Andretti Family - Mario Andretti

Mario Andretti

Mario was the first of the Andretti family to have success in top level motorsport, going on to have a long career and become one of the most successful drivers of all time. During his career, Andretti won four IndyCar titles, as well as the 1978 F1 World Championship, and IROC VI (1978–1979). Andretti had 109 career wins on major circuits which, along with the aforementioned triumphs, features wins in IMSA and USAC Stock Cars as well. He was the first driver to exceed 200 miles per hour while practicing for the 1977 Indianapolis 500.

In addition to his individual wins, Andretti has been enshrined in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, as well as the Automotive Hall of Fame. He was named Driver of the Year three times, and Driver of the Quarter Century as well.

Mario competed 29 times in the Indianapolis 500, with only a single victory in 1969 to his credit, which occurred very early in his career. His quest for a second victory, to no avail, was well documented by ABC Sports by about 1986 and 1987, when the broadcasts began airing features about a perceived bad luck "curse" that had overcome him at the Speedway. Andretti himself even mentioned that "Lady Luck" seemed to be against him at times. Meanwhile, fellow "Brickyard" legends of his era (A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Al Unser, Jr., Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, and Rick Mears) all racked up multiple Indy 500 wins to their credit. Mario's perceived curse became such a popular "watercooler topic" during the month of May, that some fans were known to have betting pools to guess which lap Andretti would drop out of the race.

From 1911-1968, the 2nd starting position statistically produced the most race winners (9 total), more than even the pole position (which had produced only 7 at that time). In his lone 1969 victory, Mario drove car #2, from the 2nd starting position. It was the 10th time a driver had won the Indy 500 from the 2nd starting position. It would take until the end of the twentieth century for another driver win from the 2nd starting position. In fact, few cars even managed to finish the race from the 2nd starting position in the that period. Juan Pablo Montoya finally broke the streak by winning from the middle of the front row in the year 2000.