Beyond the Flag
Fansided

IndyCar: Marco Andretti’s podium drought, not win drought, reaches 4 years

By Asher Fair

FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 06: Marco Andretti, driver of the #27 Snapple Honda, prepares to race in the Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 6, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 06: Marco Andretti, driver of the #27 Snapple Honda, prepares to race in the Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 6, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway) /
facebooktwitterreddit

It has been four years since Marco Andretti finished on the podium in an IndyCar race, a drought that would be long even if it were a win drought.

The win drought of Andretti Herta Autosport’s Marco Andretti has been the longest win drought among those of active IndyCar drivers for several years, as he last won a race back in the 2011 season. His victory in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, June 25, 2011 is still his most recent victory.

The win drought of the 32-year-old Nazareth, Pennsylvania native now sits at 136 races, which is just 18 races away from doubling the 77-race win drought, nearly a five-year win drought, that he ended by earning this victory at Iowa Speedway more than eight years ago.

But what is significant about today is not Andretti’s win drought but his podium drought. It has now been a whopping four years since Andretti last finished an IndyCar race on the podium.

His most recent podium finish was his third place finish in the race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, June 27, 2015, a race he likely would have won had it not finished under caution due to the fact that he had far newer tires than the two drivers who finished ahead of him.

More from IndyCar

Ironically, it was Graham Rahal who won this race to end what was a series-long 124-race win drought that had been building for more than seven years.

Andretti’s podium drought is now at 65 races, just 12 races shy of becoming as long as the massive win drought he ended just over eight years ago.

If Andretti’s 65-race podium drought were a win drought, it would still be the second longest win drought among those of the sport’s 19 full-time drivers. A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ Tony Kanaan, who ironically finished in second place behind Rahal in the race at Auto Club Speedway four years ago today and also ironically finished in second behind Andretti in the race at Iowa Speedway just over eight years ago, was last victorious in the race at Auto Club Speedway back in the 2014 season. As a result, his win drought currently sits at 76 races.

Of the 18 full-time drivers aside of Andretti, 14 have finished on the podium in at least one race since Andretti last finished on the podium, and the four who haven’t done so have only combined to make 76 career IndyCar starts. All but three of these 14 drivers have finished on the podium at least once already in the 2019 season.

Andretti’s best finishes since his most recent podium finish are his fourth place finishes in the race at Exhibition Place in the 2017 season and in the first of two races at the Raceway on Belle Isle in the 2018 season. So far this season, his best finishes are his sixth place finishes in the race at Circuit of the Americas and in the second of two races at the Raceway on Belle Isle.

dark. Next. Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time

When will Marco Andretti find his way back to the IndyCar podium for what would be the first time in more than four years, and better yet, when will he earn what would be his first victory in more than eight years?