FATHERS AND SONS
THE ANDRETTIS
It is not easy following in the footsteps of a legend. Just ask Marco Andretti, who drives for his father, Michael, and lives in the shadow of his grandfather, Mario, one of the most beloved stars in motorsports. “My relationship with dad is mostly business and that’s why we’re able to make it work most of the time,” Marco said. “It’s tricky, though, because I have teammates. Dad overcompensates the other way to make sure I’m not getting favoritism. Sometimes, I’m not a fan of that.” Michael agreed, and said his son’s sentiments were accurate. “I don’t show any favoritism on my team and I’m probably harder on Marco than the other guys,” he said. “It’s a little unfair for him.” The 30-year-old Andretti, though, chose to be a driver after his dad sat him down for a talk a couple decades ago. “When Marco started racing, he did it because he felt like he had to do it,” Michael said. “I said, ‘Just quit.’ Six months later, Marco said he wanted to race again. I told him he could if he promised to do it for himself, not for who he is, and to have fun.”
THE STOCKSTILLS
Middle Tennessee State football coach Rick Stockstill and his son, Brent, had a little talk that turned out to be a big one following his last high school baseball game in 2013. As a quarterback, he was headed to play at Cincinnati. “I told him this is your dad speaking, not your coach,” Rick Stockstill said. “With your leadership, toughness and passion, you’re going to have a great career at Cincinnati.” Brent Stockstill , though, didn’t want to leave his hometown or his father. “I said, ‘Dad, all I ever want to do is play for you,”’ he recalled. “We had never talked about it before because I had kept it bottled up. It’s a fatherson moment I won’t forget.” Bearcats coach Tommy Tuberville got a call from Rick Stockstill, asking him to release his son from his letter of intent, and he did a couple days later. “He said, ‘I would hope you would do the same for my son,”’ Stockstill remembers Tuberville telling him. “And it has been a joy ever since that day.” With two seasons of eligibility, Stockstill has school records with 61 TD passes and 303.3 yards passing per game. “I love that I get to see him every day after missing so much of his activities growing up because I was coaching someone else’s son or was recruiting someone else’s son,” his father said. “If you get an opportunity to coach your son, you’re crazy if you don’t do it.”