Auto Racing Legends: Mario Andretti
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Auto Racing Legends: Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti is considered by most one of the greatest race car drivers ever. His expertise behind the wheel knew no boundaries – he raced NASCAR stock cars, Formula One, IndyCars, midgets and sprints, and even dragsters. The only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, and the Formula One World Championship, Andretti is also the only driver to be named Driver of the Year in three decades (1967, 1978, and 1984) and was named Co-Driver of the Century along with A.J. Foyt by the Associated Press.
Andretti and his family, including twin brother Aldo, came to the States from Italy in 1955, settling in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The twins began racing stock cars in 1959 at a dirt track in Nazareth – but didn’t tell their parents. The charade ended when Aldo was seriously injured near the end of the season. Andretti went on to race USAC and NASCAR stock cars, and was invited to race in the International Race of Champions (IROC) Series six times.
In 1961, Andretti began racing midget cars and moved to sprint cars in 1964, hoping to work his way into single-seater open-wheel cars. In 1964, he started his first Champ Car (IndyCar) race; the following year, he was named Rookie of the Year at the Indy 500 after a third place finish.
He started his first Formula One race in 1968, and raced sporadically over the next few seasons. Andretti’s first full-time season was 1975, and in 1978 he won the F1 title. In 1982, he left F1 and returned full-time to CART (IndyCar), joined by his son Michael in 1989 as drivers for Newman/Haas Racing. Michael left CART for his own career in F1 in 1993; Andretti retired after the 1994 season.
Andretti’s skill behind the wheel has led to his induction into numerous halls of fame, including the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1990, the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1996, and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2001.
The Andretti family is now in its third generation in the IndyCar Series. In additional to Michael, son Jeff and nephew John raced in the IRL (John also raced in NASCAR and NHRA), and now Michael’s son Marco is racing for his father’s team, Andretti Autosport. Like his father and grandfather, Marco earned the Rookie of the Year award for the Indy 500 in 2006 after finishing second.