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88-495: The entire process took well over four years to film. Overall, the car was equipped with an IMAX camera and driven by Mario Andretti . Michael Andretti drove his teammate Christian Fittipaldi 's car in the film. Mario was able to get his car as fast as 240 mph at the Michigan International Speedway at director Low's request. Newman/Haas Racing was the only team interested in the project in

176-495: A "Championship of the Universe", pitting Oldfield against another of his clients, aviator Lincoln Beachey . Oldfield raced his Fiat car against Beachey's biplanes in at least 35 matches, barnstorming the country. In the more remote areas, they raced at county fair horse tracks. The Championship was "extremely successful", and both Oldfield and Beachey earned more than $ 250,000 in their barnstorming. After being reinstated by

264-601: A daughter, Betty (who by his death was married to a Kelly). He was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City , California. Oldfield starred as himself for ten weeks in the Broadway musical The Vanderbilt Cup (1906). He also appeared in movies, including the silent film Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life (1913), where he raced against a train to rescue a heroine tied to the train tracks. He

352-544: A feat that he accomplished four times. With his final IndyCar win in April 1993, Andretti became the first driver to have won IndyCar races in four different decades and the first to win automobile races of any kind in five. In American popular culture, Andretti's name has become synonymous with speed, similar to Barney Oldfield in the early 20th century, as well as Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton in Europe. Andretti

440-699: A half-mile dirt racing track Nazareth Speedway in Nazareth. The twins worked on a 1948 Hudson and raced it in the Limited Sportsman Class, funded by money that they earned in their uncle's garage in 1959. They took turns racing the old Hudson on oval dirt tracks near Nazareth. After finishing high school, Mario planned to become a welder, but he falsified a driver license so he could pass for 21 and enter an amateur race. Mario and Aldo did not tell their parents that they were racing. The twins each had two wins after their first four races. Aldo

528-446: A man's job up front," and he and Cogan were later involved in a shoving match. In 1983, he joined the new Newman/Haas Racing team, set up by Carl Haas and actor Paul Newman using cars built by British company Lola . Andretti took the team's first win at Elkhart Lake in 1983 . He won the pole for nine of sixteen events in 1984 , and claimed his fourth Champ Car title at the age of 44. He edged out Tom Sneva by 13 points. It

616-409: A man's job up front." Andretti's Patrick Racing teammate that year was the eventual race winner, Gordon Johncock , who started next to Andretti in the middle of row two. In later years, Johncock pointed out that Andretti had jumped the start, and could have avoided the spinning car of Cogan had he been lined up properly in the second row next to Gordy. In the 1985 Indianapolis 500 , he was passed for

704-743: A once-in-a-lifetime experience and can be seen driving it thru the countryside. This article about a sports-related documentary film is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an American former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from 1968 to 1982 . Andretti won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1978 with Lotus , and won 12 Grands Prix across 14 seasons. In American open-wheel racing , Andretti won four IndyCar National Championship titles and

792-490: A pitch to be his No. 1 driver but Andretti declined. "F1 didn't pay much back then and my contracts and commitments were so lucrative over here I couldn't give that up for the security of my family. The timing wasn't right yet, so I had to turn him down; but I always figured I'd get another opportunity." In 1975 Andretti drove a full Formula One season for the first time, for the American Parnelli team. The team

880-476: A place in Tuscany . Life was a bit weird at the time but the one thing that my father always did, he always provided for us. As kids we were never cold, we were never hungry, we went to school, he always provided quite well. The twins' mother Rina said that when they were two years old, they would take pot lids out of the cupboards and run around the kitchen, going "Vroom, vroom," like they were driving cars before

968-529: A point — you got nine points for a win back then — and he had to agree.' In 1978, the Lotus 79 designed by Chapman exploited ground effect even further. Andretti dominated the season and took the title with six wins. He clinched the championship at the Italian Grand Prix . There was no championship celebration though because his teammate Ronnie Peterson crashed heavily at the start of the race; he

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1056-575: A positive and this was certainly one of them, here was an opportunity created for us, the kids, and my dad always cited that. He would say in a sense I am looking at your future, where I think would be the best solution for you kids to have opportunities and he was correct, he was right because if we had remained in Italy I don't know whether I could have pursued what my first passion was and the only passion I really had career wise. While getting acquainted with Pennsylvania, Mario and Aldo were surprised to find

