out of fuel with 6 laps to go, and falls to 8th place.

1973: At the start, a massive crash involving Salt Walther halts the race. Two days later, the race finally gets going, but Mario completes only 4 laps and drops out with a bad piston.

1974: Mario suffers yet another early drop out, completing only 2 laps. He dropped out with a bad valve, and finished 31st.

1975: Despite racing regularly in Formula One, Mario skips the Belgian Grand Prix to race at Indy. He would crash out on the backstretch.

1976: A conflict with the Italian Grand Prix prevents Mario from qualifying at Indy on pole day. On the second weekend of qualifying, he posts the fastest speed in the field, but as luck would have it, he is forced to start deep in the field as a third-day qualifier.

1977: Another busy schedule finds Mario squeezing in Indy right after Monaco. He drops out and finishes 26th.

1979: Monaco and Indy are held the same day, therefore Mario was forced to skip the 1979 Indy 500.

1980: No date conflict in 1980 allows Mario to try Indy again during a Formula One off-week. Much of the same though, as he drops out and finishes 20th.

1981: Mario finished second in the 1981 race, eight seconds behind winner Bobby Unser. The following day Unser was penalized one lap for passing cars under a caution flag, and Mario was declared the winner. Unser and his car owner Roger Penske appealed the race stewards' decision. USAC overturned the one lap penalty four months later, restoring Unser as the winner.

1982: Mario had firmly returned to race full-time in the CART series. At the start, Mario was tangled up in the infamous Kevin Cogan crash, and was out before the green flag.

1983: His race ended in a crash for the second year in a row.

1984: He was in contention to win in 1984, but mechanical trouble forced him out of the race, and Rick Mears won by two laps.

1985: Mario was passed by Danny Sullivan for the lead on the 120th lap. Sullivan subsequently spun in front of Andretti, and somehow the skillful Andretti avoided contact. Sullivan pitted under the caution, and then passed Mario again, this time cleanly, to go on for the win. Mario had described the 1985 race as his "best chance to win" perhaps in his career, but managed only a disappointing second place.

1986: After a decent qualifying run, Mario badly wrecked his car in a mid-week practice run. He was forced to start an unproven back-up car at the rear of the field. The car only lasted 19 laps on race day.

1987: Mario dominated the 1987 event, and in fact, the entire month of May. He won the pole position, the pit stop contest, and led the daily practice speed chart every day he took practice laps. He led 170 of the first 177 laps, giving up the lead only during pit stops sequences. Shockingly, his race ended with electrical failure with only 23 laps to go. Al Unser, of the rival Unser family, won his record-tying fourth Indy 500 after Andretti's, and later Roberto Guerrero's, misfortunes.

1988: Mario was one of the fastest drivers in practice, but on pole day his speed was curiously slow and disappointing. On race day, his car was plagued with electrical problems, and dropped out after the halfway point.

1989: Around the halfway mark, Mario was forced to the pits with a throttle problem. After losing several laps, Mario returned to the track after repairs. Mario found himself running at the finish, albeit 7 laps down in 4th place, which is considered an unusually large deficit for fourth place in the modern era. 1989 was the first year he was teamed-up with his son Michael, who blew an engine while leading.

1990: Mario drops out with engine trouble after 60 laps, finishing 27th.

1991: Andretti coasted to a stop at the pit entrance with nine laps to go. A mild controversy emerged when observers speculated that Andretti stopped on purpose. Andretti's son Michael Andretti took the lead on lap 188, and a lap later was passed by Rick Mears. Mears had begun to pull away, and the win looked out of reach for Michael. The ensuing caution Mario brought out allowed the field to bunch back together, and gave Michael one last opportunity to win. Mears held on to win, and the controversy eventually fizzled.

1992: At the start, Mario and his son Michael led the field into the first turn. Michael came around in first, and Mario already a somewhat distant second. On the 5th lap, a caution came out. Mario ducked into the pits with a misfire. After several pitstops, the problem was fixed and he returned to the track, but dropped down the standings a lap down. Later in the race, Mario pit for tires, and crossthreaded a wheelnut. He was again shuffled down in the running order. A few moments later, on a restart, he crashed in turn four. He was among several front-runners to crash due to cold tires on the unusually cold afternoon. Mario suffered broken toes, and was taken to Methodist Hospital in downtown Indianapolis for surgery. A short time later, Mario's son Jeff shattered both of his legs in a terrible crash, and was also taken to the hospital. Both required considerable rehabilitation, although Jeff's was significantly more severe. Back at the track, Mario's other son Michael was dominating the race, and looked poised to win. However, with 11 laps to go, his car quit, and he was out of the race. Ironically, the rival Unser family prevailed over the dismayed Andrettis yet again, with Al Unser Jr. winning and Al Unser Sr. finishing third. In his autobiography Andretti, Mario described the day, which saw him laid up in a hospital bed, witnessing his youngest son's serious injury, and then woke up to hear the news that his other son Michael had lost, as the "worst day of my life."

