INDIANAPOLIS – Marco Andretti remembers the 1991 and 1992 Indianapolis 500s.

He was only 4- and 5-years-old at the time, but he recalls how special it felt to hear Tom Carnegie announce his last name over the public address speakers four times during pre-race introductions.

His grandfather, Mario. His father, Michael. His uncle, Jeff. His cousin, John.

“It’s just pride,” Marco said. “I mean, nobody’s done it since.”

'This race is our Super Bowl'

When he thinks back to his earliest memories of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Marco remembers the Speedway Motel (now Brickyard Crossing), where he and his family always lodged while his relatives trained for the race.

“You don’t know why there’s so many cameras around you; you just want to drive,” Marco said.

Yet he also remembers the infamous Andretti Curse, one that still stands. The curse refers to the Indy 500 winning drought, as no Andretti family member has won the Greatest Spectacle in Racing since Mario won in 1969.

Marco, who has driven for Andretti Global since 2006, said he always feels pressure coming into the Indianapolis 500, but not because of his last name. It’s because of his desire to win.

“The talent from the teams and drivers is just unbelievable,” Marco said. “When you walk out here on race day, you feel the magnitude of the event. Pressure’s a good thing, it means you’re playing for something.

“This race is our Super Bowl.”

Marcus Ericsson looks to bring the edge, experience

Marcus Ericsson, who is in his first year with Andretti Global after jumping from Chip Ganassi Racing, felt like Andretti was the team to beat when he first came to the IndyCar Series in 2019. In fact, Andretti Global had earned Indianapolis 500 victories in three of the five seasons before Ericsson’s rookie season.

However, no Andretti Global driver has won the race since Takuma Sato in 2017. No driver from Andretti has won the IndyCar Series title since Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012.

“It seems like the last couple years, they’ve lost a little bit of their edge maybe,” Ericsson said.

Practice updates: Drivers seek speed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

However, Ericsson felt like Colton Herta (ninth place) and Devlin DeFrancesco (13th) finished high enough in the 2023 Indy 500 and showcased strong enough cars to help him feel encouraged about the future of Andretti Global. When Andretti approached him in the offseason, he knew those within the team valued his winning pedigree and wanted to use that to not only his advantage, but his teammates’ too.

“I would like to come here and raise the game with my experience and my knowledge of the (Indianapolis Motor) Speedway and what I know the car needs to feel like to be able to win this race,” Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner, said.

Ericsson finally feels stable after what he called a “stressful” 2023 season, as he was racing with an expiring contract for Chip Ganassi Racing. Although he and Herta had a day or two of arguments surrounding what Ericsson called an accidental bump in warmups for the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 11, the Sweden native said he is beginning to feel comfortable around his new teammates.

“I think we have something really good building,” Ericsson said, citing no regrets about his new contract.

The 108th Indy 500 is set for Sunday, May 26 at 12:45 p.m. ET. While Herta and the Andretti Global crew finished lower than originally anticipated last year due to a costly pit crew error, the team of both new and old feels confident about winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing for the first time in seven years.

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or on X @KyleSmedley_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Andretti Curse? Andretti Global confident heading into 2024 Indy 500