1144-412: A race just four weeks after his crash. The 1993 Indianapolis 500 was Andretti's last notable run, and he had just come off a victory at Phoenix . On pole day, Andretti was the first car to complete a qualifying run, and sat on the provisional pole position. Andretti's speed held up all afternoon, but with less than an hour to go, Arie Luyendyk topped his speed, and took the pole. On race day, Andretti

1232-408: A single non-championship drag race in 1967 in a Ford Mustang . In both 1967 and 1968, Andretti lost the season USAC championship to A. J. Foyt and Bobby Unser , respectively, in the waning laps of the last race of the season at Riverside, California—each by the smallest points margin in history. Andretti won nine races in 1969, the 1969 Indianapolis 500 , and the season championship. He also won

1320-463: A wreck during a race in Corona , California. Oldfield and Harry Arminius Miller , who developed and built carburetors and was one of the most famous engine builders, worked after that to design a racecar that was not only fast and durable but would protect the driver in the event of an accident. They built a racecar with a roll cage inside a streamlined driver's compartment, which completely enclosed

1408-574: Is one of only three drivers to have won races in Formula One , IndyCar , the World Sportscar Championship , and NASCAR . He has also won races in midget car racing and sprint car racing . Andretti is the only person to be named United States Driver of the Year in three decades (1967, 1978, and 1984). He was also one of only three drivers to have won major races on road courses , paved ovals , and dirt tracks in one season,

1496-604: Is set to serve on the board of directors of Cadillac in Formula One from its debut 2026 season onwards. Mario Gabriele Andretti was born on February 28, 1940 alongside his twin brother Aldo in Montona , Istria, Kingdom of Italy (present-day Motovun , Croatia). He is the son of Alvise Andretti, a farm administrator, and his wife, Rina. Istria was then part of the Kingdom of Italy , but it became part of Yugoslavia at

1584-651: Is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 ( 1969 ), Daytona 500 ( 1967 ) and the Formula One World Championship, and, along with Juan Pablo Montoya , the only driver to have won a race in the NASCAR Cup Series , Formula One, and an Indianapolis 500. As of 2023, Andretti's victory at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix is the most recent Formula One win by an American driver. Andretti had 109 career wins on major circuits. Andretti

1672-460: The Toledo Blade and Toledo Bee newspapers. Oldfield dropped out of school after the eighth grade in 1892. He started working with his father as a kitchen helper at the mental asylum during the day and a bellhop at the downtown hotel at night. He eventually worked at the hotel full-time, as he preferred it to working around mental patients. Purportedly the bell captain said that "Berna”

1760-550: The 1967 Daytona 500 for Holman Moody . Andretti was invited to race in six International Race of Champions (IROC) series in his career. His best years were his first three years. He finished second in the final points standings in IROC III (1975–1976) and IROC V (1977–1978). He won the IROC VI (1978–1979) points championship with finishes of third, first, and second. He won three races in twenty events. Andretti's goal

1848-655: The Indiana State Fairgrounds , Oldfield became the first driver to run a mile track in one minute flat, or 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Two months later, he drove one mile in 55.8 seconds at the Empire City Race Track in Yonkers , New York. Alexander Winton hired Oldfield as a professional driver and agreed to supply him with free cars for racing. Oldfield, his manager Ernest Moross , and his agent Will Pickens traveled throughout

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1936-771: The Indianapolis 500 in 1969 ; in stock car racing , he won the Daytona 500 in 1967 . In endurance racing , Andretti is a three-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring . Born in the Kingdom of Italy , Andretti's family emigrated to the United States when he was 15 during the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus . Andretti won the Formula One World Championship in 1978 , four IndyCar titles, including three under USAC sanctioning, and one in CART . He

2024-493: The Italian Grand Prix , where Andretti saw Ascari and Juan Manuel Fangio race against each other. "I remember being just mesmerized, overwhelmed by the sound, by the speed" Andretti recalled years later. "We didn't even have a grandstand seat, we were up on that bank before the Parabolica on the left. You know, we had a good view of things". Andretti's father had maintained contact with his brother-in-law who had lived in

