Marco joining Andretti Indy lore

PHILADELPHIA Andretti had already — wagered Marco a Alexander few bucks Rossi with on teammate the Super Bowl the ante. and then Andretti decided tweeted to up that beat if the the New Philadelphia England Eagles Patriots, hometown’s he’d meet downtown fans at circle. his

Andretti The Eagles stayed true won to and his word — he posed for a photo of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, fans dressed in Carson Wentz jerseys and Eagles hoodies and index fingers raised in a No. 1 salute.

“I was surprised, a lot of people showed up,” Andretti said. “It was cool.”

His nerves steeled racing at speeds topping 230 mph, Andretti found some traffic he wasn’t willing to weave through: Thousands of Eagles fans getting rowdy at the Super Bowl parade. Andretti sat out the party where fans chugged stiffer drinks than milk.

“I’m not that crazy,” he said, Who smiling. knows? Nazareth might throw its own bash should Andretti finally break through and win the Indianap- olis 500. Sitting on the roof- top deck of a Philadelphia restaurant just a few blocks off the parade route, Andretti could imagine following the Eagles into sports ultimate winner’s circle.

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Andretti, a third-generation driver, starts his 13th Indy 500 driving for a team that knows of late how to win “The

Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Andretti Autosport won the

Indy 500 in 2014 (Ryan Hunter-Reay), 2016 (Rossi) and 2017 (Takuma Sato) making the family wildly more successful at Indy in ownership than it was behind the wheel.

The 31-year-old Andretti believed the time was now to add his name to the list. He’s proud his teammates have had their image etched on the Borg-Warner Trophy and that his father, team owner Michael, has reaped the rewards of those wins and kissed the bricks. But if Andretti Autosport is going to win its third straight Indy 500, Marco is ready to race past his teammates and swig that championship milk

“It’s a double-edged sw d, right? You’re thrilled tha the team won but it doesn’t really raise your stock,” Andretti said. “...We’re leading the Andretti Autosport train right now, so we’ve got to keep it that way.”

Michael Andretti has five wins overall as a team owner — all since his son’s debut in 2004.

“I feel happy for dad and for them in particular,” Marco said. “But no, it doesn’t feel good to me at all.”

The star-crossed family has fought Curse since the so-called grandfather Andretti Mario Andretti won the 1969 Indy 500. Michael had it the worst, leading 431 laps without a win in 16 career starts. Marco is 0 for 12 with a runner-up finish in 2004 and four podium finishes. He was eighth last year.

Andretti starts 12th from the outside of Row 4 on Sunday in the No. 98 Honda for his dad and Bryan Herta. Andretti Autosport has Andretti, Rossi, Hunter-Reay, Carlos Munoz, Zach Veach and Stefan Wilson in the 33-car field.

Andretti has struggled to reach his father and grandfather’s performance in openwheel racing.

Andretti has only two career wins, none since 2011 and no podiums since 2015. He’s rarely out front (no laps led this season; 76 overall since 2014) but does have three top-10s in five races this season.