Andretti ends five-year drought with Iowa Corn 250 win

NEWTON - Marco Andretti had heard the critics, but those voices are little quieter now.

After a five-year absence from victory lane, Andretti won the IZOD IndyCar Series Iowa Corn Indy 250 Saturday night at Iowa Speedway. It was just the second win for Andretti, who hadn't won since 2006 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

The finish came with a staisfying feeling mixed with relief the drought was over and optimism of future wins.

"I'm going to be looking to make a habit of this, that's for sure," said Andretti, 24, whose previous win was at age 19. "You know, it definitely gets the monkey off our back a bit because, you know, we can quiet a lot of my doubters at the same time. It feels so good."

Andretti said the win enforced the appreciation he has for the series' other drivers and teams. He proved his own merit, starting 17th and maneuvering his way among the leaders. His first win in 78 races was a product of his ability and the resolve of a team that worked together and made great adjustments throughout the weekend. Andretti's father and team owner, Michael Andretti, said he was proud of everyone's effort in Andretti Motorsports.

"It was a big win for us for sure," Michael Andretti said. "I think a lot of people were really pounding on us and thought we were down and out, but I can tell you this team has got tons of fight in it, and we are never out."

Andretti locked into a couple battles in the last 100 laps, fighting a couple of former Iowa Corn 250 winners. First, he contended for the lead with Dario Franchitti, who is in the lead for a third straight season points championship. Franchitti better than anyone at Iowa Speedway, winning in 2007 and 2009. Last year he led a race-high 69 laps before a failed gear box dropped him out of the race at 18th. It was more of the same last night with Franchitti leading 172 of the 250 laps, including 150 of the first 157.

Andretti exchanged leads with him, beating Franchitti out of a pit stop during the final of five cautions that came when pole sitter Takuma Sato crashed on lap 185. Franchitti never regained the lead and 2010 winner Tony Kanaan rolled on the track in third, leading to a dash between him and Andretti the rest of the way. The pair exchanged leads four times in 29 laps with Andretti taking the lead for good just inside 20 laps to go. Andretti, a teammate of Kanaan when Andretti won his first IndyCar race, led 42 laps. The race had five drivers and 10 lead changes.

"I mean, it was fun racing. You know, it's always nice at the front. You know you can always trust those guys. It was close, it was dicey, but that's what the fans want. We had a packed house tonight. It was good to see. I'm glad we could put on a bit of a show anyway," Andretti said. "But yeah, I think the last 30 laps I was really asking how many laps to go because I didn't want to wait until three laps to go to make the move because if he would have chopped me or something, I would have been way back kind of like what I did to him. I wanted to kind of be in the driver's seat and kind of make the move when he was least expecting it, and from there we had to really put our head down.

"I got the lead a couple times so I kind of knew what I needed to stay on the bottom. I was really aggressive with the tools in the car and stuff, and we made it work."

Andretti held off Kanaan, chopping down on the runner-up finisher late to keep his lead. Kanaan said he wasn't bothered by the move since it was for the win and would have likely done the same. As some hinted that maybe Andretti's first win was a result of circumstance more than his ability, Kanaan dismissed that idea this time.

"I think you need to forget about the first race and think about the second," Kanaan said. "If anybody had a doubt that he could win a race, if they watched the race today, he won it fair and square. I think he deserved it and he had a good car. He was strong all night long."

The victory returns one of the top names of IndyCar racing to the forefront of the sport. Andretti is also the grandson of Mario Andretti, who along with Michael Andretti, is among the all-time IndyCar greats. The series could benefit from the well-known auto racing family back in victory lane.

"Well, it's important for us, I know that. But I think it's great," Michael Andretti said. "I think it's something that we needed. I think it's going to be a popular win, and I think we need to get him up there winning more than just this one, and hopefully Graham (Rahal) will get up there, too, and get a little rivalry going. I think that sort of thing is always good."