There are times throughout a day when Jarett Andretti looks for an answer, whether it is in racing or in life. Those are the times when he asks himself, “What would dad do?”
Andretti’s father, John, died Jan. 30 after a lengthy battle with stage 4 colon cancer.
“It’s tough every day,” said the 27-year-old Andretti. “I think about him a lot. That will never go away. You try to make him as proud as you can each day and do things the way he would expect.
“I spent so much time with him, it was really easy when faced with a situation, I’ll ask myself, ‘What would dad tell me at this point? What would dad do?’
“I have a pretty good idea what he would do and that is the way I go,” the third-generation racer continued. “It’s tough not having him around, but I know he is looking down and watching. He is proud when we are doing well and he will help support me when it’s not going as well as it could.”
Once racing resumes following the long shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jarett Andretti will climb back into a McLaren in GT4 and a USAC sprint car for Andretti Autosport, which is owned by his cousin Michael Andretti.
Former NASCAR Cup Series director Robin Pemberton oversees Jarett Andretti’s effort for Andretti Autosport. Both men split time between their homes in the Lake Norman, N.C., area and Andretti Autosport in Indianapolis.
“Our desks are connected,” Andretti explained. “I can just lean back and talk to him. Having a guy with that much experience is great. You know his success as a crew chief, representing a manufacturer and then being the director of competition with NASCAR. He sees all sides of motorsports. Sometimes, I’ll ask him questions and he can frame it up from a competitor’s standpoint, a manufacturer’s standpoint and a sanctioning body’s standpoint. That wealth of knowledge is very hard to find.
“You tend to favor looking at issues to one side and he can have you look at it from all angles. He’s a great guy to work with. He’s a fun person who loves racing and doing that on a weekly basis. I just enjoy working with him.”
Andretti Autosport is involved in various forms of racing including a massive, multi-car effort in the NTT IndyCar Series as well as Indy Lights, Formula E, Rallycross and Extreme E to name a few.
Jarett Andretti’s sprint car and GT4 programs may be a small part of the overall operation, but the resources, experience and advice run deep.
“I’m in that shop working on my own cars,” Andretti said. “The work they put into their cars all the way from mechanics to machinists to car chiefs to partnership activation, they have been able to build that team and it shows. There is no other team I would rather drive for than the one owned by my godfather, my cousin and my dad’s cousin and somebody who has been so successful and influential in my career, as well.”
Being an Andretti in racing brings high expectations.
“Michael has been fantastic,” Jarett Andretti said. “His career as a driver speaks for itself. He has made a second career as an owner and an incredible one at that. I’ve been working closer with him and J.F. Thormann the past few months. What they have done is amazing. They take everything in stride, including this pandemic and working with partners and employees.
“It’s really nice to have Michael’s support,” Andretti noted. “He is another person who understands things from multiple angles. He understands what you are going through when you show up for a race weekend, when you strap in the car, when you go to qualify and when you are ready to race. He understands what it is like to be a team owner, as well.
“I can’t say enough about the support that he gives and the things he has done for me and my family.”
Of course, there is the family patriarch, Jarett Andretti’s legendary great uncle Mario Andretti.
“He is a fantastic storyteller,” Jarett Andretti said. “His memory is incredible when you talk about specific races and times in his career. It’s great whenever you can talk to him. He is one phone call away when you have questions and that is a wealth of knowledge a lot of people don’t have access to. He has been fantastic helping as much as he can along the way with knowledge and advice.
“The thing about racing is it is so much more than driving the car. It’s dealing with teams, partners and owners. He has such knowledge about that. It is important to tap into that as much as you can.”
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