PHOENIX – Mario Andretti is 78 years old but is the first to admit that “I never grew up,” a key factor in him becoming one of the most successful and popular figures in Indy car history.
The four-time series champion and 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner was honored Thursday night at the Phoenix Art Museum with a program to kick off a slate of activities celebrating the 25th anniversary of Andretti’s 52nd and final Indy car victory on the ISM Raceway oval that hosts the Verizon IndyCar Series this weekend.
The program, hosted by NBSCN racing analyst Townsend Bell and streamed live on IndyCar.com, allowed Andretti the chance to reminisce about the thousands of miles he turned at the Phoenix track, his career in general and continued passion for the sport. He remains actively involved to this day as a representative for INDYCAR tire supplier Firestone and driving the Honda Fastest Seat in Sports two-seat Indy car on race weekends.
“All I want to do is drive,” Andretti said to an appreciative audience that included several peers who competed against him 25 years ago and current Verizon IndyCar Series drivers – notably his grandson Marco, the third-generation racer who drives for the team owned by Mario’s son, Michael.
Mario recounted the beginnings of his Indy car career when he drove for the Dean Van Lines team and legendary chief mechanic Clint Brawner, with the team based in Phoenix at the time the track opened in 1964. Andretti spent weeks in the offseason testing at the track, which helped him become a four-time Phoenix race winner.
The fact that he never wrote himself off on any race day also helped. He pointed to the ’93 race in particular, when Team Penske drivers Paul Tracy and Emerson Fittipaldi each had the field lapped but were eliminated in separate crashes where neither was injured.
“Being optimistic is very important,” Mario said. “If you say, ‘I haven’t got a chance today,’ you’re done. No matter what, you’ve always got to feel it can happen. Just like this (1993) race that we saw. What a beautiful crash, you know what I mean? I felt bad (for Tracy and Fittipaldi), but only for a little bit. You’ve got to take advantage of everything possible.”
Andretti also debunked the notion of the fabled “Andretti luck” that plagued the family, most notably at Indianapolis. Despite frequently running at the front in the Indy 500, Mario has only the ’69 win to show for it and Michael remains the driver who’s led the most Indy 500 laps without a victory.
Mario’s twin brother Aldo was an aspiring young driver when injuries sustained in a racing accident. Mario’s son Jeff had his career cut short by injuries from a crash in the 1992 Indy 500. Yet the patriarch still feels fortunate by what Indy car racing was done for his family.
“It’s amazing how wonderful the sport has been to us overall,” Mario said. “And we paid our dues, too, with Jeff with his injuries and my brother Aldo. But at the same time, nobody’s complaining, nobody’s saying, ‘Why me?’ It’s just Michael, myself especially and now Marco, we’re counting our blessings.”
He also felt blessed that Thursday’s program to honor him didn’t take on a saltier tone.
“I thought it was going to be some kind of a roast,” Mario said with a laugh, “but it’s almost like an eulogy instead. When it’s time for me to go, I want these guys at my funeral and to say the same things.”
Watch a rebroadcast of the entire program here: