Mario Andretti


Mario Gabriele Andretti is an Italian American former racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR . He also won races in midget cars, and sprint cars. During his career, Andretti won the 1978 Formula One World Championship, four IndyCar titles , and IROC VI. To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 , Daytona 500 and the Formula One World Championship, and, along with Juan Pablo Montoya, the only driver to have won a race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Formula One, and an Indianapolis 500. No American has won a Formula One race since Andrettis victory at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix. Andretti had 109 career wins on major circuits.

Mario Andretti and his twin brother Aldo were born to Alvise Andretti, a farm administrator, and his wife, Rina, in Montona, Istria . Istria was then part of the Kingdom of Italy, but it was annexed by Yugoslavia at the end of World War II, as confirmed by the Treaty of Paris. The Andretti family left Montona in 1948, during the Istrian exodus, ending up in a refugee camp in Lucca, Italy. They emigrated to the United States of America in 1955, settling in Nazareth in Pennsylvanias Lehigh Valley with just 125 to their name. Andretti became a naturalized United States citizen in 1964.

Source: Wikipedia


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