Bentley made it a sixth different manufacture to win the Bathurst 12 Hour in the last six years with the #7 Bentley of Jules Gounon, Jordan Pepper and Maxime Soulet taking the victory and setting the distance record at 314 laps and 1,950.882 km. The rain held off until after the checkered flag was waved. Elsewhere in the world, Formula E cancelled the Sanya, China event scheduled for March 22nd due to the coronavirus outbreak. Lawrence Stroll has purchased Aston Martin and in 2021 Racing Point will become Aston Martin. The 2021 season opener will be the first race for Aston Martin in Formula One since the 1960 British Grand Prix. The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions. There was a lot news last week and not all of it was good. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
A Tough Week
There is no real great way to start this but last week had a somber ending to it.
John Andretti died at the age of 56. Andretti had been battling colon cancer.
We all knew Andretti was sick and he had been fighting this for a while. There was a time when it seemed it was going to come out in Andretti's favor but the cancer came back, he had kind of run the course when it came to chemotherapy and everything had been done. I think we were all praying for Andretti and hoped for a miracle that would not come.
I can't think of ever hearing one bad thing about John Andretti. I feel like if you said the name John Andretti it made everyone smile. Everyone liked John Andretti and John Andretti liked everyone back.
Andretti never sought the spotlight though his last name attracted it. Every word he spoke came with plenty of thought. He never said something for shock value. He was a class act everywhere he went, from IndyCar to NASCAR, sports cars to drag racing.
The numbers are going to tell one story and we are not going to be talking about John Andretti as one of the greatest drivers of all-time but in an era where specialization was en vogue Andretti won the 24 Hours of Daytona, an IndyCar race at Surfers Paradise, the inaugural Surfers Paradise race to be specific, a NASCAR race at Daytona and Martinsville and made the semifinals in a top fuel dragster. He was also the first driver to attempt "The Double" and running the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day in 1994. He started and finished tenth in Indianapolis but only completed 196 laps, 490 miles. At Charlotte, he retired after 226 laps and finished 36th.
It is not a slight to say John Andretti was a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. His versatility and competitiveness in everything he drove is incredible. He took chances that most drivers would not even consider taking. He took chances and was good at what he hoped in. This wasn't some guy running all these different types of car as a publicity stunt and being the slowest competitor most of the time. He wasn't winning in everything but he could get in and run at a respectable pace where on his day he could pull out a top ten result.
In his career, Andretti drove for Andy Granatelli, Jim Hall, A.J. Foyt, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, Gene Haas, John Barnes, Jim Harbaugh, Marty Roth and his cousin Michael Andretti.
It would be great if another John Andretti existed and during these changing times in the world of motorsports it could be possible. Drivers are struggling to find the funding to go full-time anywhere but we are seeing drivers focus on the big events and filling their schedule with other series. James Davison is attempting to run the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 this year and he ran some USAC Silver Crown races last year and made his Chili Bowl debut last month. Conor Daly pieced together a season with IndyCar and NASCAR a few years ago and he run a fair number of midget races over the last 12 months.
Drivers are still interested in The Double. Kyle Busch wants to do it. His brother Kurt did it in 2014. Robby Gordon did it a handful of times. Tony Stewart did it twice. Without John Andretti, is The Double a thing? Of all the people in motorsports to put it on the map, John Andretti was the man for the job. If he doesn't do it we cannot save whether Gordon or Stewart would make attempts just a few years later. It might not be much but it is an important legacy to leave.
We are going to be sad for a while. We have lost a wonderful man, someone who lifted up every room he entered. John Andretti was an interview always worth listening to and you knew you would be better off for hearing what he had to say.
------
I will admit it is not easy to transition from the passing of anyone but prior to Andretti's passing the news had come out that the 2020 season will be Tony Kanaan's last IndyCar season and it will be an abbreviated season, with Kanaan only competing at the oval events, starting at Indianapolis, moving to Texas, Richmond, Iowa and ending at Gateway on August 22nd.
