Competition.(Brief Article)

ANDRETTI TO CALL IT QUITS

And so, it is official. Michael Andretti, one of the few superstar drivers left over from the glory years of Indy car racing, will retire following the Indianapolis 500 on May 25. He made his decision public last week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Hall of Fame Museum.

Andretti, 40, is stepping aside to focus on the new Indy Racing League team, known as Andretti Green Racing, that he has arranged with Kim Green and Kevin Savoree. Andretti said the concentration and time required to be a successful team owner was taking away from his focus on driving. ``I found myself not even calling the engineer to talk about things drivers are supposed to talk about,'' he said. ``I was distracted.''

Andretti said he was leaning toward retirement until he tested the new IRL equipment at Homestead in early January. The test went so well, he began to waver. ``But I was talking with emotion,'' he said. ``It was more with my heart than my head.''

Andretti will leave with his place among Indy car greats solid. He is CART's all-time winner with 42 victories and trails only A.J. Foyt and father Mario Andretti in career Indy car wins. Andretti, the 1991 CART champion and five-time series runner-up, will compete in the IRL's first four races of the season before turning the ride over to Dan Wheldon. The AGR team also includes Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan.

Cheever leaving, too

Eddie Cheever has confirmed that he, too, will be focusing on the Indy 500 this year. Cheever told AutoWeek he will only compete at the Speedway this year, although he participated in this week's Test in the West at Fontana, California.