NAZARETH, Penn. — Mario Andretti and his son don't discuss it. There's no point. No matter what the other says, the Andretti family will be a house divided when it comes to guaranteed entries for full-timers at the Indianapolis 500.

Despite the blood they share, they're coming at the controversy from two different angles. Michael Andretti, owner of Andretti Autosport, is a businessman, trying to protect his investment.

"I don't blame him," Mario Andretti told IndyStar this week. "Truthfully, I can sympathize with the position Michael and Roger (Penske) and Chip (Ganassi) are openly taking because of their investment in the sport. I know how important Indianapolis is to the sponsors. Whether we like it or not, probably 75 percent of your sales pitch is Indianapolis."

Still, Mario Andretti is a self-professed "purist." Maybe too fervently sometimes, the global racing icon says with a laugh. But guaranteed entries at the 500? Andretti just can't stomach it.

"Don't meddle with tradition," the 1969 race winner said. "I have to stand for what I believe in. I’ll be faulted for that, I know, but I think at Indy, what keeps this event as precious as it is: it’s tradition. You don’t meddle with that."

Stripping away part of what makes the 500 so unique and so pure — that all 33 drivers must qualify for the race — would devalue the race in the long-term, Mario Andretti said.

"Indianapolis, as an event, possesses an identity like no other," Andretti said. "Nothing else in the racing world is like it. Nothing in Formula One. Nothing in NASCAR. Traditions are what make Indianapolis so precious."

Mario Andretti is clear that though he and his son — the winner of five Indianapolis 500s since becoming a team owner — disagree, it hasn't created a rift between them. It can't, he said, because they don't talk about it.

It's a "no-win" situation, Mario Andretti said, and he has never made a habit of getting into battles he can't win.

He also understand his son's point of view: Full-time teams who carry the series all year long deserve the security of guaranteed entry in the most financially critical race of the season. Missing the race could be crippling.

"I respect his side of this, and he's catching a lot of (expletive) for it," Mario Andretti said. "There’s a lot of emotion with this. He certainly understands the importance of the traditions and all the things that make the sport and the 500 what it is. But from where he is, from what he has at stake on the business side of it, I can’t blame him."

Michael Andretti has "everything, his whole existence" invested in racing, Mario Andretti said. He doesn't have the backing of a multi-billion-dollar business like Penske.

"He’s got to protect that interest," Mario Andretti said. "He wants to be in this for the long haul. There’s a valid, valid argument for both sides. It just depends what side of the street you’re standing on.

"I just think the integrity of the sport and the race needs to prevail. That’s my position, but again, what do I have invested except emotions? That’s the problem. I don’t really fault those guys. Nowadays, it’s so hard, it’s tougher and tougher to land the proper sponsors. The sports is expensive. It doesn’t exist with sponsors. So do I fault those guys for taking that position? Absolutely not."

Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: @jimayello.