Andretti returns for one more try

He spent the last 12 years in NASCAR and hasn't been in an Indy car since.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- John Andretti is coming back to his racing roots, at least for one more try at winning the Indianapolis 500.
Andretti, who has spent the past dozen years in NASCAR, joined Panther Racing Wednesday as a teammate of Vitor Meira and Kosuke Matsuura for the May 27 race. It would be his first competition in the Indy Racing League, which began two years after his last appearance in an Indy car in 1994.
"Overwhelming would be an understatement," said Andretti, who grew up in Indianapolis and attended school less than a mile from the famed track.
"I drove by here when I went to high school, and your whole life is centered around it, so to get back after a long hiatus is good. It's going to be exciting for me," he said.
Drove in seven 500s
The 44-year-old nephew of former Indy winner Mario Andretti and cousin of Michael and Marco Andretti drove in seven Indy 500s from 1988 to 1994. His best finish was fifth in 1991, the same year he recorded his only IndyCar victory in Australia.
In 1994, he became the first driver to do the "double," racing in the Indy 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C., on the same day.
That long-distance effort -- he was 10th at Indy and 36th at Charlotte -- forced repeated trips back and forth for practice, qualifications and the races.
"Staying here the whole time will help," Andretti said. "Fortunately for me, we've got really good teammates and they're going to be helping. We've got a strong plan. For me, it's probably an ideal situation. More ideal, obviously, would be more track time, but I don't consider it any kind of a handicap. The team is set. They've got two guys in the field, and hopefully we can get this third one in."
Matsuura qualified 17th and Meira 19th among the 22 who earned spots in the lineup last weekend. Marco Andretti, who was runner-up as a rookie last year, and his father, Michael, who was third, also have already qualified for Andretti Green Racing, which Michael Andretti co-owns.
Still needs refresher test
John Andretti, who still must take the final two phases of a refresher test, did not practice Wednesday. Meira tested Andretti's car, though, and had a top lap of just over 215 mph.
The fastest among the 27 drivers on the track was Danica Patrick at 221.189. Scott Dixon was next at 220.556, followed by defending champion Sam Hornish Jr. at 220.484 and Marco Andretti at 220.399.
Seven drivers who have not yet qualified also were on the track, with Jaques Lazier the quickest at just over 217 mph. The others included Jimmy Kite, who crashed in turn one after 19 laps but was not injured.
"I wasn't going fast enough to hit anything that hard," said Kite, whose top speed was only 204.193 mph.
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