LONG POND - His legendary grandfather raced here. So did his father.
Now, Marco Andretti gets the opportunity to compete at Pocono Raceway.
He and the rest of the drivers of the IZOD IndyCar Series are back at the 2.5-mile triangular track after a 23-year absence for the Pocono IndyCar 400 Fueled by Sunoco.
Practice and qualifying are scheduled for today, as well as the Pocono 100 Indy Lights Series race. On Sunday, the Pocono IndyCar 400 is scheduled to get the green flag at 12:15 p.m.
Marco was just a 2½-year-old toddler the last time IndyCar competed at Pocono. That day - Aug. 20, 1989 - his father Michael finished third and grandfather Mario placed fifth behind race winner Danny Sullivan.
Overall, Mario Andretti drove 17 races at Pocono and owns a victory there in 1986 and a pole position in 1987. He also was consulted by the late Dr. Joseph Mattioli when the track was being built in the late 1960s.
Michael Andretti, meanwhile, won the pole in 1986 to highlight his six Pocono starts.
When Marco participated in the Firestone tire test at Pocono in April, as well as a test session last week at the track, Mario was right there in the pits watching his grandson.
"Obviously he helps out as much as he can," Marco said. "He's always there to bounce whatever I have going on off of."
Of course, the Andretti name is synonymous with racing in Pennsylvania, hailing from Nazareth. It is Marco who carries on the legacy while driving for his father and the Andretti Autosport team.
In his eighth season, Marco has recorded eight top-10 finishes through the first 10 races. He was leading the series point standings following the second doubleheader race at Belle Island Park in Detroit on June 2, but has slipped to third in the last three races.
Little things are holding the team back, Marco said. For example, at Milwaukee on June 15, he led the first 61 laps and appeared to be the man to beat. But a problem in the pits caused him to have a lengthy stop. Then, his car suffered an electrical problem and he wound up finishing 20th.
Eight days later at Iowa, Marco was again in contention early. But he suffered a blown right-rear shock midway through the race and finished ninth.
"We're still salvaging top 10s, which is why I'm third in points. But it's definitely disappointing," Marco said. "The monkey is still on my back; I haven't won yet (this season). I'm extremely frustrated, but I think we should have a great shot here at Pocono if we execute, which honestly I don't think we've been doing the last three races."
It has been more than two years since Marco's last win on June 25, 2011, at Iowa - a span of 33 races. He has one other career victory at Sonoma, Calif., on Aug. 27, 2006.
Nothing would mean more than to break the drought at Pocono.
"(A win) is what we've been trying to achieve every weekend and so far we've been coming up short," Marco said. "Obviously, it would be huge (to win at Pocono) because it's a home track for me and there's going to be a lot of support. That support will help, but obviously it matters what happens on the track. We have a great car. We just have to execute properly."
During Thursday's open test session, Marco was the fastest driver at 220.963 mph.
IndyCar Series qualifying on oval tracks consists of each car being allowed two warmup laps, then attempting two consecutively timed laps. The aggregate time is the official qualifying time for the car.
Through 10 races, there have been seven different Verizon P1 Award pole winners, including Marco Andretti, who earned the top spot at Milwaukee. Will Power leads the series with three poles (St. Petersburg, Texas, Iowa) while Marco's teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay has two (Birmingham, Brazil). Others include Dario Franchitti (Long Beach), Ed Carpenter (Indianapolis), E.J. Viso (Detroit 1) and Mike Conway (Detroit 2).
Emerson Fittipaldi set the track qualifying record in 1989 at 211.715 mph.