THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504230183
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE, VA. LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
One night last December, at a Christmas party at Carl Haas's Chicago-area home, John Andretti disappeared into the wine cellar with his father, Aldo, and his uncle, Mario.
John, 32, had spent 1994 as a rookie in the NASCAR Winston Cup series after seven years in Indy cars. But a lot of his Indy-car friends were openly contemptuous when of stock cars.
``Everybody wanted to call me a redneck,'' John remembers.
And as the three Andrettis sipped wine, the patriarch of one of the greatest families in the history of American racing told his nephew he approved of what he was doing.
``He said, `John, you may or may not know it, but you've got my support. And I think what you're doing down there is really good.'
``It was the first time I had ever talked to him about it,'' John said. ``It made me feel good. And it made my dad feel good.''
The roots of the Andrettis are as deep in Indy-car racing as any racing family. But John, one of the most versatile racers in the country with victories in Indy cars, open-wheel sprints and midgets, IMSA sports cars and even a bit of experience in drag racing, has settled down with the good old boys.
He came South because his Indy-car career stalled. He couldn't find competitive rides and had trouble convincing himself that he could win.
Now he's driving the No. 37 K-Mart Little Caesars Ford Thunderbird for the first-year team owned by Haas, Michael Kranefuss and crew chief Tim Brewer. He's been making progress, leading some laps and finishing 10th twice. Going into today's Hanes 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Andretti is 13th in points.
It would have been surprisingif Mario had not supported John's NASCAR efforts. In the late 1960s, when Mario's career was blossoming, he was willing to race anything with four wheels.
``If Mario wasn't doing LeMans, Indianapolis, Daytona, Pike's Peak and dirt-car racing during the year back then, he wasn't working,'' John said. Mario, in fact, won the Daytona 500 in 1967 in a car that drove so loose nobody else on the track wanted to get near him.
But racing has become more specialized. It is no longer considered fashionable or practical to cherry pick in other racing series, assuming one is serious about winning the championship in his primary series.
``I'm the exception to the rule,'' John Andretti said. He proved it last May when he drove in the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, shuttling from Indy to Charlotte in a private jet.
``It's good for racing. And I still think it can be done,'' he said. ``So I'm kinda the outcast.''
John wants to repeat his double-header again this year, but he's running into stiff opposition from his NASCAR owners.
In the meantime, John is sinking his own roots deeper and deeper in NASCAR. When his second child, Olivia, was born March 29, he and wife Nancy were overwhelmed by flowers, cards and calls from NASCAR folks.
``We feel like we're part of the NASCAR family,'' he said. ``My fan club is booming. My fan mail is overwhelming. I don't want to go back.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
John Andretti is from the first family of Indy cars, but says he's
now hooked on driving stock cars.
by CNB