Marco eighth in final Indycar Series race :
Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300
Marco completed the season with a solid finish at the Chicagoland Speedway. This placed him 7th in the 2008 Drivers Championship, just behind teammate Danica Patrick. The #26 car struggled a little during parts of the race, but came back with a top 10 finish. Marco finishes the year 7th in championship points. Marco led more laps in 2008 than in 2006 and 2007 combined. His 330 laps led rank fourth in 2008. Congratulations to Scott Dixon on winning his second Indy Car Series title, to Marco's AGR teammate, Hideki Mutoh, for being named the 2008 Bombardier Rookie of the Year and AGR driver Raphael Matos on winning the Firestone Indy Lights championship.

Earlier Marco Andretti, driver of the NYSE car, had qualified sixth for Sunday’s PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300. He qualified with a four-lap average speed of 215.064 miles per hour for the final event of the 2008 IndyCar Series season.

He went into the race confident: "The qualifying run was pretty easy. We never really worked on the qualifying setup today so the run went a little bit better than we thought it would. We spent most of the practice time focusing on the race car. We still have some decisions to make over night and hopefully we make the right ones. It would be nice for the NYSE team to finish strong, especially after the year we’ve had. We’ve been right there but unable to capitalize so it would be nice to win tomorrow."

Meijer driver Marco Andretti finished 18th at the temporary street circuit at Belle Isle on Sunday. Andretti suffered a gear failure with less than 10 laps remaining in the event. "This was just a disappointing weekend for us. We lost second gear near the end of the race and that ended our day early. I feel for the entire Meijer team. We have had terrible luck at this place."

Justin Wilson recorded the first IndyCar Series win of his career. He was followed by Helio Castroneves and Team 7-Eleven driver Tony Kanaan. Oriol Servia and Scott Dixon rounded out the top five.

Marco qualified 13th on the grid for the Detroit Indy Grand Prix at the Belle Isle Raceway on Saturday. LATEST PICS FROM DETROIT

"We weren't very good today and it was evident by looking at our times. The good news is we know what we need to do to make the Meijer car better. We have some time before qualifying tomorrow so hopefully we can find some speed." said Marco after Friday practice.

"Unfortunately we had terrible luck at Belle Isle last year. We qualified well and were quick most of the weekend so we were looking forward to the race. Our teammates were able to have good finishes last year so hopefully we can use some of their information and get the Meijer car into victory lane".

IMAGE GALLERIES FROM SONOMA

PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma:
Marco finished a disappointing 14th place in Sunday's race in California. Emphasis now moves to Detroit on Saturday for the Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone.

"Unfortunately the first slow pit stop really broke the race for us. I just don't think it was a very good performance for us today. I was missing rear grip in the Blockbuster/STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS race car the whole day and that made things difficult." - Marco after the race

Star Wars Creator George Lucas Visits Sonoma IndyCar Race
Celebrated filmmaker George Lucas visited the Andretti Green Racing pits to view the graphics on Marco Andretti's No. 26 "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" entry.

Lucas, who lives in Modesto, Calif., is the creator of the epic Star Wars saga and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones. He's also a lifelong IndyCar racing fan.

"(Lucasfilm has) been hooked up (with AGR) for a while, and now we're doing this, and it's been a great relationship. The new movie is an animated feature that is sort of a precursor to a TV series that is coming out in the fall. It gets a lot of notoriety for the team. Especially with the Stars Wars brand and Indiana Jones, we already have more notoriety than we need. If we're going to give it to something, we might as well give it to racing. I've lived through the Andretti legends and now Marco is carrying that on." - GEORGE LUCAS

PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma:
Marco will make his third start at Infineon Raceway. He recorded his first IndyCar Series victory at Infineon in 2006 after starting second, becoming the youngest driver (19 years, five months, 14 days) at the time to win amajor open-wheel race when he took the checkered flag. At the 2007 event, Andretti was involved in an accident while competing for the lead. He is seventh in the IndyCar Series championship, only four points out of sixth place. Marco has lead 330 laps ranking him fourth in laps lead in 2008.

