Michael is now 'the entrepreneur' of the family, the owner of several race cars. Like him, his sons Michael and Jeff, along with grandson Marco, were all named winners of the Indy 500 rookie of the year award. Today, Andretti owns a winery, a petroleum company and cheers on those who've continued in the family business. In his early years, Andretti was a chief tester for the tire manufacturer and later on, Andretti won most of his major races on Firestones. No driver has attempted the Memorial Day double of racing 500 miles at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and following that up with 600 miles at Charlotte Motor Speedway since Kurt Busch in 2014.īusch finished sixth at the Indy 500, but came up short of finishing the 1,100 miles with a blown engine in the NASCAR race.Andretti, still fit and trim at 74, has had a symbiotic relationship with Firestone over the years.

“I think it’s so great for the sport in general to have this crossover,” Andretti said. Andretti believes talented drivers can grow all of motorsports by displaying their skills at different venues. He’s won 111 races across several disciplines in five decades of racing.Īndretti was a prime draw for NASCAR’s annual throwback weekend, where the sport’s 75th anniversary will be celebrated. And who knows that better than the 83-year-old Andretti, the only racer to win a Daytona 500, an Indy 500 in 1969 and the Formula One World Championship in 1978. (AP) - Racing great Mario Andretti is excited about NASCAR champion Kyle Larson’s attempt to run the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in May 2024.Īndretti spoke at Darlington Raceway on Friday, on hand to watch driver Nick Sanchez run in the truck race in a throwback paint scheme of Andretti’s car that won the Daytona 500 in 1967.Īndretti said he’s long been an advocate of drivers testing themselves at other disciplines.

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