Andretti wins race; sets sights on second title
TORONTO -- It's been nine years, but a victory in the Toronto Molson Indy has Michael Andretti thinking about another championship.
The second-generation driver won the CART FedEx Series title in 1991 and has finished second three times -- but not since 1996.
At 37, he's one of the oldest drivers on the Champ car circuit. But Andretti's second win of the season moved him two points behind series leader Roberto Moreno, who failed to score Sunday because of a broken gearbox.
''There's still a long way to go, a lot of racing, but if we can stay consistent and keep finishing races, I think we've got a chance,'' Andretti said. ''I'm not going to spend a lot of time thinking about it, but at the end of the year, when I wake up, maybe.''
A key factor that has Andretti thinking championship is his first victory on a road or street circuit since 1996, when he won three times on the circuits that have both left and right turns.
''I feel like we're finally making some headway on our road course set-ups,'' Andretti said. ''If you were looking at the in-car camera during the race, you could see I wasn't working as hard as a lot of other guys. At the end of the race a lot of guys were worn out, but I still felt good. The car was doing everything I wanted it to do.''
A key to his latest win -- his sixth in Toronto and 40th of his career -- was patience.
Once one of the most aggressive racers in the open-wheel series, Andretti showed Sunday he is now a more cautious driver.
Early in the race, Andretti trailed pole-winner Helio Castroneves. Later he was behind Cristiano da Matta, who led a race-high 72 laps. In both cases, Andretti waited for quick pit stops.