Andretti, Luyendyk slated to make debuts together

They were childhood tagalongs watching their fathers race each other.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Marco Andretti spent most of his life preparing to drive at Indianapolis. Arie Luyendyk Jr. was doing the same thing in another garage.
While the two childhood tagalongs watched their fathers compete against each other, they also dreamed of the day they could add to the family legacy. Their first chance comes Sunday, when Andretti and Luyendyk make their Indianapolis 500 debuts together.
"There really aren't any distractions, I've learned how to handle it my whole life," Andretti said of the attention he's endured all month at the 2.5-mile oval. "At 9 years old, all the eyes were on you. It was tough then, but you had to accept it."
Now the 19-year-old Andretti and the 24-year-old Luyendyk figure to be the next links in their prominent racing families.
Luyendyk's dad is a two-time Indy winner and remains a popular celebrity in Gasoline Alley.
Most successful non-winner
Andretti's father, Michael, holds the distinction of being the most successful non-winner in Indy history, leading 426 laps in 14 career starts and producing four top-five finishes. Marco's grandfather, Mario, won the 1969 race then spent the next 25 years chasing a second Indy victory that never came.
But the reminders of Indy never faded from their memories.
"I remember Marco walking around in stroller here when I was about 6 years old," Luyendyk Jr. said during Tuesday's rookie luncheon.
As the children grew up, watched and waited for their chance to drive each May, they took mental notes about the pressures, the Indy tradition and their own family heritage.
It was nothing compared to the quick education they got in 2005 and 2006 at the speedway.
Luyendyk Jr. was the only driver bumped from the field last year, a victim of a late entry by Felipe Giaffone -- who put one of A.J. Foyt's extra cars in the race with less than 30 minutes left in qualifying.
This year Luyendyk failed to warm up his tires properly, leading to a crash in the second week of practice which could have kept him out of the race.
"It was a rookie mistake," he said.
Andretti's month challenging
Andretti's month has been more challenging. While Luyendyk spent the month driving for his father's team, searching for a sponsor and speed, Andretti had to juggle a schedule that included countless interview requests and lots of laps. He also had to deal with the endless practical jokes his Andretti Green Racing teammates like to play on rookies.
Andretti, who starts ninth, and Luyendyk, who starts 31st, are the two most prominent names among the five rookie drivers in this weekend's race.
They'll be joined in the 33-car starting field by Townsend Bell, P.J. Chesson and Thiago Medeiros, who have all taken different paths to Indianapolis.
Chesson has the most unique story.
Hired by Carmelo Hemelgarn Racing after spending five months working on a fishing boat in Miami, he's become a media favorite thanks to his carefree personality.
"Four months ago, I was a broke kid working on a fishing boat," he said. "I was putting bait on hooks to catch shellfish."
Throwback to older days
The fun-loving 27-year-old from Far Hills, N.J., is a throwback to the days drivers didn't worry about upsetting sponsors by making outrageous comments.
Since Saturday, he has bragged about buzzing the track in the F-16, volunteered his description of the "man" checklist and apologized to IRL founder Tony George for referring to Andretti's teammate Tony Kanaan as simply Tony.
"Please accept my apologies, you are THE Tony," Chesson said during Tuesday's luncheon.
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