Andretti prepares for Indy

"For whatever reason, I was never meant to win this race as a driver," said Andretti, who retired as a driver after the 2003 Indy 500, "but maybe I'm supposed to win it 10 times as an owner. Who knows? All you can do is put yourself in a position to win it and then hope luck falls your way."

AGR drivers have won the last two IRL races at Phoenix (Tony Kanaan) and Motegi (Dan Wheldon), and with another two potential race winners in the team in the shape of Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta, Andretti has certainly put his team in a position to triumph in the big race.

A four-car squad should also bring testing benefits, according to AGR general manager Kyle Moyer. "We can try a lot more things and cover a lot more ground than anyone else," he said.

The team's British drivers are certainly up for it. "I think we'll be a lot more competitive than last time I was there in 2002," said Franchitti, who missed the race through injury last year. "An Indy 500 win would be a huge thing. There's no other way to put it."

Wheldon concurs: "To be on the same list as Graham Hill would be excellent. For me, Indy is the one that I care about most."

Testing for the Indy 500 begins on May 9, with the race scheduled for May 30.