Members of two legendary racing families, Marco Andretti sat down with Dale Earnhardt Jr. ahead of Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.
They talked about Andretti’s shifted focus this IndyCar Series season, the “Andretti curse” and what he learned from his father and grandfather, Michael and Mario Andretti. This season, Marco — who won the 2020 Indy 500 pole in August (the race was pushed back from May last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic) — took a step back from full-time racing.
But he’s still driving for Andretti Autosport in the Indy 500 this season, along with a handful of other races and seems happier for it.
Ahead of Marco’s first IndyCar race of the 2021 season, he explained his current mindset to Earnhardt, who retired from full-time NASCAR in 2017 and is now part of NBC Sports’ broadcast team.
Had fun visiting my buddy. https://t.co/Ift8n2yL8Y
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) May 28, 2021
“I miss driving and stuff like that, but really I’m happy,” Marco told Dale Jr. “I even have a lot of my friends that question — I am alright.
“I really am happy with the decision and what it is allowed me to do is really bring back the purity driving for me, and I can still win the crown jewel. So I’m living the dream right now.”
The pair also discussed the dangers of the Indy 500, which is no stranger to horrifying crashes, including a recent one in 2017 when Scott Dixon — the pole winner for the 2021 Indy 500 — miraculously walked away.
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More from their conversation:
Dale Jr.: There are some Cup drivers in the NASCAR series that would love to race in the Indy 500. But, you know, given the opportunity to do it, at my age, I probably wouldn’t do it. It’s terrifying, dangerous.
Marco: I respect it. I do respect the speed, and I respect what can happen. I mean, there’s Formula 1 guys, I talked to Lewis Hamilton. They don’t want anything to do with it. When I make up my mind, it flips a switch, and it just diminishes fear.
And of course, they talked about their families. The Andretti and Earnhardt names are all over motor sports’ history books, and few racers know what it’s like to try to follow people like Mario Andretti or Dale Earnhardt Sr.
They continued:
Dale Jr.: People ask me all the time what my dad told me about racing, told me about driving, and we never talked about racing. We just never did. He was always like, “Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t do drugs and don’t hang out with the wrong crowd.” What is probably one or two things that was extremely important that you heard from your dad or your grandfather throughout your life?
Marco: It’s probably the same answer for both. I mean, I there’s been there’s been a lot of stuff. And my grandfather was able to really just do it for the joy of winning and all that, and I think my dad did it for, like, the fear of losing.
If I had to pick one thing, it’s probably just trust in yourself because there’s a lot of times, as you know, where you’re supposed to go in deeper than your butt’s telling you to do, and you always have to trust that instinct. … I mean, I’ve dominated the race, like father and grandfather, but there’s one lap that counts there, and that’s the one that I want to lead.
The 105th running of the Indy 500 is Sunday, May 30 at 12:45 p.m. ET on NBC.
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