2112-542: The Packard Motor Company ), and Barney Oldfield. In October 1892, the second “Silver Tournament” was held in Wauseon. In 1893, Oldfield began working as an elevator operator at a different hotel. Every night he stored one hotel tenant's lightweight "Cleveland" cycle in the basement; he sometimes "borrowed it", riding it at night. At age 16, Oldfield began serious bicycle racing in 1894 after officials from

2200-581: The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb , which was part of the USAC National Championship. He was named ABC 's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. Between 1966 and 1969 he won 29 of 85 USAC championship races. In 1973, USAC split its National Championship into dirt and pavement championships. Andretti had one win on the pavement and finished fifth in the season points, and finished second in

2288-769: The Vanderbilt Cup and the Corona 300. In 1915 he won the Venice , California 300 road race. In November 1914, Oldfield won the Los Angeles-to-Phoenix Cactus Derby Race; the victor's medal proclaimed him “Master Driver of the World”. On May 28, 1916, he became the first person to lap the Indianapolis Speedway at more than 100 mph in the front-wheel-drive "Christie Racer", designed by John Walter Christie . He used

2376-578: The "Dauntless" bicycle factory asked him to ride for the Ohio state championship. Although he came in second, the race was a turning point. Oldfield was hired as a parts sales representative for the Stearns bicycle factory. There he met Beatrice Lovetta Oatis, his future wife; they married in 1896. By 1896, Oldfield was paid by Stearns, based in Syracuse , New York, to race on its amateur team. Oldfield

2464-523: The 1960s it included races worldwide. At Andretti's first Indianapolis 500, in 1965, he met Colin Chapman , owner of the Lotus Formula One team, who was running eventual race winner Jim Clark 's car. Andretti told Chapman of his ambition to compete in Formula One and was told "When you're ready, call me." By 1968 Andretti felt he was ready. Chapman gave him a car, and the young American took

2552-552: The 1960s. The new series had rapidly become the top open-wheel racing series in North America. Andretti joined CART full-time in 1982, driving for Patrick Racing . He started from row two in the Indianapolis 500 that year but was involved in a wreck on the approach to the start when rookie Kevin Cogan suddenly spun out. Three minutes after the wreck Andretti was heard saying "This is what happens when you have children doing

2640-662: The AAA, Oldfield competed in the 1914 and 1916 Indianapolis 500 , finishing fifth in each attempt. He was the first person to run a 100-mile-per-hour lap. His 1914 Indy finish was in an Indianapolis-built Stutz , and he was the highest-finishing driver in an American car in a race that was dominated by European brands. Oldfield used the same car in his victory at the Los Angeles to Phoenix off-road race in November 1914. Oldfield also finished second in two major road races that year,

2728-646: The Blitzen Benz to break the existing mile, two-mile, and kilometer records at the Daytona Beach Road Course at Ormond , Florida. Afterward, he charged $ 4,000 for each of his appearances at driving races. In June 1917, Oldfield used his Golden Submarine , designed with a roll bar to protect the driver, to beat fellow racing legend Ralph DePalma in a series of 10- to 25-mile (40 km) match races at Milwaukee . He retired from racing in 1918 but continued to tour and make movies. In what

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2816-600: The Frenchman had been unable to race, as was the case at the previous race in Canada . However, in the event, Tambay was able to take part in the race. Andretti was also considered as a replacement, again for Tambay who had been injured in Canada , at the 1986 Detroit Grand Prix , this time for the Carl Haas-owned Haas Lola team. Andretti declined, but recommended his son Michael Andretti. When Michael

2904-525: The Indianapolis 500 en route to his only victory in the race. The race is notable as it is the only Indy 500 in history where the winning driver ran the whole race on only 1 set of tires. Between his 1969 victory in the race and 1981, Andretti dropped out of the races due to part failures or crashes. His luck seemed to turn around in 1981. Andretti finished second in the 1981 Indianapolis 500 by eight seconds behind Bobby Unser . The following day Unser

2992-476: The Joe James-Pat O'Connor Memorial at Salem Speedway ), but finished behind Roger McCluskey in the season championship. In 1967 he won two of the three events that he entered. From 1956 to 1979, the top open-wheel racing series in North America was the USAC National Championship. It was often referred to as IndyCar racing, referring to the famous Indianapolis 500 race which was the centerpiece of

