This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Michael Andretti is the greatest driver to never win the Indianapolis 500, yet he has done it four times as a car owner.
His most recent victory came Sunday with Alexander Rossi, a rookie who used fuel strategy to pull off an improbable upset in the 100th running of "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing."
When a family has spent more than 40 years trying to win that race, it could be a bitter pill to swallow when a first-timer who had never before been to Indianapolis Motor Speedway winds up sipping the milk.
Despite his own failures at Indy, Andretti harbored no ill will over Rossi's win.
"I was happy for him," Andretti said. "My driving career, it just wasn't meant to be. We led a lot of laps here, but we never led the right one."
Andretti then professed his happiness for Rossi and his crew, which was put together by Bryan Herta and merged with Andretti Autosport as a fourth full-time team.
"I was just so happy for our team, not jealous at all," Andretti said. "Just proud to have these guys, proud to be a part of it with all of them. Everybody on Andretti Autosport, this is absolutely a team effort, all five cars."
It appeared that Rossi received the same respect from teammate Marco Andretti, who spent the better part of the last year focused on winning the 100th Indianapolis 500. He wants nothing more than that victory, and he was never competitive Sunday while finishing 13th to drop to 0 for 11 in the race.
His father was 0 for 16 and grandfather Mario's victory in 1969 remains the family's lone Indianapolis 500 win.
Rossi said he received a congratulatory text message from Marco Andretti after the race, and Marco made a joke on Twitter about Rossi having to pay for many upcoming dinners after claiming over $2.5 million from the Indianapolis purse.