Chip shots

Andretti would be a nice complement to Ganassi stable

Jilted at the altar, Winston Cup team owner Chip Ganassi must be a fan of Dinner for Five's Jon Favreau.

If the D45 reference is a bit obscure, try flipping away from SpeedChannel and checking out IFC, the Independent Film Channel. There aren't as many fumes, but the conversation is far removed from sponsor-laden rhetoric spewed by today's drivers.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming -- and pop culture. Favreau was the millionaire wanna-be boyfriend of Monica Geller in six episodes of Friends during the 1994 season. However, no matter what Favreau's character did, he couldn't woo Monica into falling for him.

Sounds a lot like Ganassi's relationship with Ricky Rudd, who opted for the Wood Brothers' ride instead of joining Sterling Marlin and Jimmy Spencer with Ganassi.

But all is not lost for Ganassi. Reportedly, he still has the big-dollar sponsorship of Havoline in his toolbox. All that remains is a driver.

Well, wouldn't you know it, John Andretti's deal is expiring at Petty Enterprises. And while there are no truly bankable names available with bright futures, Andretti wading into a shallow talent pool works on a couple levels for Ganassi.

For one, Andretti has name recognition. True, it's Mario and Michael whose names most often jump to the tip of the tongue, but John does have a couple Winston Cup victories.

Secondly, Andretti wants to race the Indianapolis 500.

Ganassi team manager Andy Graves said the organization is based on results now and doesn't have the patience to groom a driver, proven last year when it released Jason Leffler after a poor rookie season and hired Spencer.

"In our garage," Graves says matter-of-factly, "a year is a long time to wait through adjustments."

Still, Kyle Petty isn't giving up hope of bringing back Andretti, who has driven for the team since 1998. "He [Andretti] told us he wanted to look around, and he's still weighing his options," admits Petty.

"But I would be remiss to let John go on down the highway. We've expressed interest we want him back. I talked to him and his father at Indianapolis, and he's still leaning our way. That's a good plus for us."

Petty Enterprises is the winningest team in NASCAR history, but the team has won just three races since Richard Petty's 200th career victory in 1983. There also are sponsorship questions at Petty. Sprint, which funds Kyle's No. 45, will not return next season.

Meanwhile, the team has signed former Formula One driver Christian Fittipaldi to drive a yet-to-be-sponsored part-time Winston Cup/part-time Busch car. He will run a full Cup schedule in 2004.

Also, Jerry Nadeau, an in-season replacement for Buckshot Jones, may not return to drive the Petty's No. 44 car.

And then there's Indy. Andretti and Petty sparred this season when Kyle refused to let him run the Indianapolis 500. Andretti wants badly to run that race again, and it could be a reason why he'd leave the Pettys.

On the other hand, Ganassi is a fixture at the Brickyard and would not shy away from allowing Andretti to attempt the Memorial Day double, the Indy 500 and Cup's Coca-Cola 600.

For his part, Andretti is trying to remain above the fray this Silly Season. "I guess when there's only one seat left and I'm the only driver left, then they'll figure it out," he says.

"I want to still do the 500. I've never hidden that, but I haven't got to do it since I did it in 1994. I'm not the most impossible guy in the world to deal with. There are things I want, but I can appreciate when you sit down and talk about it, I'd like to think I'm rational, and I try to do the right thing."

In this case, Ganassi may be "the right thing" for Andretti.

B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for CNNSI.com.

 

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