"I enjoy coming back to Infineon because it is a track where I have a really high level of confidence. I have a good feel for the track and have turned a ton of laps there in many different formulas. Thankfully we've had a lot of success in the past. Andretti Green always gives us good race cars there and I think the Blockbuster/STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS car will contend for a victory, for sure." Marco Andretti on the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix:

Marco unveils second Lucasfilm sponsorship.
For a few days in late August, the front lines of the upcoming animated adventure Star Wars: The Clone Wars will shift to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., and Andretti Green Racing driver Marco Andretti will lead his own army against the dark side of his IndyCar Series foes.

Andretti Green Racing, Blockbuster Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. are collaborating for the second time in 2008, this time in support of the upcoming release of the first-ever animated feature from Lucasfilm, Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Andretti's #26 IndyCar will feature a promotional design during the Grand Prix of Sonoma, which will be run Aug. 24 on the Infineon road course.

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Marco Andretti, driver of the #26 Meijer car, qualified ninth for
Saturday’s Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Andretti posted a four-lap average speed of 217.404 miles per hour during the qualifying session.

“My run was quite easy because there wasn’t a lot more to go from a downforce standpoint. Unfortunately we just didn’t have the speed today in qualifying. I’m confident that the Meijer car will do the tow as it showed today in practice. It will do a good time and we know we have a good race car.” - MARCO

The Meijer Indy 300 can be seen live on ESPN2 beginning at 6:30 p.m. (EDT).

Marco Andretti, driver of the #26 Blockbuster car, drove to a 17th-place finish at Saturday’s running of the Rexall Edmonton Indy. Scott Dixon won the race and was followed by Helio Castroneves and Justin Wilson.
Paul Tracy and Oriol Servia rounded out the top five.

Andretti was headed for a top-10 finish before two late-race incidents put him a lap down.

"This was a disappointing day for the Blockbuster team. It was a difficult race and not the finish we were looking for. There was tremendous fan support and this was a great event weekend so hopefully we’ll have a better result next year." Said Marco after the race.

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Marco at Mid-Ohio
Marco Andretti, driver of the #26 Blockbuster car, was collected in an accident on lap 42 and finished 25th at Sunday’s running of the Honda Indy 200. Ryan Briscoe recorded his second victory of the season. He was joined on the podium by Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon. Will Power and Oriol Servia finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Marco Andretti, #26 Blockbuster Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "There was just a lot of smoke in front of me and I knew someone was spinning. I had no idea which direction they were going and unfortunately the Blockbuster car got caught up in it. Obviously I’m the one who put myself in that position to begin with because of my mistake earlier in the race. The track went loose and it kept picking up front grip so no matter how many turns of front wing we took out, we were still loose. It’s just a disappointment."

Marco's Double headerday
Marco Andretti's double race day didn't last as long as he was hoping. A failure of the left front shock on the #26 car resulted in an early accident at the Nashville track at the weekend.

Andretti took his place in the No. 26 oso*fresh car on the grid at Nashville Superspeedway just shy of four hours after getting out of the Andretti Green Racing No. 26 XM Acura ARX-01b at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut.

He watched 197 laps of the Firestone Indy 200 from the team's pit stand after being involved in a Lap 3 incident exiting Turn 2 on the 1.33-mile concrete oval. Andretti's car, which was slotted 11th on the grid, suffered a left front shock failure, slid up the track and pinned the No. 6 Team Penske car driven by Ryan Briscoe against the SAFER Barrier.

"I feel bad for the oso*fresh team, but obviously for Briscoe, too," Andretti said. "I might have been able to save the car if he wasn't there. It was a long day, for sure, but I don't think that had anything to do with the incident. "

At Lime Rock Park, the AGR car was required to start from the rear of the field because Andretti did not turn any laps on July 11. Andretti completed 73 laps and was running eighth (one lap down) before handing the car to Franck Montagny under a full-course yellow at 3:10 p.m. (ET).

"It was a little disappointing on my run," said Andretti, who last raced at the facility in 2003 in Star Mazda. "My radio wasn't connected right and I couldn't hear the team for awhile. Then I was able to run pretty well through the traffic after fixing the radio. It's very tough to come from behind here. I had to drive through all of the GT cars."

The team finished fifth in the LMP2 class and sixth overall.

Marco fifth at Watkins Glen
Despite contact on the first lap, Marco Andretti was able to drive the oso*fresh car to a fifth-place finish Sunday at the Camping World Indy Grand Prix. Ryan Hunter-Reay won his first IndyCar Series race and was followed by Darren Manning. Andretti’s teammate Tony Kanaan finished third, followed by Buddy Rice in fourth.

