A winner and champion in a variety of racing machines, Mario Andretti (February 28, 1940) came from war-torn Italy to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where he went from Modified stock-car racing to join Phil Hill (1961) as America’s second Formula-1 World Champion. 

The Andretti family – including twin brother Aldo – immigrated to the United States in 1955.  The brothers had already raced in Formula Junior events in Italy in 1953, so in 1959 – without their parents’ knowledge – they turned a 1949 Hudson Hornet into a race car and took turns driving it at the old half-mile dirt Nazareth Speedway where they each had two wins.

During the 1960-1961 racing seasons, Mario had 21 Modified victories in 46 races in cars like Frank Tanzosh’s two-door sedan.  And from 1961-1963 he raced American Racing Driver’s Club Midgets (winning three races on Labor Day 1963 in the yellow and black No. 11 Mataka Brothers Offy; one at Flemington, New Jersey, and two at Hatfield, Pennsylvania), United Racing Club Sprint Cars and American Three-Quarter Midgets.

In 1964, Mario got a full-time United States Auto Club Sprint Car ride and on April 19 made his first USAC Championship Car start in a 100-miler at the old one-mile Trenton (N.J.) Speedway where he qualified 16th and finished 11th in the No. 28 Doug Stearly Offy.       

At the 1965 Indianapolis 500, Mario was named “Rookie of the Year” after starting fourth and finishing third in the white and blue No. 12 Dean Van Lines rear-engined Hawk Ford.  Then, on July 25, 1965, he won his first Championship race on the 1.875-mile Indianapolis Raceway Park road course when he triumphed from the pole in the 150-mile Hoosier Grand Prix.

In 1967, Mario started 12th and won the Daytona 500 in the red and blue No. 11 Holman-Moody Ford.  And in 1969 the popular driver started second in Andy Granatelli’s red No. 2 STP Oil Treatment rear-engined Hawk/turbocharged Ford and won his only Indy 500.

A four-time National Champion (USAC 1965-1966 & 1969; CART 1984) and 1974’s USAC Championship Dirt Car titlist, Mario made his Formula-1 debut on October 6, 1968, at the U.S. Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, New York, where he won the pole in Colin Chapman’s Lotus 49.  He then won the Formula-1 World Championship South African Grand Prix on March 6, 1971, in his first drive in a Ferrari 321B, and on March 28, 1971, he won the F-1 Questor Grand Prix on the 3.2-mile road course at the old Ontario (California) Motor Speedway. 

Mario’s first full year in Formula-1 was in 1975 driving a Parnelli VPJ4 Ford owned by his Championship Car owner, 1963 Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones.  He then returned to race with Chapman’s Lotus team in 1976 and after developing the team’s new Lotus 77 he lapped the field and won the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix on the 2.7-mile Mount Fuji road course.

In 1978, Mario – who also raced in the United States for Roger Penske (1977-1980) and Pat Patrick (1981-1982) – won six races in the Louts 79 and the Formula-1 World Championship and then raced with some regularity in F-1 until the end of 1982.

International Sports Car racing saw Mario win three (1967, 1970 & 1972) 12 Hours of Sebring and 1972’s 24 Hours of Daytona – with Bruce McLaren in a Shelby Ford Mk IV in 1967; in a Ferrari 512 in 1970; and the rest with co-driver Jackie Ickx in Ferrari 312s.

Mario’s last IndyCar win came on April 4, 1993, in the CART 200 at Phoenix (Arizona) International Raceway where he started second in the No. 6 Newman-Haas Lola Ford and that made him at 53 years and 34 days old the oldest driver to win a Championship event.

Mario Andretti effectively retired after 1994 with 109 victories in several major series, including the 1969 Pikes Peak (Colorado) Hill Climb.  He also had an all-time record 67 Champ-ionship poles, 52 USAC/CART Championship victories and 12 wins in 128 Formula-1 starts.