3080-627: The U.S. for many years. It took the family three years to obtain a U.S. visa. Alvise Andretti initially told the family they would move to the U.S. for five years and then return to Italy. In 1955, the Andretti family emigrated to the U.S., settling in Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania with just $ 125 to their name. In 2013, Andretti said: When I looked at my life in many ways out of so many negatives here comes

3168-482: The United States in a series of timed runs and match races, and he earned a reputation as a showman, racing while holding a cigar in his mouth to cushion the spot where he had broken some molar teeth in a crash. Oldfield was "the first American to become a celebrity solely for his ability to drive a car with great skill, speed, and daring." He liked to increase the drama in the best of three matches: he would win

3256-549: The car for him. He would turn the car over to Kanaan on race day, though no plans had been made for Andretti to actually drive in the race. During the test, Andretti ran at competitive speeds, but running over debris saw his car becoming airborne and the attempt ended with a spectacular crash. Andretti was able to walk away from the wreck with just a minor cut on his chin. This was Andretti's last significant on-track activity at Indianapolis. Barney Oldfield Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield (January 29, 1878 – October 4, 1946)

3344-593: The car to optimize it for each track, an approach imported from his extensive oval racing experience in the United States. In 1977, at Long Beach , he became the only American to win the United States Grand Prix West , and the last American as of 2022 to win any US Grand Prix. The Lotus 78 "wing car" proved to be the most competitive car of 1977, but despite winning four races, more than any other driver, reliability problems and collisions with other drivers meant Andretti finished only third in

3432-520: The championship. At the end of 1977, Andretti was approached by Ferrari as a potential replacement for Niki Lauda . I had a handshake agreement with Colin and he'd already agreed to pay me what Ronnie Peterson was making, which was the highest salary in F1. So I asked Mr. Ferrari what was he willing to pay me. He said, 'You know, Mario, I can't put a price on your talent so you tell me.' That SOB threw it right back in my lap! Well, [Andretti's wife] Dee Ann

3520-802: The championship. The races were run on a mixture of paved and dirt ovals, and in later years also included some road courses. Andretti made his IndyCar debut on April 19, 1964, at the New Jersey State fairgrounds in Trenton, New Jersey . He started sixteenth and finished eleventh. Andretti was introduced by his USAC sprint car owner, Rufus Gray, to veteran mechanic Clint Brawner. Brawner was not impressed since sprint car drivers Stan Bowman and Donnie Davis had recently died, and Brawner's current driver, Chuck Hulse , had been critically injured. Chris Economaki recommended Andretti to Brawner, so Brawner watched Andretti race at Terre Haute, Indiana . Brawner

3608-476: The corners like a motorcycle racer rather than braking. It was a great victory for Ford and resulted in both Oldfield and Ford becoming nationally known. John Wilkinson , who designed an air-cooled engine for Franklin Automobile Company and was its chief engineer, raced against Oldfield in 1902. He won the state 5 miles (8.0 km) championship in a record time of 6:54:06. On June 20, 1903, at

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3696-694: The dirt championship. He competed in USAC's dirt track division in 1974, and won the dirt track championship while competing in both series. Andretti also competed in the North American Formula 5000 series in 1973 and 1974, and finished second in the championship in both seasons. Formula One is the highest form of open-wheel racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's international governing body. Although originating in Europe, by

3784-559: The driver, calling it the " Golden Submarine ." Oldfield helped fellow racer Carl G. Fisher found the Fisher Automobile Company in Indianapolis. This is widely considered the first automobile dealership in the United States . Oldfield also developed what was called the Oldfield tire for Firestone . In its slogan, Firestone touted that Oldfield had said, "Firestone Tires are my only life insurance". In 1924,

3872-690: The end of World War II as product of the Treaty of Paris in 1947 and later the Treaty of Osimo in 1975. In 1948, the Andretti family, like many other Istrian Italians at the time, left during the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus . They initially ended up in a refugee camp in Lucca , Italy. In 2013, Andretti told author Paul Stenning : My father left everything behind, we left our home and took what we could carry and went further into Italy. They had to swallow all of these families that were dispersed and they formed all different camps over Italy and we were shipped to