Marco said: "It is very tough to pass here but we were able to get around some guys on the restarts. Unfortunately two of them got called back. It’s really frustrating because track position is very difficult to get here. It was a race of attrition today and that worked for us. There was a vibration in the left-rear the entire race that was caused from the contact with Dan (Wheldon) on the first lap and I’m lucky that the oso*fresh car hung on. People were all over the place, blocking like crazy on the back stretch, but we played it right today and collected some valuable points."

Eddie Jones, Race Engineer added "Marco was doing a great job today and we were stretching our fuel, hoping to pit on lap 39, which we achieved. Unfortunately the yellow came out and caught us and we couldn’t stay out another lap under yellow with the fuel we had so we had to come in and take some fuel. It’s a shame because we would have been further up and may have had a chance for the win today. Even so, Marco was one of the few drivers making genuine passes out there. He got a couple of guys, fought his way to fifth, and gained some good points."

Race Nine: Richmond Bad Luck.
At the SunTrust Indy Challenge Marco ran well but would eventually finish in ninth place. Marco got bitten by the race-record ninth, and final, caution of the night on this notorious short-track oval. Round 9 of the 2008 IndyCar® Series at Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Va, was plagued by accidents in the early stages.

On lap 116, he passed Kanaan for second and then Jaime Camara for the lead. Camara had led since lap 71, when Kanaan had pitted for four tires and fuel. Andretti remained in the lead until lap 206, when he pitted under green for fuel. He ran 135 laps without pitting, thanks to five cautions that allowed him to conserve fuel. But by pitting under green he lost two laps and dropped to 12th. He would have made up those laps had the cars in front of him had to pit under green as well. They didn't. Andretti finished ninth, a lap down, shielding Tony as he raced on to win.

Marco Andretti on the SunTrust Indy Challenge: "I am incredibly disappointed. The Blockbuster car was the best car on the track today but good job to Tony for getting his first win of the year."

" It is a great shame for the Blockbuster team today. Marco drove a terrific race. It seemed like we had the car to win. Unfortunately that is the nature of these short ovals. We got caught out there when the other guys got to pit under yellow and that put us right to the back of the field. It is awfully tough from there for Marco to work his way back through. It is tough because I think a win was snatched from us, but our teammate won so it is a good day for AGR." - Eddie Jones - #26 car engineer.

Race Eight: Third place at Iowa.
A solid race for Marco at Iowa, racing within a second of the leader for most of the race and leading several laps.

Dan Wheldon, in a spare car on his thirtieth birthday, took the checkered flag - pushed close to the final lap by AGR's duelling teammates Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti. The pair raced very closely for the final stages, Marco looking to take Hideki and make a run for the lead.

"We were racing... It was good clean racing - I think it had to be good for the fans. It was good fun from the cockpit for sure. I'm proud of the Blockbuster boys - I think we were towards the front for most of the day. The rookies are good - they're a pain already! Hideki's on it this year for sure! ” said Marco after the race with Hideki in the final laps.

On the risky restart manoever past Danica on the final re-start: "I knew I could trust my teammate. Danica was looking out for me. She could have made it very tough on me and put me below the line. But you get a good run you've got to go with it. We just have to look after each other on the track - we always did but more so today. That's what we've have to keep doing and you'll see four Andretti Green cars towards the front, every race".

Marco remains in eighth place in the Championship - Watch out for Hideki: He's up to fifth as we get ready for Richmond.

Race Seven: Texas Motor Speedway Bombardier Learjet 550k.
Marco Andretti was the leader of Saturday’s Bombardier Learjet 550k with less than 15 laps remaining but was involved in an accident while in second place with six laps to go and finished 19th.

Race Photo Gallery

Despite starting 14th, the Blockbuster car was one of the quickest cars on track from the opening lap. Only 70 laps into the 228-lap affair, Andretti was running in the top three. Shortly thereafter, Andretti maneuvered around lapped traffic and took the lead for the first time.

Over the next 100 laps of the race, Andretti never fell from the top-five drivers on track. He regained the lead on lap 207 and was battling for second place when Hunter-Reay’s Ethanol car made contact with the Blockbuster car sending both cars into the wall. X-rays of Andretti’s knees were negative following the incident.

