The Bombardier Learjet 550k ended with Andretti Green Racing teammates Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti arguing in the pits about a late battle between the two that ended with Andretti gaining fifth from Patrick and eventually passing Dario Franchitti for fourth.
“The toughest people out there passing me are my teammates, and I don’t get that,” Andretti said. “I think three of the four of us get what the camaraderie of Andretti Green Racing is.”
Patrick later called Andretti’s pass “fair and square,” but AGR teammate Tony Kanaan stepped in to settle down Andretti after the post-race discussion.
“It’s not worth it to create something you might regret later,” Kanaan said. “I’ve done it before. I got into a fistfight with Hornish – well, Hornish’s dad got in a fistfight with me – and I regret it. You live, you learn. That’s why I was telling him to just cool off. ‘I was right behind you both. I saw the whole thing. We’ll sit down at lunch and talk about it.’”
Kanaan said the view from his position made it appear that their fight was a bit much. “It looked like they were racing for the lead when they were really racing for sixth and seventh,” he said. “But they’re kids, and one day they will learn. When you hit, you hit hard. One day they might respect each other a little more.”