3960-453: The father, Henry, got a job at the state mental asylum. In the summer of 1891, Berna worked as a waterboy in order to purchase his first bicycle. According to legend, he spent most of his Sunday afternoons at the local Toledo fire station, hoping for the next call. As the company's “mascot,” he was allowed to ride the big red hose wagon, pulled by a pair of horses that raced through the streets. The following year, Berna worked after school selling

4048-530: The first part by a nose, lose the second, and win the third. Oldfield won first place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on August 21, 1909 in a Mercedes-Benz . He bought a Benz , and raised his speed in 1910 to 70.159 mph (112.910 km/h) while driving his " Blitzen Benz ". Later in 1910, Oldfield reached the speed of 131.25 mph (211.23 km/h). At Daytona Beach , Florida , on March 16, 1910, in his Blitzen Benz, he set

4136-501: The former, it was their fourth time in an endurance race together as co-drivers. Mario finished seventh in points for the 1991 season, the year that Michael won the championship. Mario's last victory in IndyCar racing came in 1993 at Phoenix International Raceway , the year that Michael left Newman/Haas to race in Formula One. The win made Mario the oldest recorded winner in an IndyCar event (53 years, 34 days old). Andretti qualified on

4224-595: The front of the Formula One grid, culminating in lapping the field in his victory at the season ending race at the Mount Fuji circuit in Japan. Since mid-1975 Lotus had been developing the use of ground effect , shaping the underside of the car to generate downforce with little penalizing drag . For his part, Andretti worked at setting up his cars for the races, exploiting subtle differences in tire size ('stagger') and suspension set up ('cross weighting') on each side of

4312-402: The green flag. Cogan bounced off A. J. Foyt, slamming Foyt's steering rod. That contact turned Cogan's car left at a 90-degree angle to the field, where he was promptly T-boned by Mario. Andretti was livid and engaged in a shoving match with Cogan before walking off. In an interview, three minutes after the wreck, an irked Andretti was heard saying "This is what happens when you have children doing

4400-468: The lead by Danny Sullivan in Turn One on lap 20. Immediately after completing the pass, Sullivan spun in front of Andretti. A caution flag for the spin minimized the time Sullivan would lose to Andretti by pitting to replace his tires. Sullivan took the lead for good 20 laps later when he passed Andretti without incident. Andretti dominated the 1987 Indianapolis 500 , leading 170 of the first 177 laps of

4488-534: The lead up to the 2003 Indianapolis 500 , Andretti took to the track for the first time in ten years in a major open-wheel car at the age of 63. He participated in a test session for son Michael's AGR IndyCar team. One of the team's regular drivers, Tony Kanaan , suffered a radial fracture of his arm a week earlier in an April 15 crash at Twin Ring Motegi . If Kanaan was not cleared to drive in enough time, tentative plans were being prepared for Andretti to qualify

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4576-480: The middle of the season to do so. When the Parnelli team pulled out of Formula One after two races of the 1976 season , Andretti returned to Chapman's Lotus team, for whom he had already driven at the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix . Lotus was then at a low point, having failed to produce a competitive car to replace 1970's Lotus 72 . Andretti's ability at developing a racing car contributed to Lotus' return to

4664-579: The part. Marco De Cesari and Danilo Piccinini, the owners of the garage, noticed the Andretti brothers' passion for racing and brought them to the Abetone pass to watch a stretch of the Mille Miglia race in 1954 which caused him to become captivated by Italian two-time Formula One world champion Alberto Ascari , who won the race. Later in the same year, Piccinini brought the brothers to the Monza for

4752-476: The period, Andretti did not like the ground effect cars of the time: "the cars were getting absurd, really crude, with no suspension movement whatever. It was toggle switch driving with no need for any kind of delicacy...it made leaving Formula One a lot easier than it would have been." The next year, Andretti raced once for the Williams team, after their driver Carlos Reutemann suddenly quit, before replacing

4840-461: The pole at the Michigan 500 later that year with a speed of 234.275 miles per hour (377.029 km/h). The speed was a new closed course world record. Andretti's final season, in 1994, was dubbed "The Arrivederci Tour". He raced in the last of his 407 Indy car races that September. Andretti won once at the Indianapolis 500 in 29 attempts. Andretti has had so many incidents and near victories at

