Andrew Draco

**Andrew** Commodore **Draco** (born 7 October 1985) is a retired professional racing driver who last competed in the Champ Car World Series for Phantom Motors. Draco is best known for winning the Indycar World Championship twice, in 2017 and 2020. Despite his successes, he is credited as being one of the better drivers to have never won the Indianapolis 500 in eight attempts.

Draco is the younger brother of the late Thomas Draco, who was killed in a tire test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late 2003. Their father also raced in the 1990s, competing in the Indycar National Championship until 1997.

## Champ Car Career

### 2021 Season

Draco remained at Phantom Motors for the fifth year in a row in 2021, remaining teammates with David Wessel, while the team found new title sponsorship from the Rockstar energy drink brand. The team also remained aligned with Honda, one of the only teams to not switch engine suppliers across the six year span dating back to 2016.

Draco's 2021 Champ Car season started off frantic, with a tenth place at Phillip Island despite not being a consistent threat for most of the race. A 14th followed up at the second race of the season in Motegi, where Draco was visibly frustrated after the race. His younger teammate, Wessel, had finished in seventh in both of the opening races, and was outqualifying him as well, early on. That would change at Richmond, the first American race on the schedule. Both Phantom Motors cars ran very well during the race, but a late race restart allowed Cherokee GP driver, Siri Lundqvist, to take her first win in the series since returning from Formula One. Draco finished the race in second, while Wessel finished third.

Draco's first win of the season came two weeks later at the following race at Texas. Phantom Motors were dominant in the race, taking a 1-2 finish with Draco leading Wessel to the checkered flag. The double podium helped the team substantially as it pulled back points from Team Impulse, who were atop the Team's Championship standings after four events. Texas, however, would be the team's only win before the European leg of the season. Team Impulse, led by Hazel Lacasse, would dominate the following two oval races at Chicagoland, and the Indianapolis 500, where Team Impulse lapped all three Phantom Motors cars during the race en route to the most dominant performance ever seen at the legendary event. Both Phantom Motors cars crashed out of Chicagoland, and Draco crashed out of Belle Isle, which followed the Indy 500 on the calendar. After seven races, Draco was behind Lacasse, and his teammate, Wessel, and struggling to stay above the Highlight Racing representative, Simona Leroux. Other drivers were also stealing points from Draco and Phantom Motors during the opening third of the season. Black Rose Racing, through Nicole Liechti, and Alan Herrera, were stealing podiums and race wins, and other teams like Swift Knight Autosport also poised a consistent threat.

The European leg marked a turnaround for Draco, and the Phantom Motors team as a whole. Following the cancellation of Valkenburg due to flooding, Draco stormed to a triumphant second win at the Brno Circuit, backing it up with an equally important win at Pocono, the second leg of the Triple Crown, after Lacasse crashed trying to pass the lapped car of Gerard Perth. Draco would take the points lead away from Lacasse during the Canadian leg of the season, finishing 21st at Toronto, and fourth at Vancouver, while Lacasse only managed 17th. Draco would hold onto the points lead through Gateway, finishing 7th, while Lacasse finished 10th, while Lacasse narrowed the gap at Kentucky with her fourth win of the season, while Draco finished off the podium in fourth. Draco would push the points lead wide open at Watkins Glen, winning while Lacasse suffered a clutch problem and finished in 25th. Entering the last six races of the season, Draco had amassed a race lead over Lacasse in the points, becoming the odds on favorite to win a third World Championship. Draco's final win of the season, and ultimately his final career win, came at Road America two weeks later, while Lacasse finished third.

Draco's championship pursuit would unravel within the last five races of the season. Draco crashed out of the race at Mid-Ohio on lap one, finishing 27th. A 25th at New Hampshire followed, erasing his points lead, and putting Lacasse back in front with three races remaining. At the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the race where Draco clinched his second World title the year before, he lost more points to Lacasse, finishing 10th, while Lacasse finished third in the shortened race. Denver's inaugural event would pose a challenge, with the unpredictable race throwing Draco down the order, finishing 16th while Lacasse could only finish 6th. Heading into Denver, Draco was behind by 33 points. He'd need to win, with Lacasse finishing outside the top 12 at Fontana to take the Championship away. On Thursday, 11 November, Jean-Claude Gabriel passed away following a long battle with cancer. The Phantom Motors team withdrew from the finale, forfeiting the Driver's Championship to Lacasse, while holding onto the Team's Championship by a mere 9 points by the end of the race. Draco confirmed the Tuesday following the race that he was retiring from open wheel racing following an eight year journey, in which he only raced full time six of those seasons. Draco would retire without an Indianapolis 500 win, joining his father and older brother in never winning the hallmark event.