The curse is that the Andrettis can’t win at the Indy 500, but I think the new curse is that while Andretti Autosport will win at the Speedway, they just fall short of championship contention. Looking back, the past three out of five Indy 500s were won by Andretti Autosport cars. It was an okay showing by Andretti Autosport this year, two first-place finishes (including Takuma Sato’s win at the Indy 500), one second place finish, and eleven Top 5 finishes between the four teammates. I wrote this right after writing about Team Penske so it would make everyone dull in comparison.
2018 sees a young Andretti Autosport, the median age is 29, after swapping out Takuma Sato for Zachary Veach. Everyone remembers the sudden Sato announcement, that happened mainly because Michael Andretti took way too long to decide if he was going to stay with Honda or move to Chevy for their engine. Another swapping, of the number kind, also happened in the offseason with Marco Andretti going to the #98 and Alexander Rossi going to the #27. This switch was mainly housekeeping, as Bryan Herta had been the strategist for Marco, yet the part owner of the #27. Now Marco would be in the car owned, in part, by Herta.
I’m going to be very interested in two Andretti Autosport drivers in 2018. I’m squarely in the camp that claims and has been claiming since before the end of the 2017 season, that in 2018 Alexander Rossi is going to be a serious contender for the championship. He had just found that sweet spot in the latter half of 2017. He’s been working over the offseason, 2018 is going to be amazing for him (Yes I see the pun). Also, who doesn’t think Zach Veach is the perfect driver? Every. Single. Time. He is interviewed you can hear the smile. He is Christmas MorningTM excited about IndyCar and excited to drive. I think he’s going to have put in the work over the off season because, he’s one of those people who really like their job. Those are the people who work hard. He’s young, he’s a bit on the smaller side, and apparently this new car is way different from the Indy Light’s car when it comes to downforce. 2018 will be a hard year for Veach, but I’m betting he’s the guy out there putting down the practice laps, and really working hard. I can’t wait.
Catch up on the team reviews here: Andretti Autosport, Team Penske, Carlin Racing, Harding Racing, AJ Foyt Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Schmidt Peterson Motorsport, Michael Shank Racing Dale Co
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