4928-511: The pole position on his debut at the 1968 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in his Lotus 49 . Andretti drove sporadically in Formula One over the next four years for Lotus, March , and Ferrari , while continuing to focus on his racing career in America. At the 1971 South African Grand Prix , on his debut for Ferrari, he won his first Grand Prix. "That was a big moment, one of those I'll always cherish," recalled Andretti. "Kyalami

5016-481: The race. His lead was so large, that he was advised to slow his pace to preserve his equipment. In a cruel twist of fate, when Andretti started running slower, his reduced engine rpm's created a harmonic imbalance in his turbocharged Ilmor/Chevrolet V8 that led to a broken valve spring with 20 laps to go. The 1992 Indianapolis 500 was run in extremely cold weather which resulted in a large number of wrecks by cars on cold tires. Andretti accelerated off of turn three for

5104-584: The racing ladder on the East Coast of the United States was to race in sprint cars in the United Racing Club (URC). Andretti was able to get a ride for individual races in the URC sprint car racing series, but was unable to secure a full-time ride. He once drove from Canada to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania hoping to find a ride in an event, but he went empty-handed. He bypassed the series when he

5192-458: The restart at the end of the 83rd lap. Under acceleration, Mario's car got loose in the middle of turn four and rotated 270 degrees to smash nose first into the wall. Andretti was taken to the hospital with six of his toes broken and would shortly be joined by his son Jeff Andretti who smashed both legs after a wheel came loose on his race car on the 109th lap of the race. Mario would only miss one race due to his injuries, and returned to run 6th in

5280-519: The season points. He won three 1974 USAC stock car races on road courses, and won four road course races in 1975. Andretti competed in fourteen NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series ) events in his career. He competed in Holman Moody cars for his final ten events. Holman Moody was one of NASCAR's most successful teams at that time, as the team won NASCAR championships in 1968 and 1969 with driver David Pearson . Andretti won

5368-543: The seriously injured Didier Pironi at Ferrari for the last two races of the year. Suspension failure dropped him out of the last race of the season, but at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza he took the pole position and finished third in the race. There was almost a return to F1 for Andretti at the 1984 Detroit Grand Prix when the Renault team put him on standby to replace regular driver Patrick Tambay if

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5456-409: The technical world of Indy Car racing. The effort was spearheaded by Neil Richter, the team's director of finances. The film features Mario and Michael Andretti during the 1996 season driving for Newman/Haas Racing . During the season, Michael Andretti won a season-high five races and finished 2nd in the championship to Jimmy Vasser . At the end of the film, Mario is reunited with his old roadster for

5544-467: The then-current Brabham Formula 1 design) earned him the race's Rookie of the Year award, and contributed towards Andretti winning the series championship. He was the youngest national champion in series history at age 25. He repeated as series champion in 1966, winning eight of fifteen events. He led every lap of the 1966 Langhorne 100 . He also won the pole at the 1966 Indianapolis 500 . Andretti finished second in IndyCar in 1967 and 1968. He also won

5632-717: The town via the Michigan Lake Shore Railroad . Other cycling groups in Swanton, Clyde, Monroe, Adrian, Blissfield, and Toledo were part of the same cycle racing circuit. Bicyclists raced in half-mile and mile classes on public racetracks usually reserved for horse racing. Other members of the Club included Fred Ballmeyer, Ora Brailey, Curt and Buff Harrison, Doc Myers, Emil Winzeler, Doc Miley, Frank Harper, Dan Raymond (who fixed everyone's bikes), Sid Black (a trick cyclist from Cleveland who later became president of

5720-443: The track that critics have dubbed the family's performance after Mario's 1969 Indianapolis 500 victory the " Andretti Curse ". Andretti finished all 500 miles (800 km) just five times, including his 1969 Indianapolis 500 victory. Andretti was the first driver to exceed 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) while practicing for the 1977 Indianapolis 500 . In 1969, after 4 years of bad luck and 4 non-finishes, Andretti dominated

5808-427: The twins had even yet seen a car. In 1945, at age five, he and Aldo were racing their hand-crafted wooden cars through the steep streets of their hometown. The brothers were later hired by a garage to park cars. In his autobiography, What's It Like Out There , published in 1970, Andretti described the experience, writing, "The first time I fired up a car, felt the engine shudder and the wheel come to life in my hands, I

