The two pals are looking forward to going for the win at Indy. Andretti is optimistic for 2017
The 101 st running of the Indianapolis 500 is set for high noon Sunday and this is a wide open field with at least eight to ten drivers with cars that could win. One of those drivers is Marco Andretti, the pilot of the No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda. He will be starting in the third row in the number eight slot with plenty of time work his way to the front of the pack.
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Another person of interest is 22-year-old Sage Karam, who hails from Nazareth Pennsylvania, the same home town as his good friend Marco Andretti. He will be starting 21st in the field in his No. 24 Chevrolet driving for Dreyer & Reinbold.
I spoke to both men who were on their way early this week to watch their favorite Philadelphia Phillies play before heading to Indianapolis for the 500. This year both drivers have cars worthy of strong consideration of getting the checkered flag.
Andretti come from racing royalty and it has been 50 years since his grandfather Mario has won the race. But Marco, does not feel the pressure of having to win, he just, like all the other men in the field, wants a shot to win and this year he feels he has a serious chance to win.
“I think I’ve had eight legitimate shots at winning this race, and it just hasn’t worked out so far,” Andretti said. “Hopefully, we can change that this weekend and everything will work out.”
As for Karam he is a confident young driver but he is also very smart. “Well starting in the back of the field but the key is to pick our spots and work our way through the field. Then when we get up to the top of the field we just have to stay smart when we get up there. I want to be there with 20 or 30 laps to go and cruise around in the top-five. If we’re there, I think we’ll have the opportunity to pounce when we need to and fight for a win.”
We have plenty more with both guys in our pre-race podcast you can hear bellow.
With position, car number, driver, engine, team, four-lap qualifying speed average:
Row 1
1. 9, Scott Dixon, Honda, Ganassi, 232.164 mph
2. 20, Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, Carpenter, 231.664
3. 98, Alexander Rossi, Honda, Andretti Herta, 231.487
Row 2
4. 26, Takuma Sato, Honda, Andretti, 231.365
5. 29, Fernando Alonso, Honda, Andretti McLaren, 231.300
6. 21, JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, Carpenter, 230.889
Row 3
7. 10, Tony Kanaan, Honda, Ganassi, 230.828
8. 27, Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti, 230.474
9. 12, Will Power, Chevrolet, Penske, 230.200
Row 4
10. 28, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, Andretti, 231.442
11. 19, Ed Jones, Honda, Coyne, 230.578
12. 16, Orio Servia, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, 230.309
Row 5
13. 7, Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, Schmidt Peterson, 230.271
14. 15, Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, 230.253
15. 8, Max Chilton, Honda, Ganassi, 230.068
Row 6
16. 83, Charlie Kimball, Honda, Ganassi, 229.956
17. 5, James Hinchcliffe, Honda, Schmidt Peterson, 229.860
18. 22, Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, Penske, 229.565
Row 7
19. 3, Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, Penske, 229.515
20. 77, Jay Howard, Honda, Schmidt Peterson, 229.414
21. 24, Sage Karam, Chevrolet, Dreyer & Reinbold, 229.380
Row 8
22. 2, Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Penske, 228.501
23. 1, Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, Penske, 228.093
24. 14, Carlos Munoz, Chevrolet, Foyt, 227.921
Row 9
25. 88, Gabby Chaves, Chevrolet, Harding, 226.921
26. 4, Conor Daly, Chevrolet, Foyt, 226.439
27. 50, Jack Harvey, Honda, Shank Andretti, 225.742
Row 10
28. 63, Pippa Mann, Honda, Coyne, 225.008
29. 11, Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, Juncos, 224.052
30. 44, Buddy Lazier, Chevrolet, Lazier, 223.417
Row 11
31. 17, Sebastian Saavedra, Chevrolet, Juncos, 221.142
32. 40, Zach Veach, Chevrolet, Foyt, 221.081
33. 18, James Davison, Honda, Coyne, no speed
