Looking back I feel how blessed I’ve been.The only thing missing from his growing and increasingly impressive résumé was the Indianapolis 500, The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, and while most race cognoscenti figured it was just a matter of time for the young driver, Andretti had run into very bad luck his first four tries.
"The memories are vivid no question about it. "It almost seems like 100 years ago or yesterday," he said. Despite a myriad of other racing feats and wins, Andretti never won another Indy 500.Īnd so that race 50 years ago is still in his heart. When he won, he remarked at how if he could pull this off, the road would be easy from here on out. Yet, Andretti led more than half of that Indy 500 and was near the front for most of it. And he was nervous if this Hawk would be reliable enough to finish. Still, about 20 laps into the race, Andretti was really hot. The contraption was finally finished about 4 a.m. So, the crew pulled an all nighter to hide a cooler behind the seat to carry enough water to try to alleviate the heat. Because it wasn’t on the car for qualifying, the U.S. The Hawk was prone to overheating, so mechanics had installed an external cooler for the race. "I had overheating like you would not believe," Andretti said. It handled the bumps real well and I was warming up to it." I damn near was able to run flat in turn two and four. “That car had wings and ground effects plus four-wheel-drive, and was three to four miles per hour quicker than the second fastest car during the first week of practice,” mechanic Jim McGee told IndyStar in a 1999 interview on the 30th anniversary of Andretti’s win.Īndretti said at the time, “That car was a slug down the straightaway because of the aerodynamic drag, but I could use so much throttle in the corners. “Mario’s position as one of the most popular drivers in the race’s history only has grown over time, and his accomplishments in every discipline of racing in which he has competed remain landmarks of our sport.” That reliable HawkĪndretti came to Indianapolis 50 years ago with a state-of-the art car, a four-wheel drive Lotus 64/Ford designed by Colin Chapman and owned by Andy Granatelli. “Mario Andretti’s victory in the 1969 Indianapolis 500 was one of the iconic moments in the history of the world’s greatest auto race,” IMS president Doug Boles said. It also announced a special exhibit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum that will showcase Andretti’s historic cars. The Speedway unveiled a logo featuring Andretti that will be displayed and used throughout the race. Andretti will be honored at this year’s Indianapolis 500 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of his first and only 500 win.
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