microphone pict Interview by Earl Ma
with photos by the author

©1999 SpeedCenter

Mario Andretti: I believe in the guys that are running this thing

 

Mario signing autographs

Mario Andretti joined the Hawaiian Super Prix team in April as the race's official spokesman, paying his first visit under that role to the 50th State in July. Mario, who once owned a vacation condo on Maui, and his PR person Kathi Lauterbach paid a return visit from September 28 to October 1. During that time, he attended an HSP-hosted reception in Waikiki on Tuesday, visited military bases on Thursday, and hot-lapped the track Friday in a Corvette. We asked him about the current wave of controversy surrounding the race, his additional role as CART's goodwill ambassador in driving Chip Ganassi's new two-seater ChampCar, and the current activities of his younger son and 1991 CART/Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Jeff.


 

Question: I assume a lot of people have come up to you in the CART paddock recently asking you, 'I heard such-and-such about this race not happening - what's going on?' Have you been able to reassure them that everything's on the up-and-up and this race isn't being cancelled?

    Mario Andretti: Well, the point is, that's not my job, really. I was invited to help promote this race, and they're paying me to do that. I am gladly doing it because I really believe in it. There were some hurdles that they had to overcome. Obviously, all of that has been taken care of, so that's not an issue. The race is on - the energy's picking up.

    Yeah, there was a lot of skepticism, even very close to the people that I know. But I always felt - I believe in the guys that are running this thing, and yeah, whenever you're going after something of this magnitude, you're always gonna have some potential problems, but apparently it looks like things are coming together fine, and it's all happening, so that's the important thing.

Question: There have been complaints from people outside the state of Hawaii that this event is not being advertised enough or not being promoted enough. Do you see that as being the case, and what can possibly be done to address that?

    Mario Andretti: Yeah, it's probably hasn't been talked about (enough). I'd like to see more of an open invitation for the four (wild card) spots. Again, that's something that's out of my control. Maybe we'll do that for next year. The CART group was probably very selfish by not accepting that side of it - I'm critical of that. But once the show is under way, then the promoters can say, ‘you know what, this is what we want to do, and you guys have to go along with it.' So that's really what it's all about. It's gonna be important to get that first one under our belt, and then go on and build this event up to the stature - to the dimension that it should enjoy.

Question: What are your thoughts on the track surface and layout, having driven on it today?

    Mario Andretti: Well you know, the surface is something that was just finished, so I couldn't really get after it with the car that I had. But it was very smooth. I think the guys are gonna like it. It's gonna have about three different surface qualities, which again is gonna present a challenge. The guy that gets it figured out quickly is gonna love it. It's the usual thing.

    It's gonna be quite a challenge because it'll have a couple different lines to choose from, because of the width of the track in certain areas. But because it's fairly simple, it's gonna be very, very difficult to gain any type of an advantage. Again, I think these guys are gonna have to work pretty hard to prevail and be up front, because it's gonna be very, very close. I see qualifying - probably the whole field inside a second.

Question: Are you still planning on driving the two-seater Reynard here before this race?

    Mario Andretti: We're probably gonna be bringing it out here.

Question: Have you had the opportunity yet to take any stick-and-ball sport reporters out for some laps, and did they receive the education you wanted them to get from it?

    Mario Andretti: A few...the (local media at CART tracks) - they're mostly stick-and-ball guys, and they don't really have any idea how much effort it takes. But they were hyperventilating after two laps. There was this one tall guy at Chicago...he was pretty well spent. The ovals are fun, but at Laguna and the road courses, it's more of a thrill. I even took Kathi out for a spin. (Kathi recalls receiving bruises on her arms which lasted for days.)

Question: Of all the different chassis and engine combinations you've driven over the years, is there a particular one you consider the "best?"

    Mario Andretti: Probably the Lotus 79. Any failure with that car was just mechanical - I either won or it broke.

Question: Do you help with the development of special parts on the Swift chassis for Newman/Haas?

    Mario Andretti: No, I don't. Today's technology is so high-tech, and the engineers are so well advanced, that the drivers are handed a piece of equipment and are told to drive it and give us your feedback. With wind tunnel testing the chassis today are pitched, rolled and yawed in order to test the full dynamics of the car. In my days, basically the engineers just made sure the car went straight.

Question: What are your thoughts on the current state of the CART/IRL dialogue and Tony George's latest breakoff in negotiations?

    Mario Andretti: I really hope they get common ground on this...but they all lose; Indianapolis loses - CART also loses. They've got Indy, but it's a sad situation...Tony George is probably the most hated man in motorsports.

Question: What are your thoughts about Jeffrey running in the Craftsman Truck series this year, and is he adapting well to what basically is an entirely different type of race car for him?

    Mario Andretti: Well, Jeff hasn't really shown that he has adapted at all at the moment. But I think all of that is coming. We felt he had a pretty good race potentially going in Nazareth, and he got T-boned there. So when you're running in the back, you usually tend to get into trouble. He needs to get this thing together so he can do some testing. The testing, I think, will give him the level of confidence he needs to qualify better and be up there with the guys who really know what they're doing.

Jerrette Kaye contributed to this interview.


Mario and Rutherford at work