Mario Andretti

Mario Andretti
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	American
Active years	1968 - 1972, 1974 - 1982
Teams	Lotus, STP Corporation, Ferrari, Parnelli, Alfa Romeo, Williams
Entries	131
Championships	1 (1978)
Wins	12
Podiums	19
Pole positions	18
Fastest laps	10
First entry	1968 Italian Grand Prix
First win	1971 South African Grand Prix
Last win	1978 Dutch Grand Prix
Last entry	1982 Las Vegas Grand Prix

File:Andretti Esquire.jpg

Mario Andretti portrayed on the cover of Esquire

Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-American racing driver, arguably the most successful US citizen in auto racing. During his career, he has won four Champcar titles, the 1978 Formula One World Championship, and the 1979 IROC championship. Andretti is the only person ever to win the Indy 500, the Daytona 500, and the Formula One World Championship.

His name Mario Andretti has become synonymous with speed, similar to Stirling Moss in the UK. A common phrase in the US for illegal speedsters is "Who do you think you are, Mario Andretti?" or "Hey, Mario Andretti..."

Early life

Mario Andretti was born in the town of Montona in then Italian Istria. He was born with a twin brother, Aldo Andretti. After World War II Istria passed to Yugoslavia and his family, like many other Italian Istrians, fled in 1948 and spent the next seven years in a displaced persons camp. The Andretti family eventually resettled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.

Racing debut

Andretti began racing cars in 1959, just after his family had moved to the United States, on dirt oval tracks near Nazareth, Pennsylvania, in an old Hudson. His twin brother, Aldo Andretti, raced on the same tracks in the same car (at different times), but quit after an accident. Andretti placed 3rd in the Indianapalis 500 in his first year.

Mario made his debut in the USAC series in 1964, and won the championship the very next season. He took part in many different categories of racing including drag racing, and by 1969, he had won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500 and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Formula One career

Andretti also started driving in Formula One, taking the pole for his first race at Watkins Glen in 1968, and winning his first race in 1971 for Ferrari. By the mid-1970s, Andretti started to focus on Formula One, driving for Parnelli Jones's fledgling Parnelli Formula One team and Colin Chapman's famous Lotus outfit. In 1977, at Long Beach, he became the only American to win the United States Grand Prix West, in the Lotus 78 "wing car". With the revolutionary "ground effect" Lotus 79 of 1978, Andretti won six races in 1978, and took the title - a bitter-sweet victory in the light of the death of his team-mate Ronnie Peterson, whom Andretti had grown to regard as a close friend. However, Andretti would find little success after 1978 in Formula One, failing to win another race in that series. In the following year, 1979, he was summarily outclassed by his Argentinian team-mate Carlos Reutemann. In 1980, he was paired with Italian ace Elio de Angelis. Again, Mario was usually beaten by his team-mate. Nearly two years later, hired by Ferrari to enter the final two races of the 1982 season, he took an impressive pole position at Monza, just as he did at Watkins Glen in his debut race in 1968.

Champ Car career

He returned to Champ Cars in the 1980's, and won his fourth title in 1984, the first series title for Champ Car owner/sports car driver/actor Paul Newman. His last victory in that class came in 1993. Andretti kept racing to try to win the only important missing award - the 24 hours of Le Mans, but failed to do so. His best finish is 2nd in 1995, and 3rd in 1983 (Porsche 956), both with his son Michael.

Legacy

Many people, particularly Americans, still consider him to be the finest all-around driver ever, and in 2000, the Associated Press and RACER magazine named him "Driver of the Century." The same year, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Both of Mario Andretti's sons, Michael and Jeff, are also involved in auto racing, and Michael has won the Champ Car title as well. As of 2003, he was Champ Cars' winningest driver. Mario's nephew, John, has had success in both Champ Cars and NASCAR, winning races in both series, and his grandson, Marco, has won a championship in Champ Cars' "Stars of Tomorrow" kart racing series, before moving into the Star Mazda single-seater series. Marco is currently planning on running his first full season in the Indy Racing League (IRL), driving for his father Michael's Andretti-Green Racing Team.

Trivia

Andretti is mentioned in the Beastie Boys song Shadrach with the line "You love Mario Andretti cause he always drives his car well".

In her song Crash, Gwen Stefani sings "I picture you driving just like Mario Andretti."

The Charlie Daniels Band paid tribute in the song Uneasy Rider with the line, “Mario Andretti would’da sure been proud of the way I was movin’ when I passed that crowd…”

Amy Grant sings "You like to drive like Mario Andretti, I like it taking my time" in her song Good For Me.

Preceded by Niki Lauda	Formula One World Champion 1978	Succeeded by Jody Scheckter

External links