Mario Andretti

Mario Andretti
Andretti in 2021
BornMario Gabriele Andretti
(1940-02-28) February 28, 1940 (age 84)
Montona, Istria, Kingdom of Italy
(current day Motovun, Croatia)
Championship titles
USAC / CART Championship Car
(1965, 1966, 1969, 1984)
USAC Silver Crown (1974)
Formula One World Drivers' Championship (1978)
Major victories
Daytona 500 (1967)
12 Hours of Sebring (1967, 1970, 1972)
Indianapolis 500 (1969)
Pikes Peak Hill Climb (1969)
24 Hours of Daytona (1972)[a]
Long Beach Grand Prix
(1977, 1984, 1985, 1987)
Michigan 500 (1984)
Pocono 500 (1986)
Champ Car career
407 races run over 31 years
Best finish1st (1965, 1966, 1969, 1984)
First race1964 Trenton 100 (Trenton)
Last race1994 Monterey Grand Prix (Laguna Seca)
First win1965 Hoosier Grand Prix (IRP)
Last win1993 Valvoline 200 (Phoenix)
Wins Podiums Poles
52 141 65
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityUnited States American
Active years1968 – 1972, 1974 – 1982
TeamsLotus, March, Ferrari, Parnelli, Alfa Romeo, Williams
Entries131 (128 starts)
Championships1 (1978)
Wins12
Podiums19
Career points180
Pole positions18
Fastest laps10
First entry1968 United States Grand Prix
First win1971 South African Grand Prix
Last win1978 Dutch Grand Prix
Last entry1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix
NASCAR Cup Series career
14 races run over 4 years
First race1966 Motor Trend 500 (Riverside)
Last race1969 Motor Trend 500 (Riverside)
First win1967 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 3 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1966 – 1967, 1982 – 1983, 1988, 1995 – 1997, 2000
TeamsHolman-Moody, Grand Touring, Porsche-Kremer, Porsche AG, Courage, Panoz
Best finish2nd (1995)
Class wins1 (1995)

Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940)[3] is an American former racing driver. He is widely regarded among the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports.[4][5][6] Andretti is one of only three drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, the World Sportscar Championship, and NASCAR. He has also won races in midget car racing and sprint car racing.

Andretti won the Formula One World Championship in 1978, four IndyCar titles, including three under USAC sanctioning, and one in CART. He is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), Daytona 500 (1967) and the Formula One World Championship, and, along with Juan Pablo Montoya, the only driver to have won a race in the NASCAR Cup Series, Formula One, and an Indianapolis 500. As of 2023, Andretti's victory at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix is the most recent Formula One win by an American driver.[7] Andretti had 109 career wins on major circuits.[8]

Andretti is the only person to be named United States Driver of the Year in three decades (1967, 1978, and 1984).[9] He was also one of only three drivers to have won major races on road courses, paved ovals, and dirt tracks in one season, a feat that he accomplished four times.[9] With his final IndyCar win in April 1993, Andretti became the first driver to have won IndyCar races in four different decades[10] and the first to win automobile races of any kind in five.[9]

In American popular culture, Andretti's name has become synonymous with speed ("You think you're Mario Andretti?"), similar to Barney Oldfield in the early 20th century and Stirling Moss in the United Kingdom.[11]

  1. ^ "Rolex 24 At DAYTONA Legends Andretti, Haywood, Pruett, Rahal, Roush and Taylor to Serve as Grand Marshals for North America's Most Prestigious Sports Car Race". daytonainternationalspeedway.com. January 21, 2022.
  2. ^ "FIA Motor Sport Bulletin N° 55 – January 1972" (PDF). historicdb.fia.com.
  3. ^ "Mario Andretti". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  4. ^ "10 Greatest Race Car Drivers of All Time". carophile.org. May 7, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  5. ^ Gititstore (June 5, 2023). "Top 20 Greatest Race Car Drivers". GiTiTstore. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  6. ^ Frontstretch (April 17, 2024). "Legends of the Racetrack: The Top Race Car Drivers in History". Frontstretch. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  7. ^ DAVE KALLMANN (June 18, 2005). "U.S. GRAND PRIX; Feel the need for Speed; Formula One racer tops". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 26, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
  8. ^ "Biography". International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 8, 2006. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
  9. ^ a b c Larry Schwartz. "Super Mario had speed to burn". ESPN. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
  10. ^ "Andretti Races to Victory". New York Times. April 5, 1993. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  11. ^ "Mario Andretti: Living Legend (an interview)". C16 Magazine. May 22, 2007. Archived from the original on September 14, 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2007.


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