Super Speedway features two of the most powerful competitors in the history of motorsports: the legendary Mario Andretti and his son, Michael. For the past four decades, the Andretti name has signified excellence, dedication, pride and, above all, victory.
Michael is a 13-year veteran of Indy car racing and continues to dominate
the PPG CART World Series for Newman/Haas.
Although Mario retired following the 1995 season, he remains very close
to the sport. Not only are both father and son profiled in Super Speedway,
they also help provide the action. Mario drives the car that was specially
modified to carry the IMAX® camera,
and Michael is shown in much of that footage practising and competing over
the course of the 1996 season.
Mario Andretti
Often referred to as
"the greatest race car driver of all time," Mario
Andretti has proven himself a winner at every level of competition,
from Sprint cars to Formula 1 to Indy cars. He remains Indy car racing's
all-time leader in pole positions won (67) and laps led (7,587). He is second
only to A.J. Foyt in career victories (52 versus 67), and held the world
closed-course speed record of 234.275 miles per hour in qualifying on July
31, 1993 at the Michigan International Speedway. With his 52nd Indy car
victory at the Phoenix 200 in April 1993 (which was also his 100th major
career victory), Mario became the first driver to win Indy car races over
four decades and the first to win races over five decades.
Born in Montona, Italy, in 1940, Mario's love of cars and motorsports began at an early age. His mother, Rina, will tell you that racing runs in his blood. As five-year-olds, Mario and his twin brother, Aldo, used to race a handcrafted wooden car through the hilly streets of their hometown. Nothing could stop that car, says Rina, not even the German soldiers when they came to Montona during World War II.
In 1959, soon after the Andretti family immigrated to the United States, Mario's phenomenal racing career began. His first victory came in his premier race while driving a 1948 Hudson Hornet Sportsman stock car. He went on to win 20 races in the modified stock class over the next three seasons.
Mario's first Indy car appearance was in Trenton, New Jersey, on April 19, 1964, where he finished 11th after starting 16th. A year later he won his first Indy car race, the Hoosier Grand Prix and the USAC Indy Car championship. He also earned Rookie of the Year honours at the Indianapolis 500.
In 1968, Mario entered the Formula 1 Grand Prix racing circuit, taking the pole position in his very first race, the Watkins Glen Grand Prix. His first win came in 1971 in South Africa. From 1975 to 1981, he focused primarily on the Grand Prix circuit, winning 12 more races and earning 16 additional pole positions. The culmination of his international career was in 1978 when he won the Formula 1 World Championship. Mario remains one of only three men to win both the Formula 1 and Indy car championships.
In a career that spanned 36 years (including 31 in Indy cars), Mario won a total of four Indy car championships (1965, 1966, 1969 and 1984) and drove to 52 Indy car victories. Other career highlights include his celebrated win of the Indianapolis 500 in 1969, and winning the Michigan 500 in 1984 and the Pocono 500 in 1986 to complete a sweep of Indy car "Triple Crown" oval tracks.
Mario's skillful and versatile driving also
resulted in victories in 1967, 1970 and 1972. In addition, he won the USAC
National Dirt Track Championship in 1974 and the title at the International
Race of Champions in 1979.
He is one of only two men to win Driver of the Year honours three times (1967, 1978 and 1984), and the first to do it over three decades! In 1992, he was further honoured when he was named "Driver of the Quarter Century." This distinguished champion campaigned in his final season of Indy car competition in 1994, after which he retired from active participation in the sport.
The track record of Mario Andretti speaks for itself. As a driver he mastered his sport and has been an inspiration to many. He once said he would like to be remembered as a guy who gave 110 percent, a man who really enjoyed his work. "I love motor racing," he says. "It's been my life, and I've given it all I could."
Mario Andretti Career Highlights:
Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti,
the eldest son of motorsports legend Mario Andretti, was probably destined
to fall in love with auto racing. As heir apparent, he grew up at the track,
travelling with his parents from race to race, learning the art and science
of the speedway.
