LONG POND, Pennsylvania – Marco Andretti may have a mathematical chance of contending for the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series championship, but even he realizes the numbers may not add up for him. He enters Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono International Raceway seventh in the standings, 87 points behind the leader, Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya.
With just two races remaining in the season - including next weekend’s double-points season-finale at Sonoma Raceway - the six drivers in front of him would all have to have a hefty dose of bad luck and mathematically the odds of that happening are extremely low.
“Honestly, our mentality is this is a must win for us,” said the young driver who lives in nearby Nazareth, Pennsylvania. “Maybe some of the guys at the front, they’re going to be conservative, just keep yourself in that position. Whereas me, I have a little bit less to lose.
“I just have to worry about me and try to maximize what we can do, and the rest will hopefully take care of itself.”
Another number that Andretti may achieve is within his reach. He could become the second driver in Verizon IndyCar Series history to finish every lap of every race in the season. Tony Kanaan accomplished that feat when he won the title in 2004.
Andretti attempted to explain the reasons for his ability to stay on the lead lap and make it to the finish of every race.
“It takes everything,” Andretti said. “It takes me staying out of trouble. It's definitely a credit to Honda as well, for the reliability. Yeah, it's attrition. We just stuck with it. Even when we're a lap down, we still managed to come back and keep it on the lead lap. There have only been a few races where we were out of the top 10. From that standpoint, I'm happy with my season. I wish the highs were a little bit higher, but we’re minimizing how bad the lows are. But we need to capitalize when we have cars to do it.”
Andretti would much rather win a race. He has two career victories but his last came at Iowa Speedway in 2011. His first win came at Sonoma his rookie season in 2006.
His grandfather, Mario, and father, Michael, both raced at the unique 2.5-mile triangle-shaped racetrack. Mario won here in 1986.
There will be plenty of Andretti fans in the stands on Sunday and Andretti gets to be in his “comfort zone.”
“Selfishly because I can stay in my own bed, that's nice,” Andretti said. “The convenience of it is nice. I'm definitely choppering in on Sunday because of the traffic here. But Saturday I'll be able to drive. It's really like 27 miles away, my house. It's definitely an easy trip.
“But honestly, I was saying this earlier, if this track was anywhere in the world, I would love to race here. I honestly think it's made for these race cars. It's such a challenge, it's so fun, presents good racing. Obviously it's tough to find a balance - I'm sure everybody has been saying this - between (Turns) 1 and 3, but that's definitely what makes it fun.”
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Be sure to catch Bruce Martin's Honda IndyCar Report on RACEDAY on FOX Sports Radio every Sunday from 6-8 a.m. ET.
