Does Marco Andretti have a future in stock cars?

Andretti, 30, who has spent 12 years driving Indy cars for his family’s Andretti Green Racing and now Andretti Autosport, acknowledged he spoke with both Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the JRM’s team principal Kelley Earnhardt Miller. 

Unfortunately, there’s no room at the inn at JR Motorsports. But Earnhardt Jr., believes it would be great for NASCAR to have an Andretti in its ranks again.

“We have four teams and all are full,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday. “So it’s probably not going to happen anyway. We are friends and we have talked about it for two to three years. He has some interest in coming over and running some road courses. So does (Graham) Rahal and a bunch of other guys. If I had a field full of race cars, we’d have a blast — all of our buddies racing. But it’s just hard to do.”

Andretti's two-career IndyCar wins came on tracks where NASCAR competes -- Sonoma Raceway (2006) and Iowa Speedway (2011). 

Currently, JR Motorsports leads the point standings with Justin Allgaier. His teammates William Byron and Elliott Sadler are second and third, respectively. It’s understandable that drivers coming from the outside would want to align with a  championship caliber team — particularly if a competitor such as Andretti was looking to make the transition. 

“We’re lucky to be in the position we’re in with four full-funded cars racing for the championship,” Earnhardt said. “As fun as the all-star idea and is and as many races as we won with (Kevin) Harvick, the real goal is to have a team running for the championship. We’re really thrilled now to be in the position that we’re in, but if we had those opportunities that’s probably what would end up happening with them. 

“(Ron) Fellows, when he runs our car, he comes to us and says, ‘Hey, I got a little money, do you have an open race somewhere? Awesome, let’s do it.’ It’s as simple as that. So, if we did have those opportunities, we’d certainly entertain it. I think it would be great for the sport to have an Andretti in a stock car no matter where it’s at. It would be awesome.”