| | The kids have apparently taken over CART.
Defending champion Juan Montoya is 24. Last year's second-place
finisher, Dario Franchitti, is 26. So where does that leave
37-year-old Michael Andretti?
Still a contender.
"Michael is the most complete driver he has ever been," said
John Tzouanakis, manager for the Newman-Haas team and the only
employee remaining from its formation in 1983.
"I've been around him since he first came to this team in 1989,
and I've seen a metamorphosis," Tzouanakis said. "He has always
had unbelievable talent, but he is also now able to use the
experience he has gained over the years in each race."
|  | | Michael Andretti wound up fourth in the '99 points standings, his 15th straight season of finishing in the top 10 in points. |
Andretti is one of the few very experienced 30-somethings in
CART.
With Scott Pruett, 39, leaving CART for NASCAR's Winston Cup
series, and Al Unser Jr., 37, moving to the rival Indy Racing
League, only Roberto Moreno at 41 is older than Andretti among CART
regulars.
But Andretti's age isn't showing.
"Michael is in great physical condition," said Jimmy Vasser,
the 1996 CART champion and himself one of the series graybeards at
34. "Everybody thinks he's older because he's been doing this for
so long, but he hasn't lost any of his enthusiasm for driving."
The son of longtime racing star Mario Andretti got a Champ car
ride in 1983 and became a contender in 1986, when he won three
times en route to second-place finish in the points race.
Now, the 1991 series champion is the leader in career CART
victories with 38. He has won at least one race in 12 of his last
13 seasons in the series, including the last 10. He missed the 1993
season while driving in Formula One.
"Winning races is still exciting," Andretti said. "It is the
evidence that you and the team are doing the right things. But, as
competitive as CART is now, you have to do more than win races. You
have to be consistent, finish races and pile up points."
Although he has had his share of bad luck on the track -- crashes
and a variety of broken parts -- Andretti has been the most
consistent of CART drivers throughout the years.
He wound up fourth in the standings in 1999, and will go into
the season-opening race on March 26 in Homestead, Fla., having
finished in the top 10 in points his last years on the circuit.
"I'm glad we've had so much success over my career, but I want
that second championship," he said. "It would mean so much to me
and to the team."
Andretti is in his second stint with the team co-owned by Paul
Newman and Chicago businessman Carl Haas. Andretti drove for them
from 1989-92 and, after his year in Formula One and another with
Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti returned to Newman-Haas in 1994.
"This is home for me," Andretti said. "I feel comfortable
with this team."
The two biggest changes heading into 2000 are Tzouanakis -- moving up from assistant team manager when Ed Nathman left at the end of 1999 -- and a switch from a Swift chassis to a Lola.
"You don't want change," Andretti said. "But the changes
aren't that major. John has been here longer than I have and
everything else is status quo. Our team is a very tight group."
Newman-Haas was the first team to race the Swift, in 1997, and
did most of the development work. But the car was inconsistent and
difficult to balance. A switch from Goodyear to Firestone tires
just before last season compounded the problem.
"We were on a very steep learning curve with the Firestone
tires and it put us behind," Andretti said. "We were starting to
get hold of it by the end of the season, but we definitely gave
away some competitive races early.
"Now we've had a year with Firestone, the Lola is really a good
car and the new Ford XF engine right off the bat is very reliable
and has a ton of horsepower."
The package the team has put together for Andretti has him
thinking championship.
"This is our best shot," he said. "We just need to focus on
finishing every race, take the points when they're given to us and
be smart about it."
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