5896-413: The world speed record, driving 131.724 mph, for which he earned the nickname “speed king.” Oldfield was suspended by the American Automobile Association (AAA) contest board for his "outlaw" racing, and was unable to race at sanctioned events for much of his career. He made his career by being paid to set speed records and conduct match races and exhibitions. In 1914, his agent Will Pickens staged

5984-431: The young Italian Elio de Angelis , and briefly with test driver Nigel Mansell , but the team was again unsuccessful. For the 1981 season, Andretti decided to move to the Alfa Romeo team run by Carlo Chiti . Although the car was reasonably competitive (Andretti finished fourth on his debut with the team in Long Beach ), a general lack of reliability resulted in yet another unsuccessful campaign. Like other drivers of

6072-432: Was "No. 999" , which debuted in October 1902 at the Manufacturer's Challenge Cup. Today it is displayed at the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village, Michigan. Oldfield agreed to drive against the current champion, Alexander Winton . Oldfield was rumored to have learned how to operate the controls of the "999" only the morning of the event. Oldfield won by a half mile in the five-mile (8 km) race. He slid through

6160-499: Was "a sissy name," so he changed it to “ Barney ." Oldfield was described as having a "magnetic personality", and received many tips at the hotel. He used them to buy his first bike, an "Advance Traveller" with pneumatic tires. Clarence Brigham, who sold the “Cleveland” brand bike, and Edward G. Eager (of Eager & Green Mercantile) who sold the “Columbia” models in his store, organized the Wauseon Cycle Club in their town. They wanted both to increase bicycle sales and draw more people to

6248-431: Was a factor most of the afternoon, leading the most laps (72). While leading on lap 134, Andretti was penalized for entering the pits while they were closed. A stop-and-go penalty dropped him only down to second place. In the final 50 laps, he began developing handling problems because of his tires, and slid down the standings to finish 5th. Andretti's last race at Indy was the 1994 Indianapolis 500 . On April 23, 2003, in

6336-596: Was a fun circuit to drive with lots of elevation changes and Ferrari gave me equal equipment to my teammates. It was a good weekend." Three weeks later, at the non-championship Questor Grand Prix in the U.S., he brought the Italian team a second victory. The day before the Questor GP, he had finished 9th in the Indy car race at Phoenix International Raceway. At the end of the season, Ferrari called Andretti and made him

6424-427: Was a pioneer American racing driver . His name was "synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century". He was the winner of the inaugural AAA National Championship in 1905 . After success in bicycle racing, Oldfield began auto racing in 1902 and continued until his retirement in 1918. He was the first man to drive a car at 60 miles per hour (96 km/h) on a circular track. Berna Eli Oldfield

6512-538: Was also featured in The First Auto (1927) as an early pioneer of the automotive history . He was a technical advisor for the Vanderbilt Cup sequence in the feature film Back Street (1941). He starred as himself in a racing film titled Blonde Comet , the story of a young woman trying to achieve success as a racecar driver. Bob Burman , one of Oldfield's rivals and closest friends, was killed in

6600-592: Was born in York Township, Fulton County , Ohio , near Wauseon and Toledo , on January 29, 1878, to Henry Clay Oldfield, a laborer, and his wife Sarah. He was named after his father's bunkmate in the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War . He had a sister Bertha. As of the 1880 United States Census , the Oldfields lived in Wauseon. In 1889, they moved to Toledo , where

6688-531: Was convinced that he had found the new driver for his team. The two stayed together for six years. Andretti finished eleventh in the USAC National Championship that season. Andretti won his first championship car race at the Hoosier Grand Prix on a road course at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1965. His third-place finish at the 1965 Indianapolis 500 in the Brawner Hawk (a mechanical copy of

6776-420: Was his last attempt at racing, in 1932 he tried to re-enter speed racing with a new car design, but was unable to find any financial sponsors. Oldfield died on October 4, 1946, of a heart attack . He had married a total of four times. He was survived by Bessie Gooby Oldfield, whom he had divorced in 1924 and remarried in 1945, making her both his second and fourth wife. When they were first married, they adopted

6864-687: Was hooked. It was a feeling I can't describe. I still get it every time I get into a race car." Andretti's first racing experience was in a new youth racing league called Formula Junior in Ancona , Italy, when he was thirteen years old. Years later, in an interview during an RRDC Evening with Mario Andretti , Andretti implied that he and his brother made up the story of racing in the Formula Junior league when they moved to Pennsylvania to improve their chances of competing in dirt track racing because, having purchased racing suits in Italy, they looked