At the end of the 1996 season, at 33 years old, Michael is the active leader in career Indy car wins with a total of 35 victories. Driven to succeed, he continues to establish records, claim poles and win races. An incredibly quick learner, he is acclaimed as the fastest America has to offer in an open-wheel car. The media calls him fearless, relentless and aggressive-a competitor who never backs down. They say winning runs in his blood, and Michael never disappoints.
Even as a business major at Northampton Junior College in Pennsylvania, Michael knew he would follow his father into the "family business." From a very young age he had exhibited the true desire and raw talent of a future champion. At 10, he was racing go-karts. From 1972 to 1979, Michael won more than one-third of the events he entered.
Always at his side was Mario, known throughout the world as "the greatest race car driver of all time." In 1980, Michael qualified for his Sports Car Club of America amateur and national licenses, then won the Toyota Pro-Celebrity contest at Watkins Glen. These first outings made a strong impression on his father. In his book, Andretti, published in 1994, Mario recalls:
"It's talent and instinct, but it's also that desire, that pride that comes with accomplishment. I remember watching Michael. The first go-kart race I ever put him in, that kid knew he had to get up front. I thought, this kid is going to win every race he can. If he finishes second, it will be because it's impossible to win that race. This is not something that grows into your character. You are either born with that desire and instinct or you're not."
Michael entered his first full Indy car season in 1984 and finished seventh in PPG Cup points. Qualifying fourth and finishing fifth, he was named Co-Rookie of the Year with Roberto Guerrero at Indy. In 1986, he scored his first of 35 Indy car victories, winning at Long Beach, California. At the season opener in Phoenix that same year, he qualified second to Mario, establishing the first father-son front row ever. Michael took his first pole and oval track win at Milwaukee and finished the season second to Bobby Rahal in PPG Cup points.
The world of racing saw Michael establish himself as a dominant driver in the 1980s. When he joined the Newman/Haas team after the 1988 season, he and Mario again made history as Indy car's first father-son team. Michael finished the 1989 season third in points and was runner-up for the 1990 campaign, having led more than 25 percent of all laps raced.
In 1991, Michael's efforts and dedication culminated in a nearly perfect season. He took command of the circuit, seizing the PPG Cup with a record eight wins and eight poles, receiving Driver of the Year honours. He was also named Outstanding Athlete of the Year by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association.
Michael continued his domination of the Indy car circuit in 1992, adding another five victories and seven pole positions to his career totals. His lap-leading percentage of 53.8 (1,136 laps led out of a total of 2,110) is the third highest in the 80-year history of the Indy car series. Yet despite his impressive performance, Michael missed taking the championship - by just four points.
After 10 years in Indy car and four seasons as his father's teammate, Michael left Newman/Haas Racing at the end of 1992 to join McLaren International Limited to compete on the international Formula 1 circuit. As teammate to the late Ayrton Senna, he faced the challenge of learning a new chassis and engine, adjusting to new tracks, and adapting to new practice and qualifying rules, all with very little testing time. His best finish was third place in his final F-1 race at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
When the opportunity arose to return to Indy car racing and compete one last season against his father in 1994, Michael joined Chip Ganassi Racing Teams to pilot the untried Reynard chassis. In the rain-plagued season opener in Surfers Paradise, Australia, he marked his comeback with a victory.
In 1995, Michael returned to the Newman/Haas team and proceeded to lead more races (12) than any other driver. Among the highlights were winning at Toronto for the fifth time in his career, ranking first in most laps led, and scoring three pole positions.
Today, with his famous father cheering from the sidelines, Michael Andretti keeps building on his remarkable record of achievement. The 1996 season proved to be another spectacular year. He had a season high of five wins and finished second with 132 points. In 1997, he will mark his 14th year in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) racing and his seventh with Newman/Haas. As he climbs the all-time leader board for poles won, laps led, career earnings and Indy car wins, Michael demonstrates why he is one of the most dominant and successful drivers ever. Clearly, Michael Andretti has come into his own.
Michael Andretti Career Highlights: