549 - Mario Andretti: Addicted To Adrenaline

The Dale Jr. Download

Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down for an incredible conversation with motorsports icon Mario Andretti. With a resume that includes wins in the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500, four IndyCar championships, and a Formula One championship, Mario is in rarified air in motorsports history, ranking among the best to ever sit behind the wheel. Mario reflects on his childhood in Italy and how his family migrated from a refugee camp to Nazareth, Pennsylvania when he was 15 years old. It was there that his twin brother Aldo and he discovered the nearby Nazareth Speedway and set out with the ambition to build a racecar to enter the local sportsman division. At the advice of his friends, the Andretti brother team settled on a 1948 Hudson Hornet for their initial foray into racing, thanks to the classic car’s success on the dirt in early NASCAR competition. With a fabricated story of racing in the Formula Junior ranks in Italy and doctored driver's licenses in their pockets, the Andretti's set out with a full head of steam and found immediate success, helping to launch one of the greatest stories in auto racing.

Mario explains that his decision to leave stock cars and venture into open wheel racing came through the ¾ midget ranks of the East Coast, and his time in the division helped land him USAC sprint and championship car rides. After getting his feet wet in the big cars in 1964, Mario had a tremendous rookie season, placing 3rd at the Indianapolis 500 and winning the national championship. Mario and Dale also chat about his journey into the NASCAR world, which resulted in a 1967 Daytona 500 victory with the Holman-Moody team. Mario admits that some on the team were pulling for his teammate Fred Lorenzen, but with the help of the legendary engine builder Waddell Wilson he was able to overcome adversity for his lone NASCAR win. The conversation also covers Mario’s track record at the Indy 500, pursuing his childhood love of Formula One racing and how he came to win the 1978 World Championship and returning to the US to finish his career in the CART ranks, racing alongside his son Michael.