Marco Andretti finds Toronto tough place to win

TORON TO — His mother was pregnant when his grandfather finished third in the first ever Toronto Indy. He was being pushed around in a stroller when his father won here for the first time; was a toddler when his father and grandfather finished first and second, respectively, and as a teenager, watched his father go from the back of the pack and pass every single car en route to picking up his seventh win in 2001.

So ask Marco Andretti about his early memories of the Toronto Indy, which have provided his father Michael and grandfather Mario with 12 podium finishes, and his answer is simple: the celebrations.

“I just remember the success, man,” Andretti says.

“Nothing really sticks out. I just remember a few plane rides home with trophies.”

For Marco Andretti, however, the recent trips to Toronto have been slightly less successful. You would think that the Andretti Autosport driver — Michael is the owner — would have the inside track on a street course that his father practically owned and he practically grew up on.

But Andretti’s highest finish here is fourth, which he achieved in the first half of last year’s doubleheader and in 2011.

As Michael said in 2004, “I don’t know why (winning in Toronto) happens. It’s not anything I’m doing different here. It just happens.”

And for whatever reason, it has not yet happened for Marco Andretti, although Andretti Autosport teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay won in 2012 and twice finished third.

The 27-year-old Andretti is hoping to add to those totals this weekend when the race rolls into Toronto, and at the same time climb back into the hunt for the driver’s championship.