Mario Andretti
Episode 165
28 MAR 2022
He is a racing icon, considered by many to be the greatest race car driver in the history of the sport. He had an illustrious career that saw him win in every discipline he entered – midgets, sprint cars, dirt track cars, stock cars, IndyCars, Formula One, Formula 5000 and sports cars. He won the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and ultimately the Formula One World Championship, an unprecedented trifecta in that no other race car driver has ever won all three titles. He took the checkered flag 111 times during a career that stretched five decades and across six continents. The Associated Press named him Driver of the Century.
Notable guest quotes:
“We were, as a family, a product of World War II. Where I was born… Our region was occupied by hardline communism… We were refugees in our own country for seven-and-a-half years.”
“This is when you put yourself in the faith of God too, because the future is very cloudy at best. Again, your heart goes out to these people, honestly (in the Ukraine).”
“We had a priest in our family until we left Italy and, to me, I loved that man more than I loved anyone in my life.”
“My dream began of becoming a race (car) driver when I was still in the refugee camp, like, the impossible dream, it’s something we never gave up on.”
“I put myself in the hands of God in so many ways… I always had a prayer just before every single race.”
“Every single race I was always thinking, I used to put myself in the hands of my uncle priest. I’d say, ‘He’ll take care of me.’ And that gave me the courage, that gave me peace and tranquility in what I was doing, which was all-important. You have to have a serene mind when you’re doing something that requires so much focus… and I had that because of my faith.”
“…today. I have a two-seater car, I have a passenger behind me, and I feel very confident of my own ability that we’re safe, but at the same time, it’s a mechanical thing that we’re relying on. There could be something mechanical happening that could hurt us, but I feel that we’re protected in the way that I put myself in the faith of God and that’s what has kept me going. That’s what keeps me going today.”
“I had a situation in 2003 at Indianapolis, which could’ve been the end of it all. I had a big flip at over 200 miles an hour and should not have survived that. I did. And that was by the grace of God, for sure.”
“I’ve been spared in so many situations and I don’t take it for granted. I know how blessed I’ve been, and I always say this, I count my blessings every day because of that.”
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