LEXINGTON, Ohio: Marco Andretti rebounded from a tough Stage 1 and Stage 2 to earn a respectable top-20 finish in Saturday afternoon’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The IndyCar veteran and grandson of Motorsports great Mario Andretti started off his weekend on a strong footing with a solid practice result and an impressive seventh-place qualifying effort in his No. 7 Group 1001 Chevrolet Silverado RST.
After spending Friday in the dry, teams knew the chance of inclement weather on Saturday – with most expecting thunderstorms and rain to arrive shortly after taking the green flag.
Mother Nature, however, arrived early and soaked the 2.25-mile, 13-turn road course moments before pre-race ceremonies were scheduled to begin ultimately delaying the start of the race by nearly forty-five minutes.
With NASCAR dictating the race to begin under wet weather conditions, the green flag flew with the back edge of the storms pushing away from the race track.
Gingerly the field tiptoed around the course with Andretti clinging on to his top-10 position. The caution immediately waved with just one lap complete.
Maintaining a pace inside the top-10 in the early laps of the race, as Stage 1 marched forward, Andretti could be seen trying to wrestle his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado – which included making contact with Truck Series champion Matt Crafton which sent the No. 88 Toyota Tundra for a spin.
With the rain gone and the track quickly drying out, Andretti finished Stage 1 in the 14th position, one position behind his IndyCar pal Conor Daly.
Stage 2 saw the Truck Series switch from the wet weather package to the traditional slick tires which would change the rhythm of the race – where teams went from being nearly 25-seconds behind Friday’s pace to posting similar lap times as they did in qualifying.
Unfortunately for Andretti, the Stage didn’t go as well as the first. While battling inside the top-20, Andretti spun but did not hit anything. The solo spin cost valuable track position for the NASCAR rookie.
Staying on the lead lap became a priority for Andretti – who ended the stage in the 30th position.
Racing resumed and Andretti had to navigate traffic and an ill-handling No. 7 Group 1001 Chevrolet Silverado RST. Steadily throughout Stage 3, the son of IndyCar team owner Michael Andretti continued to regain the positions he lost earlier in the race until having to make an unscheduled pit stop in Stage 3.
The loss of track position once again would drop Andretti briefly outside the top-30 but an array of late-race cautions allowed Andretti not only to remain on the lead lap but take advantage of a better equipped race track to muscle through the field.
Inside the final 10 laps of the race, Andretti jumped from outside the top 20 to take the checkered flag in 19th.
“Welp. That was messy,” Andretti tweeted after the race. “Got sent to the back about 6 times. Ended the last quarter of the race with front damage. Salvaged 19th. Our potential was way better than that. Fun experience. Thanks to all involved!! Maybe we will try out some other types of tracks?”
“It’s still fun, it’s just a different beast,” Andretti said during the weekend. “Having laps on the track definitely helped me because my learning curve was a lot steeper in the Xfinity car at the (Charlotte) Roval.”
Asked if more NASCAR races could be in his future, Andretti said, “I’m definitely open to all of it. I think that’s the beauty of my schedule.
“That’s why I have a big smile on my face because I can still win the ‘Golden Goose’ and that’s Indy (500) for me and really take opportunities as they may come.”
While Andretti said any future fulltime seasons in IndyCar is unlikely, he wouldn’t rule out one in NASCAR – if the right circumstances aligned.
“I think the ship has sailed on me doing fulltime IndyCar. I think what it takes to be competitive there, you need everybody pulling the same road there and I think that ship’s sailed,” he said.
“You know, I’ll never say never (to NASCAR). I’m really loving the stock car stuff. So, who know if it’ll keep going?”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01, Threads at @TheKnighter01 or email at: [email protected].
Welp. That was messy. Got sent to the back about 6 times. Ended the last quarter of the race with front damage. Salvaged 19th. Our potential was way better than that. Fun experience. Thanks to all involved!! Maybe we will try out some other types of tracks? 👀🏁 pic.twitter.com/Dg9yCzV3OJ
— Marco Andretti (@MarcoAndretti) July 8, 2023
