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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.
Image source: usatoday.com, wikipedia.org, f1fanatic.co.uk, universityofracing.com,
foxsports.com
Mario is awesome. My son chased him down at the Long Beach Grand Prix a couple of years ago, weaving in and out of pedestrian traffic on foot as Mario laughed while riding his scooter. He finally stopped to have some words with my son, age 8 at the time.
I’m not sure what they talked about in its entirety, but he signed my son’s racing cap (which he won in a karting tournament).
When he stopped, he was immediately recognized and swarmed by the masses. I (we) will always remember how considerate and thoughtful he was to take the time to chat. I’m sure he was thrilled that an 8 year old kid recognized him and chased him down, too. 😉
Class act through and through.
The one you missed and the best one of them all … especially for those of us of a ‘ certain age ‘ having the wisdom and discernment that should come with ‘ maturing ‘ [ but in all honestly seldom does ]
” Just because my key aren’t in the ignition and I’m no longer behind the wheel doesn’t mean I still don’t enjoy it ”
” Old Guys Rule ” ! 😉