Marco took a big rear end hit but was fine - just disapointed as this was a race he was poised to win. "I really feel bad for the whole Blockbuster crew. We were running so well, as was Ryan (Hunter-Reay). I feel kind of bad for both of us but the fact is, there are some guys you can run close with and some guys you can't. He clearly hit the white line and that is that. We ran well today, but to me, that doesn't matter. We need to bring home results. It's very disappointing"


Qualifying
Most drivers struggled again with windy conditions, as they did on Thursday night in practice. Gusts were estimated in the region of 30 mph, not as bad as Thursday's estimates of nearly 45 mph.

A pair of Andretti Green Racing cars fills the seventh row with Tony Kanaan 13th and Marco Andretti 14th. Kanaan was not pleased. "We don't have the speed this weekend and I don't know what to do," said Kanaan. "My teammates have the speed but our race car isn't very good so we have our work cut out for us."

Marco was more optimistic: "I figured we would qualify about where we did. I'm looking forward to the race, though. I think the Blockbuster car will be pretty competitive in the race, but for whatever reason, it didn't have the speed in qualifying. This place is tough and anybody can win here."

MARCO FAST AGAIN IN PRACTICE - after 90 minutes under the lights on the high-banked 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway oval in preparation for the Bombardier Learjet 550kThe session was run in wind that gusted to 35 mph.

Marco Andretti in the No. 26 Blockbuster car for Andretti Green Racing (213.465 mph; 24.5380 seconds) was second fastest behind Scott Dixon. Marco's uncle, John Andretti in the No. 24 Roth Racing car was third.

"The wind was interesting. Even when we were running on our own, we were treating it like we were in traffic because of the wind. If you can get the car good in the wind, then it won't be bad in traffic. We ended up working on our racecar the whole time. We had ideal conditions with the Blockbuster car so that is why we were able to put it near the top. I think we're a couple of changes away from our racecar yet."- Marco Andretti at TMS Friday.

Andretti Family's 100 start at Milwaukee
By virtue of Marco Andretti and John Andretti starting the IRL IndyCar ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 at Milwaukee Mile on June 1, the Andretti family recorded its 1,000th open-wheel start.

Racing legend Mario made more than half the family's starts to date with 536 (408 Indy car starts and 128 Formula 1 starts). His son Michael made 317 starts (317 Indy car starts and 13 F1 starts) while John, son of Mario's twin brother Aldo, has made 76 starts.

Marco Andretti, son of Michael has made 37 IndyCar Series starts, while his uncle Jeff, younger brother of Michael, made 21 Indy car starts. In the 1,000 starts, the family has won 108 races, recorded 398 top-five finishes and 531 top-10 finishes.

RACE FOUR: Kansas Speedway - Fifth place!
After a strong and professional performance in sight of the leaders, Marco went on a late charge for fourth, giving us an exciting finish at Kansas. Team mate Tony Kanaan finished second.

“It was a struggle today,” Andretti said. “It is these kinds of days that you have to fight through that will really help you in the championship.” Andretti finished the race in a battle with Helio Castroneves for fourth place. Castroneves, who started eighth, beat Andretti by less than .01 of a second.

“I think Helio has a little bit more experience than I do in close finishes, so he may have been hiding a little bit of speed in the closing laps. He turned it on and ended up getting me at the line.

“It would have been nice to put the Forsythe car in fourth, but from what we were dealing with, I’m happy with fifth.” Hideki Mutoh, Andretti’s teammate at Andretti Green Racing, had a strong finish as well and placed sixth.

After qualifying 14th Marco said: "I'm not really happy with the qualifying run but I do think we got the most out of the Forsythe car. The good thing is that we have a really good race car so I'm not very worried about where I start."

"Every race in the IRL you gotta' look at as a battle to the finish," he said on Saturday. "I have a lot of confidence in the car."

RACE THREE: Motegi, Japan "It Caught Me"
Race Day 1 | Race Day 2
As the 18-car field took the green flag at Twin Ring Motegi in treacherous conditions on cold tires, it was Marco Andretti who couldn't keep his car under him in the extreme conditions and ended his race in the wall. Lap 1, Turn1... crash!

Andretti said of the situation, "That's embarrassing. When you have cold tires like that you hope to take advantage of the other guys but instead it caught me. It was driver error for sure."