6952-526: Was hospitalised and died that night from complications resulting from his injuries. Andretti found little success after 1978 in Formula One ;– he failed to win another grand prix. He had a difficult year in 1979, as the new Lotus 80 was not competitive, and the team had to rely on the Lotus 79 which had been overtaken by the second generation of ground effect cars. In 1980, he was paired with

7040-596: Was loaned a gasoline -powered bicycle to race at Salt Lake City . Through fellow racer Tom Cooper , he met entrepreneur Henry Ford , who was at the beginning of his career as an auto manufacturer in Michigan. Ford had prepared two automobiles for racing, and he asked Oldfield if he would like to test one in Michigan. Oldfield agreed and traveled to Michigan for the trial, but neither car started. Although Oldfield had never driven an automobile, he and Cooper bought both test vehicles when Ford offered to sell them for $ 800. One

7128-470: Was new to Formula One, although it had been successful in both Formula 5000 and IndyCar racing in America with Andretti driving. The team had run Andretti in the two North American end-of-season races in 1974 with promising results. Andretti qualified fourth and led the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix for nine laps before his suspension failed. He scored five championship points in the season. Andretti continued to compete in IndyCar, missing two Formula One races in

7216-545: Was offered a full-time ride in a United States Automobile Club sprint car for 1964. Andretti won the 1964 Joe James-Pat O'Connor Memorial USAC sprint car race at Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana . Andretti continued to race in USAC sprint cars after moving into champ cars. In 1965 he won once at Ascot Park , and finished tenth in the season points. In 1966 he won five times ( Cumberland, Maryland , Oswego, New York , Rossburg, Ohio , Phoenix, Arizona , and his second win at

7304-433: Was penalized one lap for passing cars under a caution flag, and Andretti was declared the winner. Unser and his car owner Roger Penske appealed the race stewards' decision. USAC overturned the one lap penalty four months later, and penalized Unser with a $ 40,000 fine. At the start of the 1982 Indianapolis 500 , second-year driver Kevin Cogan , teammate to polesitter Rick Mears , suddenly spun right when accelerating for

7392-497: Was seriously hurt near the end of the season, and their parents were unhappy to find out that the twins were racing. Mario had 21 modified stock car wins in 46 races in 1960 and 1961. Andretti became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1964. He competed in United States Auto Club (USAC) stock car events in 1965, and finished twelfth in the season points. He won a USAC Stock Car race in 1967, and finished seventh in

7480-420: Was sitting next to me and I asked her what should I do and she said 'double it.' And Mr. Ferrari agreed. The next day I got a telex from him saying 'Let's just leave things alone' because he'd just had a visit from Colin (who'd) followed me to Maranello and raised hell with Mr. Ferrari. Can you imagine? So I told Colin he'd always been good to me but you don't want an unhappy driver. Then I told him I wanted $ 10,000

7568-482: Was the first series title for the second year team. In August 1986, Andretti won the Pocono 500 , in his 14th attempt to win at the track near his Pennsylvania home. It gave Andretti 500-mile Indy car wins at Indianapolis , Michigan , and Pocono . Mario's son Michael joined Newman/Haas in 1989. Together, they made history as the first father/son team to compete in both IMSA GT and Champ Car racing. With regard to

7656-730: Was to race in single-seater open-wheel cars. Andretti said "Aldo and I were winning in the modifieds. But my objective was to get into open-wheelers." Andretti raced midget cars from 1961 to 1963. He started racing 3/4 (sized) midget cars in the American Three Quarter Midget Racing Association in the winter to be seen by full-sized midget car owners. He raced in over one hundred events in 1963. Andretti won three feature races at two different tracks on Labor Day in 1963. He won an afternoon feature at Flemington, New Jersey , and swept twin features at Hatfield, Pennsylvania . The next rung on

7744-678: Was unable to obtain the FIA Superlicense required to allow him to race in Formula One, the drive went to Eddie Cheever . Andretti had continued to race, and occasionally win, in the USAC National Championship during his time in the Formula One world championship. In 1979 a new organization, Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), had set up the IndyCar World Series as a rival to the USAC National Championships that Andretti had won three times in

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