John Andretti gets Indy ride, but not all is good
Rookie Howard pulled out of Roth’s No. 24 for “500″
As you have probably already heard, John Andretti has taken over the No. 24 Roth Racing machine for the Indianapolis 500. The normal driver of that car, rookie pilot Jay Howard, will return at Milwaukee in June.
Apparently, team owner/driver Marty Roth made the call to pull Howard after steady rain last week robbed the young Briton of valuable track experience. The Basildon, England native was expected to take the first qualifying run yesterday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before it was announced that Andretti took his ride for the month.
To Andretti’s credit, he’s not too happy about how he got his chance to race at Indy this year. He told The Indianapolis Star’s Steve Ballard:
“It gives you pause because I know how that other person feels. I didn’t come here to steal anybody’s ride. I just came here to race.”
Meanwhile, Howard was left to endure an awkward ESPN interview yesterday; if you saw it, you’d wonder how much he had to bite his tongue. I know that’s how I felt.
It’s kinda sad to see someone robbed of their first Indy experience like that. I understand the logic behind the move, but based on history, you’d think that it’d be Marty Roth getting the hook — if he wasn’t paying the bills.
I think Roth Racing still has the potential to be a solid team in the future, but maybe its biggest obstacle is right at the top. I just have to question this move; it has the potential to be a confidence-killer for Howard.
If he’s harboring some bad feelings right now, I wouldn’t blame him.
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5 Responses to “John Andretti gets Indy ride, but not all is good”
May 11th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Maybe not so much a confidence killer as a morale killer. If he’s angry about it then he won’t take it as a judgement on his ability - but it may make him think ‘what’s the point’ during those moments when a bit of extra special effort is needed.
May 11th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
This move is strictly a business decision. Obviously ypou do not understand racing.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Originally I heard that John A brought sponsorship money with him - that is a business decision. Now they are talking about his experience at Indy - a racing decision. If it really is the former, it is completely understandable, if it is the latter, Andretti should be sitting in Marty’s car for Indy and maybe beyond..
May 12th, 2008 at 11:48 am
BryanS hits it on the head. And Bruce, of course this is a business decision. Doesn’t make it any less strange (I’m trying to put it nicely).
May 13th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I am a big fan of John’s, However I agree with everyone here, Marty should step out of his ride and let Jay race. Jay has showed gradual improvement over the past few races. I think it would be good for the IRL and Roth racing to possibly retain the services of John Andretti for the remainder of season. It could very well happen with Larry Curry running the show over there.
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