We knew we were approaching Kanaan's final days in IndyCar. He is 45 years old but it is still tough to wrap your head around especially when Kanaan hasn't missed an IndyCar start in over 18 years. There are young men and women across this country that are in their first year of college and have never seen Kanaan miss an IndyCar race. That is incredible.
Kanaan hasn't been a regular contender for victory in a decade but it is still going to feel weird not seeing him at St. Petersburg. He was the one guy we could always pencil in being on the grid. Whether it was in the #11 7-Eleven Honda with Andretti Green Racing, the beautifully underrated #82 Lotus-sponsored Honda he drove at KV Racing, back to his famed #11 Chevrolet with KV Racing, the #10 Ganassi entry and finally in the #14 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, you could always quickly pick out Kanaan even if he was not running at the front.
The one thing I am trying to grasp is how did a boy from Salvador, Brazil end up becoming a beloved son of Speedway, Indiana?
Kanaan isn't even the most successful Brazilian in the Indianapolis 500 but he is cheered like a Hoosier through and through.
All I can think of is Kanaan has always been approachable. He is a soft-spoken guy. He has always had a relaxed persona. I think his championship season had something to do with it. We downplay how much the championship actually means but in 2004, Kanaan was smooth. He completed every lap, won a handful of races and was flawless. During a topsy-turvy time in American open-wheel racing Kanaan was undeniably a standout star.
The tribulations Kanaan went through in the Indianapolis 500 made him a sympathetic driver. He was leading in his rookie year and spun in some oil. I think Buddy Rice had the 2004 race covered but Kanaan was second and perhaps if those final 20 laps are run he could have pulled it out. He was on the wrong side of a rain delay in 2007. He had two brutal accidents in 2008 and 2009, neither of which were his fault but both happened when Kanaan was a contender. He nearly missed the race in 2010 but even after he made it had to start at the rear due to switching cars, put together a remarkable performance to get his name into the conversation late and finished 11th.
When Kanaan finally won in 2013 it felt more than due. He has lost so many different ways but each time greeted everyone with a smile. He loved the race and he loved IndyCar during a time when not many gave it the time of day.
Kanaan is 30 starts behind Mario Andretti's all-time record of 407 starts. I really wanted to see him break that because he already has the ironman streak. When you make 317 consecutive starts, breaking the previously record by 105 starts, holy smokes you deserve to be the most experienced IndyCar driver. To get that record he would have had to run two more full seasons and it felt possible but it just seems this train has run out of steam.
I know what Kanaan has said and if Gateway is it then I think he could not ask for a better place outside of Indianapolis to end his career but I really hope Kanaan keeps running Indianapolis as a one-off until he is 50. He isn't but Kanaan is in the shape to go until he is 50. If he qualifies in 2020, he will have made 19 Indianapolis 500 starts. I want him to get 20. I want him to go to 50 and get to 24 Indianapolis 500 starts. Heck, let's have him go to 51 and get 25 Indianapolis 500 starts. If he gets to 24, he ties Johnny Rutherford and Gordon Johncock for fourth all-time. If he gets to 25, he is alone in fourth and behind only A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Al Unser with those three on 35 starts, 29 starts and 27 starts respectively.
That is asking a lot and if Kanaan is set on calling it a day on 19 Indianapolis 500 starts and 392 starts then I can say goodbye and put all those record book ambitions aside as nothing but vanity for a contemporary.
This was a tough week. A lot of change happened and change is fine. It is natural but it can still make you sad and that is ok as well. Life will continue, a lot of good things are going to happen even if the characters in the play are different.
The important thing from the last few days is to enjoy every day you have and not waste a second of it.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about the Bathurst 12 Hour but did you know...
Eli Tomac won the Supercross race at Oakland, his second victory of the season.
Igor Fraga won the first and third Toyota Racing Series races from Hampton Downs. Franco Colapinto won the second race.
Coming Up This Weekend
NASCAR is back with Daytona 500 qualifying and an exhibition race known as the Clash.
Supercross has a round in San Diego.
Toyota Racing Series will be at Pukekohe Park.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
