Marco Andretti said Wednesday he is retiring from racing, a decision that likely means the "Andretti Curse" at the Indianapolis 500 will never end. The 38-year-old grandson of Mario Andretti announced on social media he will not enter the Indianapolis 500 next season and will instead turn his attention to his daughter, business ventures outside of racing, and a memoir in process called Defending the Dynasty, reports the AP. Next year's Indianapolis 500 will not have an Andretti in the field for the first time since 2005. "I have had some really fun times behind the wheel in a lot of different types of racing cars—a lot of great memories as well, mostly at the Indy 500," Andretti wrote in his announcement, noting his start this year was the 20th of his career, good enough for 12th all-time.
Andretti recalled in particular when he and his father battled for the lead in the closing laps of the 2006 Indianapolis 500. Marco Andretti was an IndyCar rookie that year, and his father, Michael, came out of retirement to race against him. Marco's late pass of Michael should have been enough for the victory, but the family's seemingly endless run of bad luck in the race continued when Sam Hornish Jr. chased down Marco for the win. Mario Andretti gave the family their only Indy 500 win in 1970.
"It feels accomplishing to me to be able to retire having more podium finishes than my father Michael and the same as my grandfather Mario at the biggest race in the world," wrote Marco, who won two times over 253 IndyCar starts spanning 20 years. He scaled back in 2021 to run only the Indianapolis 500 as he dabbled in NASCAR and other racing series. He reflected on his two decades in IndyCar thusly:
- "That is where I can look back and say I have made my best progress in life as a man. Learning to navigate very difficult dynamics at times, and others doubting me, made me realize that my opinion of myself is the one that should matter the most."
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