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In
the final race of the 2010 season Marco Andretti finished the Café
Do Brasil Indy 300 in seventh place, sealing an eighth place
position in the IZOD Indycar Series Championship. It was his 8th
top ten finish of a year with only one DNF in a seventeen race
season.
At the Homestead-Miami oval track Marco started well. From a 16th
position start Marco raced most of the night in the top ten, sealing
a very
fast 211.934
mph third
lap
for
the #26
Venom
Energy car. Early pit strategy looked good too, with Marco running
up front for 10 laps mid race. Later cautions changed the game,
otherwise Marco may have been racing for the win in the closing
stages.
Congratulations go out to Dario Franchitti, Marco's former teammate,
for his a record-tying three IZOD IndyCar Series championships.
Marco said afterwards:
"The Venom car
was good tonight but we made a wrong decision as a team and pitted
during that second to last yellow. I almost took it upon myself
to stay out - I saw Dixon high in my mirrors and knew he wasn’t
going to come in. It was a replay in my head of Richmond a couple
years ago; the win is right in front of you and you risk throwing
it away. It’s disappointing but we win and lose as a team."
On behalf of Marco, the whole #26 Venom Energy team and Andretti
Autosport we would like to thank you for your loyal support during
2010. We look forward to seeing you next year for the 2011 season
beginning with The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March
27th. Thanks, and see you there!
Marco
achieved his second best result at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit in Japan racing
to 11th position. He started well, and moved
up to P4 where he found his signature racing line on the high side of the
1.52-mile oval, ramianing in the top five throughout his first stint. As the
race progressed the car seemed to lose pace: a
series
of pit stops saw the #26 Venom Energy car loose a few positions.
Andretti Autosport had been keeping its cars in or close to
the top 10. Danica Patrick, returning to the track of her 2008 win,
led the team's odd-position finishes with fifth place. Kanaan was seventh, Ryan
Hunter-Reay ninth and then
Marco in 11th. Polesitter Helio Castroneves led 153 of 200 laps on his way to
his second victory
in a row and third on the season.
Marco
said afterwards: "It
was a really frustrating day for the Venom crew. We had pretty high expectations
but things didn't go our way. The car wasn't where we needed it - we made changes
in the pits but nothing seemed to help. We'll regroup and move on the Homestead."
Marco
Andretti finished the Kentucky Indy 300 race in sixth place after
another strong top ten performance. From a P15 start Marco was
soon amongst the leading cars and was placed around between 3rd
and 6th for most of the race. Pit stops and race strategy didn't
go
in
the
#26 car's
favor but Marco joined his Andretti Autosport teammates in chasing
hard towards the front.
The final stages of the race were all about fuel strategies. The
race was eventually won by Castroneves who raced on when most,
including Marco Andretti, stopped for a late splash-and-dash.
Marco said afterwards: "The
Meijer car wasn’t as strong in traffic as we needed it to
be. I wasn’t able to work my magic on the high line and we
fell on the wrong side of strategy. It’s still nice to be
able to finish inside the top 10, but after running in the top
three for most of the night, I was hoping for more out of the finish."
From
a 5th place start Marco Andretti was running up front throughout
the Peak Antifreeze
and Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.
He ended up with a third-place finish in the Saturday after a
thrilling finish.
Defending Chicagoland winner Ryan Briscoe held
the early lead, with Marco close by. Marco ran a high line all
evening and had good battles with Will Power and Briscoe in a race
that frequently saw three-wide racing action; but for the winning
team's canny pit stop strategy The #26 Venom Energy car may well
have taken victory.
Explaining
how he makes such good use of the highline Andretti said: "I normally
set my car up to run there because if you’re one of the few that
can run up there, it’s
normally clean air and you can just stay flat-out. If somebody
is running on the white line, you can’t pass them, so that’s the
only way to pass them."
Marco lost track position on the last
pit stop of the night, pushing him from second position to seventh,
but because his car is set up to run the high line, he was able
to work his way though the field again and ultimately, finish third.
Like race winner Dario Franchitti, Andretti and his crew debated
whether to forgo taking a fresh set of wheels during their final
pit stop; they didn’t, and in hindsight, he said, that "appeared
to be the call.".
Marco Andretti led an Andretti Autosport trio in the top five with
a third place finish. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan followed.
An
eventful afternoon's racing for Marco Andretti and the #26 Venom
Energy car ended with a P12 finish at the Infieon Raceway in
Sonoma, California.
From a P18 start, varying pit strategies meant that Marco ran as high as second
and as low as 22nd during the race. On lap 33 under caution the
#26 crew called Marco in for a final stop hoping for strategy
to play out in his favor. Several incidents with other cars didn't
help, however, and after one last pit stop the 26 car came home
in 12th position.
Marco said afterwards "It was a long day for the Venom car. We decided early
to go off sequence and we were running second for a while. I think it would have
been an interesting day if our strategy had been able to work out. The caution
came out a few laps earlier than we would have liked and we had to start over
with a new plan. Then I made contact with a couple of cars later in the race;
there was no major damage but it affected the car's handling for sure. Things
just didn't go our way today."
 Back
in the Meijer livery Marco Andretti and the #26 car started and
finished the race in 9th place "It
was a disappointing day for the Meijer car. It's nice to finish
inside
the top 10 but
we
had higher
hopes. We're still struggling a bit with the car and didn't have
it dialed in today."
Marco lost ground early on to Justin Wilson and was working on
shortening the gap before Wilson and Viso collided to give the
#26 two positions. Under pit stops one more position was gained
at a circuit that is very difficult to make a pass.
Much of middle period of the race was spent working on a pass for
Simona de Silvestro's car, whilst holding off a late charge by
Scott Dixon.
Marco was
the highest placed Andretti Autosports driver. Ryan Hunter-Reay
overcame contact in the pits to finish 10th, Kanaan was 17th, rookie
Adam Carroll finished 19th and Danica Patrick was the last
car running on the lead lap in 21st.
In two weeks Marco is back at the scene of his first Indycar victory,
Infineon Raceway in California.
MarcoZone.com
will be up-to-date daily with news, schedules & quotes from
Marco, so visit often! Don't forget to check the Events section
to see what appreances Marco will be at during the month, blog
on your personal page about your visits to the tracks and upload
pictures
for all
members
to enjoy. Be sure to visit the Online Store for specially designed
Marco merchandise not available at any track this season.
 After
qualifications there's an additional Forum Discussion for Good
Luck Wishes. Feel free to use the current race Discussion to
wish Marco & the 26 crew Good Luck during quals and the race!
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