8 Mario Andretti Quotes To Kick You Into Gear

To have succeeded and survived the crucible of racing across more than three decades—earning more than 100 wins in the process—puts Mario Andretti in a league with few peers. But out of the car, his atypical-for-a-racer upbringing in the U.S. as an Italian-American immigrant endowed Andretti with a strength of character that resounds to this day.

Also atypical for most racers: he could win in just about anything, for example becoming the USAC National Dirt Track Champion as well as the Formula 1 World Champion…with Pike’s Peak, Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, Sebring, IROC, and many other successes sprinkled in for good measure.

Here are our favorite words of wisdom from Mario Andretti—and we should recommend following him on Twitter, if you haven’t yet.

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”

“If you’re so afraid of failure, you will never succeed. You have to take chances.”

“Whenever you’re aggressive, you’re at the edge of mistakes”

“It is amazing how many drivers, even at the Formula One Level, think that the brakes are for slowing the car down.”

“A racing car is an animal with a thousand adjustments.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t educate drivers enough to be respectful on the road.”

“If you wait, all that happens is that you get older.”

“I see all these old people who don’t have anything to do but eat, drink and sleep. I will never say ‘retired’ because that’s such a finality that I don’t want to be part of my life. I’ll work until they throw me in a box.”

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