Who do you think you are?!…Oh, sorry. Have a good day, Mr. Andretti!
“I had a desk sergeant from the Nevada Highway Patrol sitting next to me, and he wanted to do 200 mph.”
In my short time writing I've had the luck of interviewing a handful of people that made me rub my eyes and go “Haa- Whaaaah ???!!!” Evel Knievel and Lennox Lewis, for instance. Or the RZA, Meth and the entire Wu-Tang (sans ODB, unfortunately). Luke Skywalker and Adrian Brody weren't bad, either. But no one, no one, made me feel more star-struck than when I shook hands and sat down next to Mario Andretti, a legend in racing so profound his name has become synonymous with speed. Mario Andretti, for the love of God. His legacy is unquestioned: He won four IndyCar titles, the 1978 Formula One World Championship and the 1979 IROC championship. Andretti remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), the Daytona 500 (1967) and the Formula One World Championship. But now he takes it a bit easier, and I caught up with him when he was playing leading man in this year's Bullrun Rally. So after some deep breaths, a couple hits of a nearby defibrillator and a quick wipe of my clammy hands, I gathered myself up enough to ask the man some questions.
Is this your first rally?
I've done some from Rodeo Drive to Monterey , stuff like that. But I've never done the multi-day rallies; it's very difficult for me, time-wise. But the trick is what car you get to drive—like I'm driving the (Audi) RS4, and also the Panoz GTLM will be interesting. These are all neat cars that we get to experience.
What do you drive at home?
[Audi] A8 W12. I have a Murcielago too, and a 2006 Vette.
Which do you drive more?
The Corvette quite a bit.
Do you still redline it?
[with a sly smirk] No way, are you kidding?
Is driving still a joy for you, or is it just something you do to get from Point A to Point B?
Driving is a joy. Give me a nice car and I'll drive wherever. I love to drive—I think that's pure enjoyment for me. I think I have a definite appreciation for nice cars and what the industry offers today. And then I love having the opportunity to sample the different cars available—like some of the road testing I've done for Road & Track or Car & Driver . In your own mind you have the exotic cars in your head, and you think, “If I could just have this, or just have that.” For whatever reason you think it's gotta be a great car. But when you get to experience it, what you find is that you really confuse yourself. You may have a pre-set idea as to what to expect from one car, and say, “I'm gonna like this one,” but what you'll find is that each supercar that is available today has got something special to offer. So at the end of the day all you come away with is being very confused. 'Cause each one has something special to offer. Not all of them have everything, and one may suit your style better than another, but all of them will have something that you'll like. And that's been my experience from being exposed to these cars.
Is there a car that you recognize as being your favorite, after all these years?
To be honest with you, the car that I enjoyed most was my 2001 Diablo. There's something really neat about that car—I really liked the looks. I like my Murcielago, but I think I like my diablo better.
Is this street racing very separate from the racetrack for you? When you were younger, did you ever get in races with your friends?
Hehehhehe. Well, let's put it this way: when you're on the streets, you make the best of it (laughs). You try to behave, and maybe you get away with something for a little bit. But technically, unfortunately, it's really difficult to enjoy really neat cars on the street when you're always looking over your shoulder.
How often have you been pulled over for speeding? Because the last time I was pulled over, the cop came to my window and yelled, “ Who do you think you are, Mario Andretti?” And with you, I guess they'd just be like, “Who do you think you are…oh, sorry. Have a good day, Mr. Andretti.”
(laughs) Yeah I've been pulled over, but you know something—you know what gets me off? The fact that I have a lily-white clean record. I say, “This is the very first time that I ever sped, officer!” But truthfully, my kids—Michael, Marco, my daughter—they nail them, they don't let them go, and they're always trying to get out of a ticket. But me, I've been really lucky. They always let me off.
Really?
I was doing a dry run in Vegas and we got pulled over with a Diablo. But I had a desk sergeant from the Nevada Highway Patrol sitting next to me, and he wanted to do 200 mph. It was 9 am, and we were on the I-15. And I'm trying really hard, I'm coming over a slight rise, and I see a highway patrol in a Mustang, and he's got his lights on. So I pulled right over. And he came over, had his hand on his gun, and his jugular vein is an inch thick. And I had to tell him, “Hey look, it's one of your boys!” pointing to the patrolman next to me. But he didn't think it was funny. So then I asked him, “What did you actually get me on?” And he said 183. And I said, “I'm gonna have to do better than that!” But it was the sergeant that was egging me on.
Now that you reflect back on your career, your name has become an icon—a symbol of speed. Does that mean anything to you?
When I look back at my career, all I look back is that I'm thankful for what it's been for me. I just tried to do my work—I certainly always enjoyed what I did, and I can't even call it work. And if somehow I'm synonymous with speed, that's been my life anyway. And I like to think that's a great compliment for me, that it's used like that. It's nothing that you can plan for; it's things in your life, sometimes when you get to a high-risk situation, that they either happen or they don't.
Yeah, I guess that's destiny.
I was talking today, like I have a twin brother Geraldo that wanted things as much as I did, was just as passionate, but it didn't work for him—he had two career-ending accidents. And my other son Jeff, same thing. But [my son] Michael, as his brother, just went like a laser. And now we have [my grandson] Marco, who is awesome. The kid's got absolute talent, and things are happening. But with life again, you can't take anything for granted; the negative is always lurking around the corner. But when you get positives going for you, you appreciate it.
The fact that he's your identical brother illustrates the point perfectly, as biologically you two were absolutely identical. But you never know what curves fate will throw your way—on one particular day he gets bumped into a terrible accident, while you take another step towards a Hall of Fame career .
That's really the point. With Geraldo, we started together, we built our first car together—it was Paul Newman's character in Cars , a Hudson Hornet. We flipped for who would drive, 'cause we had one car and two drivers, and he won. And he won the heat and the feature, in our very first race. And all the other guys had '37 Fords, cut-down, modified, and we went with what was basically a NASCAR setup, what at the time Herb Thomas and guys like that used to drive. And we had a short track, half-mile setup. And we beat them, first time out.
So there's a hydrogen car in this race—the Cyclone Energy Hummer. What do you think about the push for alternative fuels, and what their place will be in automotive sports in general?
Well, I think it's part of our future. Lets's face it: I think for all the reasons—the ecology and the economy both—I think it plays in both worlds. It's great to have a choice, and the sooner that we start working with that technology; the sooner we'll have it perfected, or at least much more efficient and desirable. Because these cars at the moment are not extremely exciting to drive, but maybe as they develop product, and put some steam into them, the real aficionados can start appreciating them. More than just Greenpeace [fans], you know?
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