When Mario Andretti turned 75 on February 28 the gifts and accolades were plentiful to the IndyCar racing legend that was one of the greatest drivers in international motorsports history. But way back in 1977 Andretti gave a young driver an opportunity to join a team that would help him become another legend of the Indianapolis 500.

That driver was Rick Mears, a young upstart from Bakersfield, California who was better known as a Desert Off-Road racer than an IndyCar driver.

Andretti was a driver of the powerful Penske Racing team and was also competing in Formula One. In 1978 Andretti would pursue the Formula One World Championship for Lotus and that meant team owner Roger Penske needed a fill-in driver for the IndyCar races Andretti would miss.

“When I got on with Penske the way I got hired was because Mario was still running Formula One and chasing the World Championship in 1978,” Mears said from his home in Jupiter, Florida. “That was in 1977. In 1978 Mario had a full-blown effort with Lotus to try to win the World Championship and was going to miss some races.

“That is when Roger Penske came to me and said, ‘I need a fill-in driver because Mario is going to miss some races next year and I need somebody to fill in for him. I’ll guarantee you at least six races and the three 500-mile races. Mario will run those and I will run a third car in the 500s.’ I ran his car in those other races and that is how it got started.

“Mario was a great teammate. We worked well together and he was confident enough he wasn’t worried about hiding anything from some kid.”

It shows how career decisions by one driver created an opportunity for another driver to become part of the sport.

Andretti would win the 1978 Formula One World Championship and Mears would never leave Team Penske. Mears won his first Indianapolis 500 in 1979 and would go on to become only the third, four-time winner of the Indy 500 before he retired following the 1992 CART season.

“If he hadn’t been running Formula One that opportunity wouldn’t have been there,” Mears said of Andretti. “It’s all timing. Stuff happens for a reason. I didn’t have a ride. Both teams I drove for went out of business and I was knocking on doors at the time and couldn’t get any doors to open. It’s no different today than it was then – there are only X-cars and X-seats. That’s the way it’s always been and always will be. Unless somebody retires or somebody doesn’t get the job done or whatever the timing doesn’t work out. If I had been driving for someone else at the time I wouldn’t have had the opportunity.

“I just happened to be out of a ride at the same time Penske needed somebody to fill in. If it hadn’t been for Mario chasing that World Championship I wouldn’t have the opportunity to be able to do what we’ve done.

“He was a great teammate. He and Tom Sneva both were good. They helped me any time, any thing I asked him. He was very good about it.”

Andretti would drive in only eight of the 18 IndyCar races in 1978. Mears drove in 11 of the 18 races and made the most of his time in Andretti’s car by winning three times – the first victories of his IndyCar career.

Andretti and Mears were teammates from 1978 to 1980. Andretti joined Patrick Racing in 1981 as he continued to split time between F1 and CART before returning to full-time IndyCar status in 1982.

By then, Mears had established himself as IndyCar’s brightest young star but he credits his time with Andretti for his early development.

“Mario explains things very well,” Mears recalled. “We both spoke similar language. He has a good feel for a car and we could relate. I’ve always been technical and he is too. I’ve had some teammates who weren’t very technical and had trouble explaining themselves. You had to learn to read between the lines what they were saying. Mario and Emerson Fittipaldi were the same way and when he explained what a change made I would put it on my car before qualifying and know exactly what it was going to do from his explanation. Mario was the same way. He was very technical and worked hard on getting the car right. He understood it and at that time understood it more than I did. He explained things very well.”

For as much as Mears loved Andretti as a teammate he had tremendous respect for him as a competitor.

“Mario was one of the guys who was my toughest competitor,” Mears admitted. “I’ve always said Mario. It was different one day and one track it would be one guy and another track another guy depending on the day, time and teams. But if I had to pick somebody form the beginning of my career to the end of my career who was the toughest on an average to compete against it was Mario. He was running strong when I started and he was running strong when I retired. If he was running at the end you had to deal with him. So on average, he was the guy you had to compete against most often.”

At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, these two drivers had contrasting careers. Although both achieved legendary status Mears won four Indy 500s and made them look easy. Andretti won just one Indy 500 in 1969 when he was capable of winning many, many more.

“He was a threat and a driver that could drive anything,” Mears said. “A driver that was knocking on the door day in and day out. He may not have won it that many times but he was a threat to win it almost any time. Michael Andretti was the same way. He retired without winning Indy but he was one of the best that has ever been. Just because he didn’t win Indy didn’t change one iota his capabilities as a driver. It’s timing, lady luck, right teams and right time. You need to find the pace that is fast enough to win and slow enough to finish.”

It’s been a very long time since Andretti and Mears were teammates and Mears has never forgotten the opportunity he got at Penske Racing, thanks to Andretti. Both drivers remain fixtures in the Verizon IndyCar Series with Mears serving a key role for Team Penske and Andretti driving the Honda IndyCar Two-Seater.

“It’s great to see him still part of the sport,” Mears said. “That is the thing that I’ve always admired about Mario. He is a great guy. I’ve always admired how he kept that fire lit. Mario ran all those years before I got there and ran a few years after I got out because he had that desire.

“That’s the biggest thing for competition the desire to dig down deep and get that extra little bit. That fire is still lit. All you have to do is watch him drive out of the Pocono garage area in the Corvette and see that fire is still lit along with the tires on his Corvette lit up.

“Mario and I get along well – that’s just a fact. He’s tough and he is a class act. He’s always been very well spoken. He’s a great asset to all of us.”