CART: Michael Andretti Looks for Success after Practice Crash
10 April 1999
MICHAEL ANDRETTI--K Mart/Texaco/Havoline Ford-Cosworth - Qualified 5th -HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY AFTER THE YESTERDAYS INCIDENT WITH MONTOYA?
"My neck is a little stiff as is my mid back. I feel pretty good in the car, actually (my neck and back) start to loosen up after a while so I should be okay.
ON YESTERDAY'S INCIDENT WITH MONTOYA . . .
"I was shocked that it actually happened and for it to happen the way it did was totally uncalled for. He apologized yesterday and we will go on. He just has to learn that you can't use your race car for a weapon out there.
HOW IS THE BACKUP CAR WORKING?
"We made a lot of progress today. If we would have had the time (we missed in the session yesterday) we would have been further up on the grid."
Michael has the bloodlines to be an outstanding driver but singularly has reached great heights. Son of Mario Andretti, Michael is the all-time leader in victories (37) on the PPG CART World Series circuit. He has made 230 career Champ Car starts, including 31 poles, notching 107 top-five finishes.
Powered by a Ford-Cosworth engine again in 1998, Michael again took the checkered flag in the season opener in Homestead. His victory in Homestead marked the 11th season in which he scored at least one victory tying him with Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser, Jr. for second in CART history, one behind Rick Mears. Michael added runner-up finishes at Gateway, Cleveland, Toronto and Vancouver. Michael finished the season seventh in points keeping alive his amazing streak of 14 consecutive finishes in the top-ten.
Michael won the first race of the 1997 season, the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami, in the debut of the Swift chassis. For three years prior, Ford's Dearborn, Mich. engineering facilities played a key role in developing the chassis and allowing the Newman-Haas team amd Michael to record the first win for an American-made chassis since April, 1983. Michael went on to earn five podium finishes through the first eight events. He finished eighth in the PPG Cup championship with 108 points.
Michael's racing career began at age 10 and he went on to win 50 of 75 go-kart events. He made his professional debut in 1980 at Watkins Glen in a Formula Ford and won the '81 Northeast Division title with six first-place finishes. In '82, he won six races for the Super Vee championship and SCCA Pro Rookie of the Year honors. He took the Formula Mondial title in '83, then made his IndyCar debut at Las Vegas, finishing 19th. Michael broke through in '86 by winning at Long Beach for one of three victories that year. He won an Indy car-record eight races and his first PPG Cup in 1991. He was runner-up for the Cup in '92, then raced in Formula One for a year before returning to IndyCar in '94. He earned PPG Cup runner-up honors for the fifth time in `96 while leading the series with five wins.
Michael was a co-driver with his father in the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1983 and '96, but the two have also been PPG CART rivals and teammates. They became the first father-son duo in Indy car history in 1989. In 1991, Michael lead the Andretti podium sweep at Milwaukee when Michael finished first, followed by his cousin, John Andretti, and Mario, third.
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