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Andretti Heritage Continues At Daytona

The Andretti family has been making a name for itself for decades, and it just keeps on going as witnessed in the 50th anniversary edition of the Rolex24 at Daytona. Mario Andretti got it started when he made his Rolex24 debut in 1966 and throughout the years one or more Andretti’s have competed in the world-class race. And he’s been trailed by five family members since then.

Mario’s first race was in a privateer Ferrari, and he came back six years later with a factory-backed Ferrari 312PB, winning the event with co-driver Jacky Ickx. “1972 was a good year for us on many fronts,” Andretti said during a recent press conference. “We were on the pole and dropped a cylinder at the start, so we just hung in there running flat out.”

Running second to a team car late in the race, Andretti and Ickx grabbed the lead when the frontrunner faltered, limping home to the victory. “It was a very satisfying win,” he said.

Fast forwarding a few years, Andretti came back with a Porsche 962, sharing it with his son, Michael. In 1991, Mario and Michael were together again and they were joined by Jeff Andretti, Michael’s younger brother. The father and sons combination took fifth with a car beset with turbo problems.

Aldo Andretti, Mario’s twin brother, never raced in the Rolex24 but his son John has, taking the Andretti name to victory lane once again. John made quite a name for himself in the late 1980s and early 1990s, racing sports cars, stock cars and open-wheel cars and in the 1989 Rolex 24, the likable second-generation driver teamed with Derek Bell and Bob Wollek to win the 24-hour race in Jim Busby’s Porsche 962. John also won on the Daytona International Speedway tri-oval in 1997, capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400.

The Andretti heritage in the Rolex24 further evolved this weekend when John returned, being accompanied by his son Jarett, 19, a freshman at North Carolina State University. John has been semi-active of late and his son is fairly new to racing. When the father and son duo got the opportunity to be teammates, they eagerly accepted the invited. They drove the Yellow Dragon Motorsports Mazda RX-8 along with two more youthful drivers, Anders Krohn and Taylor Jacquard.

And Andretti fans received an extra treat when Marco Andretti, Mario’s grandson and Michael’s son, made an unscheduled appearance Saturday evening. Marco had been testing his Andretti Autosport IndyCar in West Palm Beach earlier in the day and when IndyCar teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay extended an invitation to join the Starworks Motorsport Ford Riley team, the third-generation driver jumped at the chance.

Marco arrived three hours into the race and even though he had never turned a lap in a Daytona Prototype or raced at Daytona, he climbed into the Starworks car, taking his turn in the driver rotation until sidelined with leg cramps.

In Friday’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season-opening BMW 200, Jarett made his Daytona debut in the Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5 in the Street Tuner class. His co-driver was Tyler Cooke, 17.

For rookies Jarett and Cooke, the duo was seeing the Daytona road course for the first time but they made the most of the opportunity by participating in the pre-season tests. “Jarett jumped in the car and he liked it, and it turned out to be a great fit,” said Cooke, who graduated from high school a week ago. He’s a transplanted Floridian, who moved to North Carolina with his family a year ago.

Discussing the challenge of racing at Daytona, Cooke stated, “Making my debut here has been fun. It is such a cool place and a fast track, too. The speed difference between the classes is huge. Daytona is all about getting accustomed to the series, learning how the car works and not interfering with the other class.”

Cooke started racing at age three, moved into go-karts and then on to a Skip Barber series, the Spec Miata NASA Championship and the Playboy MX-5 Series. One of his most significant accomplishments was winning the 13 hours of Virginia International Raceway a year ago. “My ultimate dream is Grand-Am,” the youngster said. “It is so fan friendly and it is fun to talk with little kids, just as I did years ago when I met Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister at a race.”

Despite the rain and slick track, Cooke and Andretti fared well, to the delight of their Mazda team and their proud parents.

John Andretti relished the opportunity to race with Jarett, and he expressed surprise with his son’s recent interest in racing. “Jarett wasn’t too interested in racing until a couple of years ago,” John said. “His interest all along has been with soccer. But the first time he got into a car, he said, ‘I have to do this.’ In his second race, a USAC Focus event, he finished second. While I have been coaching him, there’s no substitute for driving. You have to get in, go about your business and get it on. He does just that and learns fast.”

Addressing the Rolex24, John said, “It is going to be exciting for me to race with my son and to race in the 50th anniversary Rolex24 along with the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500. I never thought this would happen and now here we are, and we are having a good time.”

As for carrying on with the family name, Jarett said, “It is special to carry on such a significant name in motorsports, but I am just trying to build a career and hopefully I can live up to one half of what my family has done.”

For Jarett, the Rolex24 was his first endurance race and as indicated, the first time to race with his father. They completed 270 laps, placing 37th in class.

Whether it is Mario, Michael, Jeff, Marco, John or Jarett, the Andretti legacy continues to grow unabated, and undoubtedly one or more of them will be racing for years to come along with their descendants. And when they retire, the Andretti name will be forever etched into the history books

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