RACE TWO: Marco's race ends early after starting in 12th at St Pete.
Nineteen-year-old Graham Rahal won his first IndyCar Series race – in his first IndyCar Series race – beating defending, two-time St Pete winner Helio Castroneves to the checkered flags by 3.5192 seconds in this weather-infested contest. He beat Marco's record of being the youngest ever Indy winner - He scored an IndyCar win 74 days sooner than the previous record holder (Marco at Infineon) at 19 years and 93 days of age.

Photos: Race Day 1 | Race Day 2 | Great Gearbox Caper | Out on the Streets

Marco Andretti finished 25th – the victim of a broken halfshaft during a Lap 41 pit stop.

On his race retirement Marco said: "We were coming in to put on slick tires because the track was really starting to dry and we made the right call. I'm really disappointed in myself because that was a rookie mistake. I have to apologize to the Gillette boys. I think I let them down today because we definitely had the pace. We did a great job in the pits. I just made a mistake."


After promising runs in practice (and an impressive full gearbox rebuild in the hour before) things didn't hold together for qualifying on Saturday for the fourth annual Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg. Marco Andretti was the final driver to make it out of Q1, earning 12th on the grid.

He said: "The Gillette car was absolutely good enough to make it into the Firestone Fast Six based on the practice times we've been posting. We had a problem with our pedal setup in qualifying and it's just really disappointing. The Gillette car has been good all weekend, though, so we'll find our way to the front."

New exclusive St.Pete galleries now online. Our best set yet... Check out the Great Gearbox Caper where the AGR crew rebuild the #26 car gearbox in just 40 minutes We also have a set of pics of the car on track.

As always check the fanzone photos for the latest pics, sometimes uploaded directly from pit lane, and the best fan photos.

Marco's St. Pete sponsor: Gillette Fusion Power are adding a little color to Marco's race this weekend. If it is good enough for Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Barcelona FC's Thierry Henry it's good anough for Marco Andretti too. Prepare to be dazzled!

RACE TWO: Marco's race ends early after starting in 12th at St Pete.
Nineteen-year-old Graham Rahal won his first IndyCar Series race – in his first IndyCar Series race – beating defending, two-time St Pete winner Helio Castroneves to the checkered flags by 3.5192 seconds in this weather-infested contest. He beat Marco's record of being the youngest ever Indy winner - He scored an IndyCar win 74 days sooner than the previous record holder (Marco at Infineon) at 19 years and 93 days of age. READ MORE

RACE ONE: SECOND PLACE.
Marco second at season opener in Miami! Pole-sitter Scott Dixon overtook Tony Kanaan on a restart with three laps left and went on to win the Gainsco 300 at the Homestead Miami Speedway. He beat Marco Andretti by 0.5828 seconds to give Chip Ganassi Racing its fourth straight win at Homestead.

Marco led 85 of 200 laps, almost twice as many as he did in all of 2007. Read More

12HRS AT SEBRING, 2008
Marco Andretti was the designated driver of the XM Satellite Radio Acura at the start of the 12hrs at Sebring on Saturday March 15th.

Marco had an early spell on the grass during the first lap, but then he worked his way up to the front of the LeMans Prototype Two class, at one point leading the race in the XM Satellite Radio Acura car.

Soon into Marco's second stint in the car the car developed mechanical problems and a series of lengthy pitstops began to take its toll on race position.

At around 8pm, after 287 laps, the car was retired due to persistant overheating. The team will pick up points for 7th place in class.

SEBRING : AGR STARTS 5th
Marco Andretti admitted he was disappointed after the Andretti Green Racing team was unable to fight for pole position for the 56th running of the Sebring 12 Hours. Qualifying at the Florida circuit was declared null and void after an accident for the BK Motorsports Lola of Ben Devlin early in the session, with the grid being formed instead by the times posted during practice.

MARCH SEBRING TESTS
During March IndyCar Series teams put in 10 solid hours of testing under the lights on the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval. This was quickly followed by 11 hours available for two groups on the Sebring International Raceway road course. EXCLUSIVE GALLERIES

NEW BACKING FOR MARCO
Andretti Green Racing debuted a new sponsor for its IndyCar Series program during the Homestead-Miami test session, with Meijer onboard as one of the backers of the #26 entry of Marco Andretti.

Meijer, the Midwest-based retail and grocery supercenter giant, will serve as an associate sponsor on the car driven by the 2006 IndyCar Series rookie of the year at all but two events. Meijer will be featured as Andretti's major sponsor during event weekends at Kentucky Speedway and The Raceway at Belle Isle.

