The enigmatic legacy of a misunderstood Indy stalwart

It's been many years since this writer took hand-written notes during a motorsport press conference; preferring eye contact with the speaker, Autosport relies on a trusty voice recorder to catch all the words. But 'all the words' is precisely the downside of recording devices. If mine is among the cluster of devices several feet away on the desk in front of the interviewee, then come transcribing time, it means ploughing through everything to rediscover nuggets of information and insight while reliving the experience of a driver and audience being whipped up into a coma by prattle and platitudes.

That's never a problem with Marco Andretti. He's different from most of his peers in that there are no wasted words. In a press conference setting he won't volunteer more than he's asked, but ask him a direct question even on a sensitive subject, and he won't shy away, instead responding with a candour and succinctness that is much appreciated and is an instant quote. As a bonus, his easily-bored attitude - and maybe the fame of his family name - intimidate most journalists from asking him banal questions, too.