Andretti confident after strong qualifying effort

LONG POND, Pa. -- Maybe John Andretti wasn't the problem at Petty Enterprises. And maybe Jack Sprague was at Haas CNC Racing.

OK, it was only one race. Heck, it wasn't even a race. It was one qualifying lap.

But maybe Andretti's fast lap Friday at Pocono Raceway was more than one fast lap. As it was, Andretti's lap of 168.925 mph was good enough for the fifth starting spot in Sunday's Pennsylvania 500.

Fifth. That's better than Andretti did while he was driving the No. 43 this season. And fifth matched Haas CNC's best start of the season, when Sprague qualified fifth at Charlotte.

But hold on.

	John Andretti

"One day doesn't fix a lot of things," Andretti said. "But it certainly helps to run better than bad. I feel good about where we're going with it and what's happening and all the doors that are opening.

"I know next year's going to be a good year for us. I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be a lot of fun wherever I end up because there are some really good opportunities, and I'd like to think this is one of them."

Andretti, whose future after next weekend's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis with Dale Earnhardt Inc. is up in the air, wouldn't say what teams he's talking with about 2004, but there aren't a lot of openings.

Depending on whom you ask, possible openings exist at Dale Earnhardt Inc. (the No. 1), Richard Childress Racing (the No. 30), Morgan-McClure Motorsports (No. 4), MB2 Motorsports (No. 01) and, of course, Haas CNC.

"There's things going on," Andretti said.

For now, however, Andretti is focused on 2003. He'd like to stay with the No. 0 team, but a decision on who will be in the car after Indianapolis (where Jason Leffler will drive) hasn't been made.

"It's not up to me, it's really up to them," Andretti said. "The first opportunity that comes that I want to take, that'll be what I do. I hate to pull out of a situation. But 2004 is really important to me. I'd like to get in a situation that's going to build for 2004."

Andretti was let go by Petty Enterprises after the first Pocono race and sat on the sidelines for four weeks. When Haas CNC cut Sprague loose, it snapped up Andretti.

Newman on Bud Pole  LONG POND, Pa. (AP) -- Ryan Newman left no doubt about who has the car to catch at Pocono Raceway when he backed up the fastest practice speed with his fifth pole of the season in qualifying Friday.  Newman hustled his Dodge around the 2.5-mile triangular track at 170.358 mph to claim the top starting spot for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500. He continued to demonstrate his liking for the track, where he qualified second seven weeks ago before finishing fifth in the Pocono 500.  On a day when most drivers took one lap and shut down because the second was expected to be slower, Newman tried to go even faster.  Full Story

Andretti was fast in practice last week at NHIS but never got to show any speed. Qualifying was rained out, and then Andretti got in an accident when Jimmy Spencer early in the race.

But he was still confident coming to the triangular Pocono track.

"I felt like we would come up here and do well," Andretti said. "I knew that since Jimmie (Johnson) and Ryan (Newman) had everybody covered in practice that they'd have everybody covered in qualifying if they didn't mess up. They don't mess up very often.

"I'm excited about it. More importantly, I'd like to get 500 miles in on Sunday. Wherever I end up, I end up, but at least get 500 miles and not ... whatever ... the 7."

The 7, of course, is Spencer. Maybe Andretti will stay out of Spencer's way Sunday.

"If I can do that, then I'll be OK," Andretti said.

One thing that's been OK has been the communication between Andretti and crew chief Tony Furr. They worked together at Cale Yarborough's team, winning at Daytona in 1997.

"It picked up right where it left off," Andretti said. "We've known each other for well over a year, so we felt pretty comfortable that that was going to be seamless, and we'd go right through it, and we have. Tony's been a good friend since the RCA days. Now we're working together again. It saves me from having to walk down the garage to find him to pester."

Pennsylvania 500  Lineup  Photo Gallery  1st Practice Speeds  By the Numbers

Andretti wouldn't have far to walk to pester his old team. The 0 and the 43 haulers are parked close to each other, an indication of how far down they are in car owners' standings.

While Andretti holds no ill will toward the Pettys, he can't help but feel good about himself in seeing the 43 continue to struggle.

"If I got out of it, and it ran good, then I'd have to look at myself real close," Andretti said. "I still want them to be successful, and I'd like to go off and be successful, too. But you always like to have enough and enough pride and enough ability to not be the problem and, hopefully, be a part of the solution.

"No driver can make up the difference from front to back. It happens occasionally, but I keep using Michael Schumacher as an example. If he were in a Minardi, he wouldn't see the front of the grid ever. And nobody ever questions Michael Schumacher's ability."

What if Andretti were in a Ferrari? Would he be at the front of the grid?

"Of course," Andretti said. "I just want to be in a Ferrari."