![]() “That car was donated to them by (car owner) Andy (Granatelli) right after we won Indy, and it was on display on the top floor for 27 years. “That was really spectacular what they’ve done,” he said of the museum’s effort. “Never in my wildest dreams,” he wrote on Twitter. Andretti admitted getting emotional seeing the car for the only the second time since that famous weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the first time in years. There, alongside Richard Petty’s 200th NASCAR Cup Series victory car, was a remembrance of one of Andretti’s signature moments in a race car, sparkling for all the world to see. The Brawner Hawk he drove to victory in the 1969 Indianapolis 500 had been loaned from the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History, dusted off and shined, and man, did it shine. Nine days earlier, Andretti was at the National Air and Space Museum for the unveiling of the new Nation of Speed exhibit. He was pedaling as only a young at heart can. It didn’t matter that the pedals hadn’t been adjusted to his diminutive frame or that the steering wheel was nearly pressed against his chest. ![]() “We’re keeping that tradition going.”Īndretti, a four-time INDYCAR SERIES champion who won Formula One’s world title in 1978, is only a few weeks removed from getting the opportunity to drive a modern-day F1 car – a McLaren MP4/28, which he motored around WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, which has its first turn named in his honor. “She started that a few years back, and she loved it,” Andretti said. It became their annual place of holiday celebration. ![]() On this Thanksgiving Day, much of the family is gathered with him at the Florida condo that Dee Ann, who died in July 2018, held dear. It’s the nearly 57 years married to his late wife, Dee Ann, their three children and seven grandchildren along with the work he still gets to do as he approaches his 83rd birthday. Of course, it’s more than the accomplishments that made him one of the most decorated drivers in motorsports history. So much to be thankful for on and off the track. Mario Andretti has had a good month and a half, an extension of what has been a great life.
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