The last time Marco Andretti finished 16th in the Verizon IndyCar Series points standings, after the 2012 campaign, he went into the offseason entirely motivated to work harder, dig deeper, and look at the ways to improve to re-establish himself in the series’ upper echelon.
What followed in 2013 was something of a tour de force and massive turnaround, with two podiums and three additional top-seven finishes in the first five races, to where he was leading the points after the Indianapolis 500.
Andretti ultimately ended a career-best fifth in points with at least two (Milwaukee and Pocono) and probably more potential wins that went begging through no fault of his own, but still had completed one of the biggest year-to-year turnarounds in recent history.
So with that as the blueprint, Andretti’s 2016 season saw him again finish 16th in points. This stands out because in 11 full-time seasons, and 183 starts, Andretti has finished in the top-10 in points in eight of them.
And the goal now is that Andretti won’t - can’t - look back at what went wrong and must channel the same ability to recapture that title-contending and race-winning form.
The introspection and belief that he can be better, and has to forget the bad of 2016, is what will drive the driver of the No. 27 hhgregg Honda for Andretti Autosport next season.
“I’m not running from the season I just had. I’m staring it in the face to be better,” Andretti told NBC Sports, following an event at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis where he presented mini helmets to sick children.
“From driving coaches to simulators, to everything I could do on the mental side to be sharp. To show up ready at St. Petersburg. It’s been extremely productive.
“From the team side, testing and development. Our new hires are awesome. They’re really listening to drivers… and addressing the complaints. There are some things I need to deal with better. We have to get the cars working better. We’re all doing our part. I think the gains can be huge because of that. If every one of us makes a gain, it will be big.”
In looking ahead to the offseason, Andretti said he needs to put in more physical work and readapt his driving style slightly.
“A lot of what I did between ’12 and ’13, I need to go back to,” he explained. “I’m not gonna be outworked this offseason by any single driver. Physically – the physical training – is putting in the work.”
Andretti’s month-long miss at the Indianapolis 500 sticks out. At a race that he’s usually a win contender all month, the No. 27 crew didn’t match the remaining four entries under the Andretti Autosport stable this year, and he admitted that stuck with him the rest of the year. After qualifying 14th, a 13th place marked his worst finish in the nine times he’s finished the race of the 11 times he’s started.
“From the mental side, I let Indianapolis ruin the rest of my season. I was extremely frustrated, and drove that way,” he explained.
“For me to go fast, I have to pull back a little. I was overdriving the car. I’m sure people think, if you’re slow, go faster... when in fact it may be the opposite.
“Bad as it all looked this year, I can’t wait to get to work to make it better.”
The changes coming to Andretti Autosport for next year includes the hire of Eric Bretzman as new technical director, while Bryan Herta - Andretti’s past teammate in his first full IndyCar season of 2006 - is set to replace Michael Andretti on the strategist box. Nathan O’Rourke continues as Andretti’s lead race engineer.
On the commercial side, hhgregg has stepped up in a multi-year agreement. Events like Tuesday’s at the Riley Hospital were put together by hhgregg, who plan to activate around both driver and team, which is something Marco Andretti says he likes.
Suffice to say the younger Andretti is bullish on both fronts.
“I’m thankful to hhgregg who set this up for me. I plan on doing more of this,” Andretti explained.
“Any chance you get to give back to the city that’s given me so much, means a lot to me. It’s a tough thing to see, because these kids are pretty admirable with what they go through. The pleasure was all mine.
“I want to start with saying I have a great respect for Bryan. It’s hard to smile when you’re not winning races,” he added.
“But still, I have to express how grateful I am to be in this position. You’re only going to get back up front if you don’t let the negatives compound, and to be honest, it’d be easy to let it spiral out of control.
“I’m really excited to be working with Bryan. Dad was great at calling races, but sometime it’s a hectic work environment, and no one wants to make mistakes. Every one of these guys is extremely talented.”
Andretti said keeping his mental focus sharp will be key next season.
“You don’t want to look back, because then you drive frustrated,” he said. “My whole career there’s been races I was in command to win. I only have two wins, but (almost) 1,000 laps led (he has 990 in his career, going without leading one for first time ever in 2016).
“It’s frustrating to think of those things. But my goal is to only look forward.
“A buddy of mine put it good the other day. He goes, ‘If you win Indy, is it worth it?’ You’re darn right it is.
“Workout training is what helps me the best. I’m still only thinking about the sport. There are times you need to unwind to extract the best. That’s easier said than done.
“But I know how I’m looked at. So I’m going to work harder, and I’m gonna take a ‘Me against the world’ approach. Once I can prevail, it’ll feel better.”