1993: The 1993 race was Andretti's last notable run. He had just come off a victory at Phoenix, and actually led the most laps at Indy. A series new, unfamiliar pit rules, however, saw Andretti, as well as Raul Boesel penalized out of contention, despite the two having the two best cars.

1994: Mario's last race at Indy. He entered with much fanfare through his "Arividerchi Mario" tour. His race was very short though, and he dropped out early due to mechanical problems.

In total, Mario finished all 500 miles just five times, including his lone victory.

2003: On April 23, 2003, in the lead up to the 2003 Indy 500, Mario took to the track for the first time in ten years in a major open wheel car. He participated in a test session for son Michael's AGR IndyCar team. One of the team's regular drivers, Tony Kanaan, suffered a radial fracture of his arm on April 15 a crash a week earlier at Motegi. If Kanaan was not cleared to drive in enough time, tentative plans were being prepared for Mario to qualify the car for him. He would turn the car over to Kanaan on race day. No plans had yet been made though for Mario to actually drive in the race.

During the test session, it was noted by many observers that despite his lack of experience in modern Indy cars (which had changed substantially since his retirement) and his advanced age (63), he quickly reached competitive speed. He was quickly over 212 mph, and looked "as if he had never been away." The success of the testing caused growing speculation during the afternoon that Mario may even attempt to qualify for the race.

With only 2 minutes left in the day, Kenny Brack crashed in turn one, and the yellow light came one. Mario entered turn one at full speed, and struck debris on the track from Brack's car. The object, identified by most as the rear wing, forced the nose of Mario's car to become airborne, and the car went into a rapid double reverse somersault at speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour. Television footage from the WTHR helicopter-cam showed that the car clipped the top of the debris fence, and was nearly high enough to go over it. The car fell back to the ground, slowed by its mid-air tumble, and slid to a stop. Luckily, the car landed right side up and Andretti walked away from the crash with very minor injuries.

Mario initially shrugged off the accident, and still contemplated returning to qualify the car in May. A day later, however, he reconsidered, and has not climbed back into a race car. This was Mario's last significant on-track activity at Indianapolis to date.

Indy 500- Races involved in crashes

1967 (lost wheel), 1969 (practice), 1971, 1975, 1982, 1983, 1986 (practice), 1992, 2003 (testing)

Indy 500- Races suffering mechanical/engine failure

1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994

Indy 500- Races leading the most laps without winning

1985, 1987, 1993

[edit] Mario Andretti and Le Mans

Mario's run of bad luck also extends to his many attempts at Le Mans, which began with his 1966 debut, sharing a Holman & Moody Ford MKII with Lucien Bianchi, as they had being at the top 10, their car dropped a valve at 10.30pm, causing them to retire.^[5] Further bad luck continued for the 1967 race, as he was driving, his front brake locked, causing him to crash his Holman & Moody Ford MKIV at the Esses, his fellow team-mates, Jo Schlesser and Roger McCluskey driving MKIIB GT40s attempted to avoid Andretti's GT40 and crashed, but managed to avoid his car. McCluskey managed to pull Andretti to safety, which he had to be taken to hospital^[6] ^[7]. Mario would not return to the French classic until the end of his F1 career in 1982 with an enormous fanfare, partnering with son Michael in a Mirage M12 Ford, despite having qualified 9th place, the pair found their car being removed from the starting grid 80 minutes before the start of the race,^[8] as an official discovered an oil cooler that was mounted behind the gearbox, contravening the rules, despite managing to pass initial scrutineering four days ago.^[8] Despite protests and complaints, the Andretti's entry was removed altogether, replaced by a Porsche 924 Carrera GTR, despite a formal complaint, team owner Harvey Cluxton, who took over the Mirage name from original founder John Wyer, would never return to the race again.^[8]

Their return for the following year was more successful as they finished third as well as their return in 1988 with John which they finished 6th in a factory Porsche 962. Following Mario's retirement from full-time racing, he decided on a return to the Sarthe circuit to add a Le Mans victory to his achievements in 1995 which he managed a 2nd place, his efforts for the following years was proved to be unsuccessful with a 13th place for 1996 and then a DNF for 1997. His final appearance was in 2000 when he managed to finish 15th.

[edit] Michael Andretti

Michael is the son of Mario, and is the driver whom the Andretti Curse is equally as associated. Despite a successful career including a CART championship and a stint in F1, he has so far been unsuccessful in 16 attempts at winning the Indianapolis 500. He has completed the most laps, as well as led the most laps, of any driver who has never won the famous race. he is considered by some the best driver never to have won^[9].

