You know, I got to thinking again..........with Marco, Danica, and Hunter Reay on the team, you gotta think Michael is still a better driver then any of those three. At least I do. Get's a muppet to thinking whether or not he could still be competitive in this series. I know he's never coming back, but I bet he still has the chops.
What do you guys think? Think Michael could still be competitive in the series?
"Try some of these before or after your statements if you are not presenting them as facts. Things like - "In my opinion", or "I think that", JHMO, IMHO, IMO, JMO... Your opinions are not (necessarily) fact. That would clear things up some." - Seadog 03/25/2010 11:40am So the above is JMO.
A few years ago I asked Johnny Rutherford that same question about himself, and he said absolutely he could come back and compete. That's because he has no fear. I don't know about Michael, but when a man gets to the second half of his life, he sees things a little differently, loses that fearless swagger, maybe feels a few more aches and pains after crossing those bricks 200 times. Besides fear, the biggest problems are eyesight and reaction time.
Wheldon is a legend now. One of the immortal Gods of Speed.
Michael is 48, he could still compete if he were slim enough. Mario was 54 when he retired, but he could still have driven more.
Yeah, I think Michael could still compete given some lead time to get into competition shape again. But really, there are two questions here:
1.) Could Michael compete at Indy in a one-off?
2.) Could Michael compete as a full-season driver?
I think the answer to #1 is yes, he could. He'd have time to get into great shape, he knows the track, he knows the cars, and his team could put him in a car that should comfortably qualify (TK's troubles notwithstanding). In one race on a familiar track, I'd be shocked if he didn't give a good account of himself.
It's tougher to answer #2. While guys from Michael's era didn't get hurt with the same frequency or severity as guys from prior eras, he did have a few big hits so I don't think it's as simple as just looking at his age. Does his back bother him? How about his knees? How are his eyes? None of these are deal-breakers (he seems to be in pretty good shape, from what I've seen), but they add up over the long haul. I think he could definitely be competitive running St. Pete, Long Beach, Indy, Milwaukee, and Sonoma. But what about Kentucky, late in the season, with a bumpy track, and a lot of business concerns on his mind. Could he do it? Sure. Is it as simple a question as #1? Heck no.
Of course, I still say if you convinced Rich Mears to run Ryan Briscoe's car at Indy, he'd put it on the pole and we'd have a five-time winner, so I may be a little biased.
And Michael drove at Indy (and drove well) just four years ago. It's not like we're talking about Bobby Rahal or Danny Sullivan, with a decade out of the car.Originally Posted by Grizzlor
EDIT: Hey, here's an idea for promoting the series. Convince Vasser and Michael to both run Long Beach, and make sure PT's in a car too. Want to see how the current guys compare? Let's see 'em race!
On a oval yes
I'm suprised we havent seen him at Indy every year
I think he could still give 'em hell at Indy.
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i think he would be competitive ... if he drove for a team other than his , lol
too easy....
He could certainly be competitive although it would detract from his team owner responsibilities.
LOL!
Could you still beat him?
Damn, PT, that's cold-blooded.
Well, the cars haven't changed any since he retired........
His belly - changed a lot. LOL
Of course he could. I mean he drove in 2006 and 2007.
But why would he want to write another chapter of the Andretti Curse? Hasn't he suffered enough already?
I'd sure like to see if Michael could still win. To answer the question though, if he had the same attitude and approach that he had 10+ years ago every time he got in the car, yes I believe Michael could probably still win.
My first Indy 500 was 1973, haven't missed one since 1981. To date I have attended 35 Indy 500's, and probably 100 or so other IndyCar races (CART & IRL).
To me it wouldn't be his age but the years not being behind the wheel that makes me say he wouldn't be. He hasn't driven any kind of race car since his last Indy 500. Could he be fast in testing, could he seem like he was really back in the swing after a few laps? Sure but the grind of a long race, sitting in a position his body hasn't been forced into for a few years, for hours, that's when it would take a toll on how well he could do.
When athletes take a season or two off and come back they might give the same effort and have the same style but the results of the increased age combined withthe layoff knock them down from where when they left or could be if they had continued. Ryne Sandberg took several steps down after taking time off and returning, Michael Jordan the Wizard was as tough as he was before but couldn't rise above the 'good' level against players who wouldn't have been able to dream of keeping up with him before.
The clock runs out on athletes and they're the ones who know it. Some admit it, hang it up and take up statesman status. Some hang on too long and make people wonder why they don't just gracefully move on.
"You can't arrest those guys, they're folk heroes"
"They're criminals"
"Well most folk heroes started out as criminals"
Both Bobby And Al were 47 when they won their final 500s.
There are only three drivers over the past 30 years, and none in the past 15, who were able to win an Indy Car race after their 48th birthday, and they hadn't spent the better part of a decade out of the game. No, Michael would not win today.
Cheever was 48 in his final races. Probably the oldest who took the wheel in recent years.
NO!
Great driver, and has my respect. Go getem openwheelers.
It's really a shame that he chose not to participate in the 500 in '05. That would've been the best shot at it in his career. AGR cars were dominant then.
Had the '06 race won before AJ forced F. Giaffone to drive around with a broken car, and crash.
I think he absolutely could. He is a very, very good driver, one of the best of the last 30 years.
There is no one in this series that Michael could not handle on his best day.
If he came back I bet it would actually raise everyone's game on his whole team.
Not so dominat as in '91 or '92. I guess his biggest chance to win was in '93. He didn't participate, but in that car even Mansell almost won. That car was a level above others on ovals that year.
In 2001 he had his last real chance. He was fast, actually the fastest car towards the end. He won the mighty battle against Greg Ray. But then Roger arranged that he damages his wing in the pits, which cost him win. At the end it was impossible to catch Helio and Gil, Robbie Buhl was in the mix too. It was Buhls race, but again Helio was allowed to block him every time he tried to pass him.
Penske controls it all - so no wins for Michael.
I was thinking the same thing!
On the last restart I thought to myself, "I've never wished for a caution before, but please let someone see a piece of debris on the backstretch. Please."
A quick caution there, and he was the winner. Dammit.
He's basically the winningest driver of the modern era. Nobody will catch Mario or A.J. because the sport is fundamentally a different beast now. That means the guys Dixon, Helio, PT, and Dario are all chasing is Michael Andretti.
Speaking of storylines that could be hyped, PT is 11 wins shy of Michael. Get PT in a competitive ride for a couple of years, and I wonder what could happen ...
He should have used all his talent and stay ahead of Marco and Sam, but he was a no factor.
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