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Marco Andretti: “I have everything I need to win the Indy 500”

2006 Indy 500 runner-up Marco Andretti says he and the #27 Andretti Autosport-Honda team can win the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500, having focused on race setup and ignored ultimate qualifying speed.

Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport with Yarrow Honda

Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport with Yarrow Honda

Scott R LePage / Motorsport Images

Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport with Yarrow Honda
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Honda with team owner Michael Andretti
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport with Yarrow Honda
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Honda
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Honda
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport with Yarrow Honda
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Honda
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport with Yarrow Honda
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Honda
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Honda
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport with Yarrow Honda, Mario Andretti
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Honda
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Honda

Andretti said that his father’s team running six cars for this year’s race had not been an issue, even though he initially had wondered how Andretti Autosport would cope with adding a car for Jack Harvey and Fernando Alonso.

He stated: “We’re used to five here at Indy. So with six… at first I was bummed, thinking ‘How can we do that?’ Then I found out who the driver was, and I said ‘We have to do that!’

“So that was an opportunity that we were able to jump all over and the team’s done a fantastic job of making it work. I have everything I need to go win this race, that’s all I can ask for, so I think bringing someone else in… The only negative is that there’s five other guys that can be on your setup if you get it right!

“If you’re out to lunch [with setups], having a lot of cars can help, and it’s good if someone else finds something. But I’ve been so focused on my own program this month that I haven’t taken a lot from my teammates setup-wise.”

Andretti has said this focus has paid off and that he’s already content with the car he’ll be racing on Sunday.

“I feel good about it, I know what I have in my racecar,” he said. “There’s been a little different approach from me in that I’ve been trying to focus on the race setup. In previous years I’d always be looking at the lap speeds, I had to be fast, but this year there have been days when I haven’t looked at the timesheets. I’m just concerned about how much throttle I can carry in race trim and that’s why I feel good about it.

“I’ve been dominant in the month on the timesheets before and haven’t got it done, or I’ve worked too hard on qualifying. Now, this is 500 miles and you can win from anywhere, so I’ve just been focused on the racecar and I think we’ve done a good job.”

That being said, Andretti admitted he was well aware from previous experience that alone wouldn’t be enough.

“I think having a perfect racecar here is only 60 percent of the battle,” he said. “I think I’ve maybe had that 8 out of 12 tries here and come up short. [There are] a million other factors. Cautions, pitstops, strategy, me being in the right place at the right time, do we trim at the end or not? [Knowing] when to go for it, when not to…”

Andretti said his tactic would be simply to “try and stay at the pointy end and then hopefully be in position at the end.”

Describing the dilemma of where a driver should place himself for a shootout after a final restart, he said: “Ideally you want to be in the top three. Once you drop below that, you’re going to find it tough to overtake because when you pop out into clean air [to make the pass], they’re still in the tow and so you don’t have enough speed to get it done.”

Andretti said he wasn’t yet sure of the fuel mileage difference between Chevrolet and Honda, but said that whichever engine had the most power on raceday could have a fuel-mileage advantage.

“That’s a tough one because this race always seems to play out different,” he said. “Conditions play a part, track position plays a part, and you can get caught out leading because you’re burning so much more fuel. That’s been part of our discussion as well – trying to stay close enough to the front but maybe not leading. My grandfather would never agree with that!

“I don’t have a feel regarding our competitors yet, but what I say is ‘Bring the horsepower!’, because the more horsepower you have, the less throttle you need to carry. When you’re carrying less throttle, you save more fuel.

“The biggest eye-opener was Phoenix last year, when all the Hondas were running flat and having to pit three laps earlier whereas they [Chevrolet cars] were running so much faster than us that they were able to lift into the corners and save fuel.”

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