Top 25 IndyCar drivers of all-time
By Asher Fair
Top IndyCar drivers of all-time: #9 – Michael Andretti
If there is one driver who deserves to be absolutely no lower than he is on this list and could very well be much higher, that driver is Michael Andretti.
Up until recently, Andretti sat in third place on the all-time wins list behind only A.J. Foyt and his legendary father Mario. Michael did quite well in carrying on the family legacy and making the Andretti name arguably the most successful name in American open-wheel racing history.
He has since dropped to fourth place on the wins list, but he should be safe inside the top five for several years at the very least. What keeps him from being ranked higher on this list is what he wasn’t quite able to accomplished outside of his impressive 42 victories, just 10 shy of Mario’s win total.
We often hear about the “Andretti Curse” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Indy 500. But at least Mario won one. Michael will likely forever be the greatest Indy 500 driver to never win the race. In 16 attempts, he led 431 laps, good for 11th place on the all-time list and the highest among non-winners.
His son Marco has unfortunately carried on that trend and is set to attempt the race for the 16th time himself this May.
Michael also surprisingly only won one championship in 1991, sandwiched between two runner-up finishes. After his runner-up finish in the 1992 season, he left for an unsuccessful one-year stint in Formula 1 prior to his return in 1994. But despite finishing no lower than ninth place in the standings in his 18 seasons in the sport, including the nine after he returned, he could never secure a second title.