June 18, Speedway, IN.  Shortly after Formula One qualification this afternoon for the United States Grand Prix, rookie Marco Andretti sat on the pole, led every lap and won the inaugural Liberty Challenge Menards Infiniti Pro Series road race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  In doing so 18 year old Marco, in just his third Pro race, became the second Andretti to win a race as a driver at the IMS.  Marco’s win was a day early father’s day gift for his dad, Michael Andretti, one of  the owner’s of  Andretti Green Racing, and his grandfather Mario Andretti, former Formula One World Champion and Indy 500 winner. 

For father Michael, Marco’s gift carried a bonus.  Michael became the first team owner to win two races at the IMS in a single season.  Three weeks earlier the four AGR drivers, and specifically Dan Wheldon, won the Indy 500 for Michael and Andretti Green Racing. 

For Marco, running in front of the world’s international auto racing media, which was here for the F1 show, the race ended up a breeze – yes, he looked that good!  He won by a huge 12.7 seconds over second place Wade Cunningham of New Zealand.  The race did not look so good for Marco at the start, however. 

At the driver’s meeting this morning they were told to use good judgment at the start of the race. At the start of the St. Petersburg road/street race, in which Marco sat on the pole and won in his first Pro race, a particular driver who was back a few rows roared down the inside of the straightaway and took out Jeff Simmons, who was starting on the front row, and himself, in a major accident at the tight right hand turn at the end of the straight. 

The drivers were reminded that you don’t win the race on the first lap.  But, of course, not all drivers believe that.  Hey, occasionally some guys lead every lap of a race from start to finish. Marco did.

Anyway, that is sort of how Jeff Simmons (Kenn Hardley Racing) looked at the race.  Starting on the second row right behind Marco, Jeff roared down the inside of the front straightaway at the start and beat Marco to the tight right hand turn at the end of the straight.  To his credit, Simmons did not take out anyone or himself.  What he also didn’t do, however, was make the right hand turn. The right hand first turn quickly leads into a tight 90 degree left hand second turn.   Jeff left the track and shot across the grass, losing some speed in the process, and avoided the second turn also – distance wise it was a short cut – and rejoined the single file field in third position behind Wade Cunningham (Brian Stewart Racing), who was now in second.

After the race, Simmons had this to say about his start: "I had a run on Marco, and I timed the start perfect, and I was making that pass right at the start/finish, so it was all going to plan at that point.  Basically I think I just made a mistake.  I didn't get on the brakes hard enough."

In the wild start Cunningham had followed Simmons, but tucked in behind Marco before the first turn.  Chris Festa (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) had whipped out of his sixth place starting position and followed Wade.  Chris ended up in fourth.  As all of this was going on in the span of just a few seconds a very upset and unhappy Nick Bussell (JL West Motorsports), who had started on the outside of Marco on the front row, found himself in instantly having gone from second place to fifth.  Jaime Camara (Sam Schmidt Motorsports), who won the Pro Futaba Freedom 100 at the IMS on May 27, and who started fifth, was now sixth. 

The stage was set for a continuation of the road/street racing duel that Andretti and Cunningham had at St. Pete.  But that was not to be.  It soon became clear that nobody was going to catch Marco on this day.  He just kept increasing his gap between second. The real drama in the race was who would finish second.  The candidates were the next fastest four, who were all bunched up together, and then Camara back a significant distance, and everyone else even further back.  The fast four were Cunningham, Simmons, Festa and Bussell.

Simmons stayed tight on Cunningham’s tail and kept intense pressure on Wade.  Based on qualification, Simmons had a faster car, but could not get passed Cunningham.  Wade refused to make any mistake that would allow Simmons to get by him.  That lasted until lap 13 when Jeff dropped out of the race with a mechanical problem.  Now it was Chris Festa (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) who was on Cunningham’g gear box, and Bussell breathing heavily on Chris from behind. 

By this point Marco had opened up a 8.7 second lead. Mishael Abbott had done a 180 degree spin in the hair pin on lap 3 but rejoined the field in last place.  On lap 9 Marco lapped her, and by lap 12 the other top drivers, including sixth place Camara, had gotten by her.

Festa kept his intense pressure on Cunningham lap after lap, and Bussell did the same to Festa.  But nobody made a mistake so nobody changed positions.  On lap 24 of the 25 lap race on the 2.6 mile course the white flag came out for Marco as he lapped Abbott for the second time.  The checkered flag came out at the end of 25 for Marco and his name went into the history books, and his future now looked even brighter.  (Right, Marco just before the race start.)

Cunningham again finished second to Marco.  For Wade it was his fourth consecutive second placed finish.  Cunningham is the only driver to have driven every lap in the Series, and now has a leading five podium finishes. Chris Festa, who started sixth, was third, Nick Bussell fourth and Jaime Camara fifth.  Arie Luyendyk Jr. (Brian Stewart Racing), driving the Mobley Special, finished sixth following his eighth place start. 

The rest of the finishing order was: Travis Gregg (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) seventh, Marty Roth (Roth Racing) eighth, Jon Herb (Racing Professionals) ninth, Jay Drake (Vision Racing) tenth, Ed Carpenter (Vision Racing) eleventh, Mishael Abbott (Hemelgarn 91 Johnson Motorsprots) twelth, Jeff Simmons thirteenth, and Larry Conner (Genoa Racing) fourteenth.

In Cunninigham's post-race comments he explained that the Simmons incident at the start of the race, "Slowed me down, and unfortunately Marco got a really good lead from the first lap.  Once he had broken away I just couldn't catch him....We were really banking on being able to slipstream in this race to have a shot (to win) at the end."



(The next Pro Series race will be the Cleanevent 100 at the 1.33 mile oval Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, July 16.)