"We're excited to see Meijer's program evolve with us in this way and feel it will be a great step forward for both Meijer and Marco," team co-owner Michael Andretti said. "Meijer has always done a great job activating its program through all 181 of its Midwest stores, but having an opportunity to stand tall as a major sponsor at Kentucky and Belle Isle will surely take the program to a new level.”

Frank Guglielmi, director of public relations for the company was equally pleased with the deal.

"Meijer is proud of its heritage as a family business," he said. "It is only fitting that we continue our strong motorsport commitment through a relationship with the third generation of an iconic racing family."

HOMESTEAD TESTS AND REUNIFICATION

"We were able to run quite a few laps over the two days and I feel like we got a lot of valuable information out of the test. We would have liked to have been quicker, but we feel good about the car we have. We didn't come here to work on our qualifying setup. We came to work on getting a car that was capable of winning the race and we made a lot of progress over the two days."

The unified version of the IndyCar Series made its first official public appearance Wednesday at Homestead Miami Speedway as the IRL teams got back on track for two days of testing.

Marco had a good test  and was upbeat about the future of open-wheel racing in 2008.

"It's awesome," Marco Andretti said. "For the drivers and for everybody, they have to be happy it worked out. Now as a driver it's the best of the best, everybody under one roof. It's great for sponsors and for publicity. I'm real happy.

"You want to know as a driver when you beat these guys you have beaten the best of the best. We're welcoming every one of them. It will be a big challenge for them because of their lack of oval experience. I've gone through it and a lot of guys have gone through it. It will be a character builder for the first couple of races but they are race car drivers so they will be fine.

"My initial reaction -  I had a smile on my face. That's how I feel. If you ask me they never should have split. Maybe one year it's going to take a little bit but after a couple of years we will start to rebuild everything again. I don't see why one day we can't be back to where we were again. It's the right way - it's the only way - if you ask me. I'm so happy it was now instead of later."

Andretti wants corporate America to see the value in IndyCar racing and view it as a viable alternative in motorsport.

"That's what we want," he said. "Now if I'm a sponsor I have another series to look at. Now it's obvious. It might take a bit but I think we are going to get there.

"Once we get sponsors, we'll get the money back up, we'll get the prize money back up. I don't see why it can't be what it once was. If it is, we might be seeing NASCAR drivers come back."

ANDRETTI OFFICIAL ONLINE STORE
We thought you might like to see the great deals on Marco apparel, race gear and diecast models at the Andretti store.

Click here to see gift ideas and one-of-a-kind race collectables, like the 2007 autographed helmet that you see here.

New 2008 Andretti Racing hats and polo shirts are just some of the goods you can pick up.

Marco - Podcast Interview "Just one of those years"
Bridgestone Motorsport's latest podcast features exclusive interviews with Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti about their 2007 season.

Click here to download and MP3 of the show, or go to the Bridgestone Motorsport website to subscribe to the podcast. Marco said "In any profession, to overcome adversity is the toughest part. We learn so much about staying focused and staying with it the whole year if a little bit of luck swings my way we should be right up there again."

MARCO HONORED
The National Italian American Hall of Fame honored Marco as its 2007 Athlete of the Year (for his outstanding rookie year achievements) on Saturday 3rd November. "This is really pretty special, as an athlete and a person of Italian heritage," Marco Andretti said. He is the great grandson of Italian immigrants, the late Alvice 'Gigi' and Rhina Andretti, with all four of his grandparents Italian-born.

For as long as he can remember he's had the 'Italian feeling.' "With my grandfather (Mario), how could you help it?" Marco said. "I can tell you I was going crazy when Ferrari won (the F1 championship). It was just for that reason. You can ask a couple of buddies who were watching the race (on TV) with me. I was jumping up and down. I had goose bumps because of that feeling."

FEB 30th: HOMESTEAD
Unified IndyCar makes public debut

"It's awesome," Marco Andretti said. "For the drivers and for everybody they have to be happy it worked out. Now as a driver it's the best of the best, everybody under one roof. It's great for sponsors and for publicity. I'm real happy.

"You want to know as a driver when you beat these guys you have beat the best of the best. We're welcoming every one of them"
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Detroit, Mich.: During Auto Racing Day, at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, IndyCar Series Driver Marco Andretti signs a tire brought in by a fan.