Over the course of his career, Michael Andretti has been both a driving champion and the successful owner of multiple auto racing teams, but soon he’ll be just an apprentice.
“I do things backwards sometimes,” Andretti tells FoxNews.com.
Click here to watch the full interview on Fox Car Report
The heir to the most famous name in motorsports is one of the contestants on the upcoming season of Donald Trump’s top-rated reality show, “The Celebrity Apprentice.” There he joins a wide-ranging collection of stars that includes Arsenio Hall, Teresa Giudice and Lou “The Incredible Hulk” Ferrigno.
“It’s an intense show, what you see on TV is what it’s really like.”
Andretti stepped in as a last-minute replacement for his son, Marco, who competes in the IndyCar series for his father’s team. The 24-year-old chose to bow out after the back-to-back deaths of his maternal grandfather and fellow racer Dan Wheldon last year.
“It’s quite different,” Andretti says. “Reality TV was something new for me and I was definitely not in my element.”
The bulk of the series was shot during hectic one-month period in October and November, just as Andretti’s team was gearing up for a busy off-season developing the all-new racing car that IndyCar is introducing this year.
“It was tough to leave the shop at that point, but my guys at the shop did a great job,” Andretti says.
Along with the other competitors on the show, Andretti is playing for charity. He represents Racing for Cancer, a foundation that was set up by another one of his team’s drivers, Ryan Hunter-Reay, after his mother died from the disease.
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As for the political aspirations of his temporary new boss, would Andretti accept a cabinet appointment from President Trump? Secretary of Transportation, perhaps?
“Yea I would. Help out the country.”