Has John Andretti found a permanent home at Roth Racing?
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| John Andretti |
“First, and most importantly, there is a lot of sensitivity going in to an area that has been devastated by weather, rain and the flood. Hopefully, with this race, some good things will come. Maybe we can lift their spirits. I know this entire Roth Racing organization will have the people affected on our hearts and minds.
“Racing, this is going to be my first time to Iowa since racing in Des Moines, or outside of Des Moines, since my dad raced sprint cars. I hear the facility is first class. Rusty Wallace has certainly put his fingerprint on it. It is state of the art. I have heard nothing but great things about it. I look forward to it.
“Short track racing with an Indy car, it will be the first time I have done that too. There is a lot of emotion going into it from a lot of different perspectives. I am really enjoying myself with Roth Racing. Marty and Margaret have been great to work with. They have become really good friends. Also, rekindling the long-time friendship and association with Larry Curry. He is a great organizer.
“I think Roth Racing is building up race-by-race, it’s a team getting stronger. We’ve had fast race cars. I said after Texas, if I didn’t have to pit we would be in good shape. We have made some mistakes on pit road, but we will get through those. For me, to do these races, is to make me stronger at Indianapolis. The series is full of high-quality race teams and drivers. You are dealing with the best of open wheel racing teams and drivers. With that together, it is very difficult. I love the challenge. This is a big challenge.
“You definitely feel like a rookie. When I go to Richmond next weekend, I bet I’ll feel like a rookie there too. I have been to Richmond plenty of times in the Cup car, but this is different. I’m a rookie as much as a rookie can be at any of these races. When I went to Milwaukee, it had been 16 years since my last trip there. The last time I was at Milwaukee, we finished second in between Michael and Mario. A lot of ground has been traveled in those 16 years doing other things. When I show up, I am as rookie as they can get.
“I do have experience in the cars, though. I do have a feel for them, and I have a lot of racing experience. I dwell on all that to get it up to speed as quickly as we can, and get the car as good as we can. I think we have collectively done a good job, working with the team and the engineers to get that. The guys have given me a really solid race car each weekend. I’m expecting nothing different this weekend at Iowa."