IndyCar notes: Andretti tries for 2-race day

GLADEVILLE, Tenn. — Marco Andretti’s attempt to drive in races in different states Saturday didn’t start or end anywhere close to how he hoped.

Andretti qualified 11th Friday for the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway, then flew to Connecticut so he could compete at Lime Rock. He got to the Connecticut track by 8 a.m. but had to start last. By the time he handed the car over at 3:10 p.m. EDT to Franck Montagny, Andretti was running eighth, a lap off the pace, after 73 laps.

He then flew back to Tennessee and was at the superspeedway in time for driver introductions that started at 7:30 p.m. EDT. On the third lap, Andretti wiggled coming out of Turn 2 and couldn’t save the car before sliding into Ryan Briscoe, sending both cars up into the wall.

Briscoe slid backward into the wall, while Andretti flipped around with the left side crashing into the wall. Andretti said he simply got loose.

“Obviously, he was an innocent bystander,” Andretti said of Briscoe. “I might’ve got it up if he wasn’t there … Simply driver error.”

For Briscoe, it feels like he can’t catch a break after crashing for a second straight week. He ran into the back of Scott Dixon’s car at Watkins Glen when Dixon spun out under yellow and now this.

“We’ve had a big string of bad luck the past couple of races. I was just trying to settle into the race and was running outside the No. 26 car and he lost it and collected me. It’s really unfortunate,” Briscoe said.

Andretti called his first race disappointing, but said it was fun to drive the Acura race car again.

“My radio wasn’t connected right, and I couldn’t hear the team for a while. Then I was able to run pretty well through the traffic after fixing the radio,” Andretti said. “It’s very tough to come from behind here. I had to drive through all of the GT cars. The P1 cars are very hard to pass, too, because of their straightaway speed.”

NASHVILLE’S LAST SHOT? One of the biggest questions after the race was called involved whether this was the last IRL race at the Nashville Superspeedway. The IndyCar Series’ schedule for 2009 is expected to be released within the next few weeks, and Nashville has been rumored to be among the tracks that will be dropped as officials work to include tracks from Champ Car.

Scott Dixon, who now has won three straight here, said it’s a tough situation.

“If it is our last time we’re here, obviously I’m not going to like it because we’ve won here the last three years in a row. I think it’s a fantastic track,” he said.

Target Chip Ganassi teammate Dan Wheldon said he hopes they have at least one more race in Nashville because he wants a chance to win the Gibson guitar trophy, which is among the more unique trophies handed out on the series.

“I think what I’ve learned over the years is that drivers have absolutely no power,” Wheldon said. “I’ve got no influence.”

Helio Castroneves, who finished third, said there is nothing drivers can do to influence scheduling decisions.

“Obviously, this place is great. You see folks out there. If the series sees the best interest in not coming back, there’s nothing we can do. Certainly, the drivers like to be here,” he said.

WINNER TO CRASH: Ryan Hunter-Reay went from Victory Lane last week at Watkins Glen to 19th after a crash Saturday night. He started third and was running strong when he came up on the lapped car of Will Powers.

“Will was off the pace for about 20 laps before that, but he had gathered it back up and was going again, then for some reason, he slowed way down in the middle of Turns 3 and 4,” Hunter-Reay said.

“I had two choices. Get on the brakes hard and risk losing the rear of the car and spinning out, or go to the high side and see if there was any grip up there to let me get around him.”

As Hunter-Reay tried to go high, he lost his car on the marbles, pieces of rubber scrubbed off tires by the concrete track. He crashed into the wall in Turn 4.

“I feel bad for the guys because now it’s back to the shop to fix a race car before we go to Mid-Ohio next week. To go from the high of last week to the low of tonight is tough on all of us,” he said.

LUCKY GUY: Patrick McKennon probably shouldn’t waste his money buying a lottery ticket, not after his good luck with the IndyCar Series at Nashville.

He got to wave the green flag to start the Firestone Indy 200 on Saturday night for a second straight year, this time after winning an online auction through Firestone and the United Way of Nashville. His winning bid was $3,150, and he called it a great opportunity.

“I mean, how often in a lifetime are you ever able to wave the green flag for a major event? To be able to do this again and give back to United Way, it’s the best of both worlds,” McKennon said.

EXTRA LAPS: Dan Ellis, the goalie for the NHL’s Nashville Predators, was the grand marshal for the Firestone Indy 200. He got to tell the drivers, “Start your engines.”