John Andretti still has no firm plans to run in the Indianapolis 500 this season and by his estimation, time is running out. Andretti wants to return to Indy, where he last raced in 1994 when he did both the 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He’d like to make it happen this year so he can compete one last time against his cousin, Michael, who is retiring after the May 25th race. But he doesn’t have a sponsorship deal in place and running at Indy is contingent on him putting a package together that includes partners from his Winston Cup team at Petty Enterprises. “I’d say at one time it was 60-40 that I’d run Indy and now the chances are more like 50-50,” he said. “It’s looking more likely that it will happen next year instead of this year.” Andretti has not driven an Indy car since 1994, and although he’s confident he hasn’t forgotten any of the nuances, he wants to have a deal in place in time for him to test the car at the end of April. “There’s a lot of last-minute deals that go on with the Indy 500 and I’ve certainly been involved in my share of them,” he said. “But I’d like to test the car, get in it and get an idea of what I’ve got.”( ThatsRacin.com/AP )(3-23-2003)