1984: Michael Andretti starts his career at Indianapolis on a positive note, finishing 4th and winning the Rookie of the Year award.

1986: Michael out-qualified his father Mario, and started on the outside of the front row. He proceeds the lead the first 42 laps, and is among the fastest cars on the track. A poorly executed fuel strategy, however, forces him to pit with only 7 laps to go, and drops him to 6th place one lap down.

1987: Early on in the race, a pit fire halts his run. He ultimately drops out because a CV joint fails.

1988: With only a few laps remaining, a piece of bodywork falls off his car, bringing out the yellow, and forcing the race to finish under caution.

1989: In one of his best races to-date, Michael works his way to the lead in the second half. After leading 35 laps, his engine blew on the mainstretch just past the 400-mile mark.

1990: Early in the race, a brake fire causes Michael to lose considerable time in the pits. He eventually drops out with a vibration.

1991: Michael leads 97 laps, and appears to be on his way to win. With 18 laps to go, he leads Rick Mears by 15 seconds, but needs to make one final pit stop for fuel. A timely caution flag flew, and he was able to pit under the yellow, and lost minimal ground. On the ensuing restart (13 laps to go), he made a daring pass on the outside in turn one, to grab the lead from Mears. On the very next lap, Mears steals the thunder, as he makes the exact same counter-move. Mears quickly pulled out to a lead. Moments laps, Michael's father Mario suddenly coasted to a stop at the entrance to the pits. The yellow flag flew again, and bunched up the field. Many accused Mario of stopping on purpose, in a ploy to aid his son. It was futile, however, as Mears took the victory. Michael settled for second. This race was the first to feature four Andrettis, (Mario, Michael, Jeff, and John).

1992: Michael dominated the 1992 race, leading 160 of the first 189 laps. With only 11 laps to go, leading by over half a lap, his fuel pump suddenly failed, and he coasted to a stop. He settled for 13th place.^[10]

1993: Michael sat out the 1993 event, due to his now ill-fated participation in Formula One.

1994: Michael returns to the CART series for 1994, and returns to Indianapolis. In the first half, however, he suffers a flat tire, and loses a lap to the field. He finished third on the track, but a late-race pit road speed infraction earns a one-lap penalty. He drops to 5th in the final standings.

1995: While leading on the 77th lap, Michael approached lap traffic, and brushed the wall in turn four. His suspension is too damaged to continue, and he finishes 25th.

1996-2000: Due to the rift between the CART series, and IRL, Michael does not compete at Indy.

2001: Michael follows suit with other CART teams, and returns to race at Indianapolis. He leads 16 laps, and actually was leading the race during a rain delay just beyond the halfway point. Had the race been halted due to the rain, he could have been declared the winner. The red flag, however, does not come out at the time and the race resumes. Later on, rain halts the race again, but it resumes once more. At the end of the day, Michael settled for 3rd place.

2002: Nearing the end of his full-time driving career, Michael was not much of a factor, starting 15th and finishing 7th.

2003: A highly-publicized "final start" at Indianapolis sees Michael a race favorite. After financial troubles in CART, Michael purchased majority ownership of Team green and renamed it Andretti Green Racing. After leading 28 laps, Michael drops out of his final race before the halfway point, much like his father in 1994.

2004: Now a full-time owner, Andretti's team quickly became one of the top organizations in the Indy Racing League, and proved to be very competitive at Indy. Rain shortened the 2004 race, however, and Andretti's team saw itself in a notable, but frustrating result of finishing 2nd-3rd-4th.

2005: Andrett's team breaks through as Dan Wheldon wins. After Wheldon's win, Andretti told the media, "No more curse" as he shared the victory, knowing that he had built the winning team, and shared in the milk celebration. ^[11] Sitting on the sidelines, however, proved to be motivating, and in December, Michael announced he would come out of retirement to race in 2006 with his son Marco.

Back behind the wheel to help defend his team's 2005 championship, in the 2006 event, Michael found himself leading the race on lap 194 with his son Marco behind him in second place during a yellow flag period. On the restart, Michael was quickly overtaken by Marco, who appeared on his way to victory in his first race. However both Andrettis were passed by Penske driver Sam Hornish, Jr. in the final laps, eventually finishing second and third.

Indy 500- Races involved in crashes

1995 (brushed wall)

Indy 500- Races suffering mechanical/engine failure

1987 (pit fire), 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994 (flat tire), 2003

Indy 500- Races leading the most laps without winning

1991, 1992

[edit] The Next Chapter: Win the Race, Lose the Champion Driver

At Andretti Green Racing, a three-time Indy Racing League champion -- in 2004 (with Tony Kanaan), in 2005 (with Wheldon) and in 2007 (with Franchitti) -- the team has felt the unfortunate string of an odd curse.

