Andretti

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michael Andretti was chatting with comedian Tim Allen in the garage after another gut-wrenching day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"I hate this place,'' Andretti said, rolling his eyes.

Actually, he loves this place more than any other, but it's definitely a one-way relationship. Andretti keeps coming back, firmly believing that he's going to win his first Indy 500. All he gets is heartache.

"I've always had it pretty tough here,'' he said, reflecting on a seventh-place finish that could have been much better. "That's just the way it's been. It's not like this is a new feeling for me.''

A mechanical problem late in the race prevented Andretti, who got as high as second, from challenging for the top spot. By the end of the race, he was just trying to keep the car out of the wall.

"Something happened and I was just trying to hang on,'' Andretti said. "We're not sure what it is, maybe a shock. Up to that point, I was saying, 'I'm going to win this thing.'''

In other words, this was pretty much a routine Indy day for Andretti, who has led 398 laps at the Brickyard without ever leading the last one. In 13 Indy 500s, he has finished eighth or better eight times, including a runner-up showing in 1991.

Andretti is just continuing the tradition of his father, Mario, who won the Indy 500 in 1969 but spent the rest of his career enduring a series of mishaps. The "Andretti luck,'' they called it, as in bad luck.

Mario's boy will turn 40 in October. He knows his window of opportunity is starting to close.

"Yeah, I'm worried,'' Andretti said. "I'm running out of chances. It's as simple as that.''

He started 25th on Sunday but clearly had a strong machine, picking off many of the cars ahead of him -- several times, in fact. It seemed that every time he made a push to get up front, some problem came along to knock him back.

Andretti had to make two unscheduled pit stops early in the race -- one to get a splash of gas, the other to check for possible damage after he ran over a wheel nut from another stall. Another time, he lost valuable seconds when his engine stalled in the pits.

Finally, that mysterious mechanical problem left Andretti's car with such a severe vibration that he had trouble keeping his eyes on the track. His speeds dropped, and so did his position.

"I thought this was going to be our year,'' he said. "But everything went against us again. I was playing catchup all day. ... I passed a lot of cars. It seems like I passed the entire field twice.''

Team owner Barry Green desperately wants to put another Andretti in Victory Lane at the world's most famous track. They'll likely be back next year to try again.

"He just hasn't had his day here,'' Green said. "We would very much like to be the team that gives Michael his first win. We're trying hard. He's trying hard. I can't ask any more from my team or from Michael.''