“Unfortunately the opportunity hasn’t come”: When Michael Andretti confessed his desire to enter NASCAR

The co-founder of Andretti Global, Michael Andretti, is a major player in the world of motorsports. He is now the strategic advisor of the team which competes in categories like IndyCar, IMSA, Indy NXT, Formula E, etc. However, Andretti has always had this wish to enter NASCAR with his own team.

Back in July 2023, Andretti shared his thoughts the same. In line with this, the 62-year-old asserted that he was hoping to enter NASCAR in the coming years.

While shedding light on the same, he had the following to add:

"I mean, we haven’t hidden that. I’ve been trying to get into NASCAR for quite some time yet and unfortunately, the opportunity hasn’t come. We’re still exploring. But I’m hoping that something can happen in the future," Andretti said in 2023 (via Racer).

Michael Andretti is the son of the 1978 Formula 1 world champion Mario Andretti. While the latter is an ex-champion, Mario has also had a stellar racing career, especially in Champ Car. In the competition, the 62-year-old competed in 309 races and amassed 42 wins, 98 podiums, and 32 pole positions.

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Michael Andretti not willing to build everything from 'ground-up' for NASCAR entry

Michael Andretti, being a businessman and a former racing driver, understands the costs involved in motorsports. In line with this, he asserted in 2023 that, if he ever were to decide to compete in NASCAR, he'd try not to build everything from the ground up.

"I would never go into it ground-up there. I think it would have to be something that basically already has something going. I also want to make a point that this does not distract from anything else we’re doing. But yeah, I mean, there’s a possibility to be there.”

Other than this, the 62-year-old also gave his opinion on potentially entering Rallycross with his team.

"I would love to go back to that. I think it’s a great form of racing, we had a lot of fun in that. But if we do, we’d like to do it with a manufacturer, I think. Once the OEMs step into it more, then hopefully we’ll be involved with it. We’re watching very closely. I think eventually, they need to open it up to something somewhere where manufacturers can have some IP in it."

In recent years, Michael Andretti has tried hard to enter Formula 1. He eventually failed in his attempts to enter the pinnacle of motor racing, but the silver lining here is that his father Mario Andretti has recently been made the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Cadillac's F1 entry in 2026.

The world champion's wealth of experience will help the American team in finding its feet in the sport.