Twice, the curse seems to have risen to the top of Michael's budding dynasty, and both times the beneficiary has been Chip Ganassi. Both times the Andretti Green Racing team has scored the win in the Indianapolis 500, the winning driver has defected to rival Chip Ganassi Racing for the ensuing season, with Dan Wheldon jumping to CGR's IRL team, and Dario Franchitti to CGR's NASCAR team.

Indy 500 - Races won as car owner, winning driver defects to rival team

2005 (Wheldon), 2007 (Franchitti)

[edit] Marco Andretti

Marco is the son of Michael and the grandson of Mario. He has qualified for Indy 500 three times.

2005: Marco's first trip to Indianapolis had him finish 16th, two laps down, in the 2005 Freedom 100 for the Indy Pro Series. Marco marked the first Andretti win at the Brickyard since 1969 by winning the 2005 Liberty Challenge Indy Pro Series race on the infield road course three weeks later.

2006: Marco joined his father's Andretti Green Racing IndyCar Series team for 2006. His first Indy 500 saw him narrowly miss a historic victory. A crash by Felipe Giaffone instigated a caution period on lap 191. Marco's father Michael took the lead on lap 194 under caution when cars ahead of him made pit stops. At this stage, Marco was immediately behind his father in second place. One lap after returning to green-flag racing, Marco put a passing move on his father and took the lead, seemingly on the way to victory. However Sam Hornish, Jr., recovering from a penalty earlier in the race, was closing quickly.

Michael attempted to block Hornish as much as possible for his son, but Hornish got by and drove up behind Marco with 2 laps to go. Marco held Hornish off as long as possible, however Hornish managed a last gasp pass in the last 400 feet before the finish line winning by 0.0635 seconds. It was the second-closest finish in the history of the Indy 500, behind only the 1992 race. Many consider this to be the saddest event in Michael Andretti's racing history, with a father-son 1st-2nd finish being spoiled by Hornish.

Third-place finisher Michael had high praise for his son: "I felt so bad for Marco, but I'm so proud. He drove a hell of a race. I drove with him a hell of a lot in that race. He drove like a champion. He drove like he's been out there 10 years." But Marco wanted more: "Second's nothing," he said. ^[12]

2007: In a rain-interrupted race, Marco was a front runner for most of the afternoon. Late in the race, however, a spectacular crash with Dan Wheldon on the backstretch eliminated him from competition. His car flipped upside down after making contact with Wheldon, slid to the infield, and then righted itself. Marco was unhurt. The race ended moments later when the rain returned.

2008: Returning for his third Indy 500, Marco posted the fastest practice speed of the month, 228.318 mph, the morning of pole day time trials. Initially a favorite for the front row, his qualifying effort, however, was a visibly disappointing 7th.^[13] On race day, Marco was a strong contender, and led in the second half, but was not without incident. On the 106th lap, Marco was battling for second and dove under teammate Tony Kanaan in the third turn. The move unsettled Kanaan's car, and Kanaan slid high and into the wall, then collected the car of Sarah Fisher. Marco was immediately blamed for the crash. While running second on lap 156, Marco pitted and the crew made a "trim" adjustment of his rear wing. The change shuffled him back to 4th, and rendered him uncompetetive for the final few laps. Marco settled for 3rd place.^[14]

[edit] Jeff Andretti

Jeff is the son of Mario, and the brother of Michael. He has driven in the Indianapolis 500 three times (and failed to qualify on two other occasions). His first attempt at the race was 1990, however he was bumped from the field. His best finish was 15th in the 1991 race in his first start. In his second start year later in 1992, he became another victim of the infamous Andretti bad luck. During the first half of the race, the rear brake rotors kept slipping out of place. Just after the halfway point, the right rear wheel hub broke from his car at turn 2 and he crashed violently head-on into the wall, severely injuring both his legs.

This accident effectively curtailed Jeff's career - although he returned to racing shortly afterwards, he never achieved a similar level of success in subsequent competition in the Indy 500, Indy Lights and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He returned to Indy in 1993, and experienced the rather dubious distinction of becoming the first driver to spin out on the newly-constructed warm-up lane during practice. It would be his final start at Indy, and on race day it ended with a crash. He failed to qualify in 1994, and did not return.

[edit] John Andretti

John is the son of Aldo Andretti, who is the brother of Mario. Therefore he is Michael and Jeff's cousin. He has had a long and successful career in several forms of motorsport, including wins in NASCAR, CART, and the 24 Hours of Daytona. He has also competed in NHRA drag racing. Most of his career has been spent in NASCAR.

John has made 8 starts at the Indianapolis 500, with a best finish of 5th in the 1991 event. This includes a gap of 13 years between the 1994 race and the 2007 event. In the 2007 race, he started 24th but crashed out on lap 95, eventually finishing 30th.