Andrettis go it alone in frustrating day at Iowa Speedway

NEWTON - When you have a name like Andretti, most people assume things come pretty easy.

But for former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, IndyCar and sports car racer John Andretti and his son Jarett, that couldn't be farther from the case. Jarett is trying to make his way in racing, and with the help of his dad, runs non-winged USAC Sprint Cars and the asphalt races in the USAC Silver Crown Series.

More often than not, it's just the two of them working on the racecar. That was the case when they rolled in with the Silver Crown Series to Iowa Speedway on Saturday - just John and Jarett thrashing away. Where other cars have a whole crew of guys working, the No. 4 car has only father and son.

'It's unbelievably hard. I don't think there's another group in the garage that has the driver and one guy doing all the work,” John Andretti said. 'We show up to Sprint Car races that way. And you know what, I guess God didn't make us smart, but he made us hard workers. We don't mind doing it. We enjoy it.

'Obviously we have a great passion for racing. He's my son. You do anything you can for your kids.”

Unfortunately for them and the race fans who were eager to see another Andretti take to the 7/8-mile track, engine woes ended his race before it even started.

Jarett was 10th quickest in the first practice - his first laps at Iowa Speedway - and really liked the direction the car was headed. But his dad heard something wrong with the engine as he pulled in after practice, and it ended up being more than they could fix at the track.

'It's pretty frustrating,” Jarett said. 'Especially getting to come to Iowa for the first time. If you don't like the track and the car's not good, it doesn't hurt your feelings as bad. But today it does.”

With just the two of them there and little time to do the overhaul out of their trailer, there was nothing the pair could do but take a 16th place credited finish and watch as Bobby Santos III dominated the second half of the Casey's 100 en route to victory.

'The car was really running well (before the problem) and Jarett, in his first time here, was really enjoying the track - like I expect everyone to; I enjoyed it myself,” John Andretti said. 'We looked at (the engine) after the first practice and it looked like we had done some damage to it. We pulled it apart here in the garage and did what we could to try to alleviate the problem and maybe get started at least for the race, but it wouldn't fire. We're really, really disappointed - not only for ourselves but for the fans.”

Jarett and John race out of the Andretti Autosport race shop owned by John's cousin Michael Andretti - who owns IndyCars driven by Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Carlos Munoz that will be at Iowa Speedway on July 18. Jarett was a winter graduate of North Carolina State with a degree in Business.

They make the drive from North Carolina together to the Midwest to race on dirt and asphalt in open wheel cars, with the dream of one day racing in the Indianapolis 500 - as John and most of his family have done and continue to do.

Jarett is racing 'opportunity-drive” races, where he's either racing for free or getting paid to do so, as John did his whole career. Whether he ends up driving for his dad's cousin Michael is to be determined, and a lot has to transpire for that to happen. John said Michael has seen how hard Jarett works and his dedication, and did give Jarett a test in an Andretti Autosport USF2000 car.

But both John and Jarett know Michael can't put a car on the track out of his pocket, even for family. If sponsorship were raised, 'I'm sure Michael would absolutely give him the chance,” John said. But for now it's up to them to work hard and make it happen - just like Saturday - basically on their own.

'I think working out of (Michael's) shop is inspiration for sure,” Jarett said. 'You know all the guys on the crews, their professionalism and learn how to bring that to your own race team and know what it takes to get to that level.”

The time pursuing that goal is spent with each other the vast majority of the time, and it's fostered a special relationship between the two.

And though they'd rather spend Father's Day on Sunday celebrating a good run, they'll likely spend it together in the shop, swapping out engines and preparing both cars for the next trip to the track.

'Sometimes it's harder, sometimes it's easier,” Jarett said. 'It's a lot of fun just doing it with us two, but we also do all the work. We know it all has to get done between the two of us. Really the most fun I've had is this year with just us racing.

'It's pretty special, but I think I'll realize just how special as I get older, as I have kids and get to spend time with them myself.”

The Andrettis' woes were far from the only car to have problems throughout the race. Of the 15 cars who were able to the green flag, only seven finished the race. The race's winner Santos, who earned his fourth career and first Silver Crown win at Iowa Speedway, said that's typical of Silver Crown cars.

'That's common in Silver Crown cars. A hundred miles in these cars is pretty difficult mechanically,” Santos said. 'And that's why I'm probably more proud as a mechanic than as a driver on this win. I put that car together with the guys in the shop. But the cars that were up front were tough.

'Having a car, having tires at the end of these races is such a big part and to me that's the beauty of Silver Crown racing.”

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