Andretti considered return to Indy Cars

Mario Andretti, who retired from the CART series following the 1994 season, was nearly back in an Indy-car for this weekend's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The 57-year-old Andretti, a four-time Indy-car champion with 52 career victories, has limited his professional driving in the last two years to appearances in a sports car at the 24 Hours of LeMans.

When Christian Fittipaldi fractured his right leg in the race last Sunday in Surfers Paradise, Australia, it opened a temporary ride with Newman-Haas Racing, the team Andretti last drove for and for whom he won his final championship.

"Sure, I thought about it," Andretti said Friday, while waiting for his eldest son, Michael, to qualify the other team car for Newman-Haas. "There were a lot of pros and cons.

"They (team co-owners Carl Haas and Paul Newman) were worried about me getting hurt, and there were some other considerations. I decided Tuesday night I really wanted to do it, but by then it was too late."

By Tuesday, Haas had hired Roberto Moreno as the temporary replacement for his Brazilian countryman. Moreno began the season with the underfinanced Payton-Coyne team, but lost his ride when another driver, rookie Paul Jasper, came up along with cash in hand.