Incentives Vary at Andretti Green Racing.

Andretti Green Racing (AGR) is the most decorated in IndyCar Series history.  The only four-driver team has 34 series wins and three championships since 2003.  However, with the added load of drivers comes chemistry and competition issues.  AGR has been plagued with driver issues and cooperation problems in the past few years.  When Dario Franchitti left for NASCAR after a 2007 championship, the team replaced him with Hideki Mutoh.  This opened the door for a new team ace, which has the drivers at AGR looking more like rivals than teammates.

Each driver seems to dance to their own tune.  Tony Kanaan has been with the team since 2003, so naturally he would be the team leader and have the highest expectations.  He already has 13 wins, and a series championship.  AGR should be supporting him as the team's leader and the respect seems to be there.  However, Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti have their own set of expectations.  If AGR wants a championship now, Tony has to deliver until Danica and Marco aren't distracted by outside motives.

TK and Team 7-Eleven enjoyed a championship in '04.

Danica is in her contract year, and she is milking it for all she can.  While she is doing more interviews and has more commercials than ever before - she seems to be more focused as well.  Going into Richmond she is fifth in points, and only a win away from being a serious

contender.  The fire is burning in #7, and while a jump to NASCAR is unlikely, there seems to

be a certain team with a "Target" on their back that would love to find her a seat next year.

Marco's troubles are hard to explain.  A year ago he was going through a string of run-ins with the barrier, ending in too many DNF's.  This year, he can't seem to consistently run with the class of the league.  His car is often fast enough, and his skills are obviously there, but the results are not.  For Andretti to tap his potential, he is going to have to find the drive to be the best within him.  Sometimes, it appears he is happy to just be "Marco," and expects success to happen because he is an Andretti.

Just how good Mutoh is has yet to be determined.  The 2008 Rookie of the Year is a steady ride for AGR.  He doesn't threaten to contend for wins, but you don't see the young driver in the wall or tangled with other drivers either.  With the wealth of racing knowledge around him, Mutoh could find the winner's circle sooner than later.

Andretti Green still has time this year to turn the season around and contend for a championship, but it has to start this weekend at Richmond.  Kanaan, Marco and Danica need to start beating the Penske and Target drivers.  They can start by ending the inter-team feuds, and start going out to the track hungry.