LONG BEACH, Calif. -- There was the instance when Mario Andretti taped Bobby Unser to a phone booth at Hanford Motor Speedway, which caused Unser to miss his turn in qualifications.
Then there was the time when Andretti tripled his Formula One salary in a 12-hour span in separate chats with Colin Chapman and Enzo Ferrari. And the ’82 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, when the Italy-born Andretti started on the pole in a Ferrari.
Andretti has hundreds of such memories from a motorsports career that continues through associations with Andretti Autosport and INDYCAR, and he related a few with vivid details during the sixth Road Racing Drivers Club dinner April 10.
Andretti -- the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), the Formula One World Championship (1978) and the Daytona 500 (1967) -- was the guest of honor at the event hosted by RRDC president Bobby Rahal.
Twelve Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winners attended in honor of Andretti, which prompted Rahal – among the Indy 500 winners – to call the event the “Mt. Olympus of racing.” The Brawner Hawk that Andretti drove as an Indianapolis 500 rookie in 1965 was on display (photo left).
"This is the 62nd anniversary of the RRDC," Rahal said. "We have been so blessed to have honored Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Roger Penske, Jim Hall, Brian Redman and, this year, Mario Andretti. He was named by the Associated Press as 'the driver of the century.' That's pretty heavy."
Andretti’s brother, Aldo, joined the conversation on stage at one point, relaying the brothers’ start in auto racing in 1959 in Pennsylvania – while they were three years shy of the legal age to obtain a competitor license – after emigrating from Italy. It was the start of five decades of competition in just about every category for Mario, who enjoyed success in all. He won the Indy car national championship four times and was a three-time winner at Sebring. He won races in sports cars, sprint cars and stock cars -- on ovals, road courses, drag strips, on dirt and on pavement. He's credited with 52 Indy car victories and 111 overall.
Theirs "is the American story,” Rahal said.
"I always say that every win has something that is special," said Andretti, a four-time winner at Long Beach and the grand marshal for the 40th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13. "Long Beach has been fabulous to me and my family. There's some magic about this place. The tradition is fabulous, it has that draw to it. I've been fortunate throughout my career to win many races and enjoy special times that continue today. I count my blessings every day."
Proceeds from the event, plus silent auction artwork featuring Andretti during his driver career, were directed to the RRDC’s SAFE is Fast initiative, which mentors aspiring drivers, and the Team USA Scholarship.
Rahal announced that four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti would be the ambassador for SAFE is Fast and American Honda will be the presenting sponsor.
What spat?
Verizon IndyCar Series team owners Roger Penske (below, left) and Chip Ganassi share a laugh during the social time before the RRDC dinner. Two weeks earlier, comments about each teams' longtime success were the topic of media reports.
