February 28, 1940, auto racing legend Mario Andretti was born
the Andretti family were displaced from Italian-controlled Istria during the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus and eventually emigrated to Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1955.
an Istrian-Italian family in Montona, Istria, Kingdom of Italy (present-day Motovun, Croatia)
Andretti's family owned a 2,100-acre farm in Montona, but after World War II, the Treaty of Paris (1947) transferred the territory to communist-controlled Yugoslavia.
As a result, the Andretti family joined the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus in 1948. The family lost all their land and was permitted to take only one truckload of possessions. They spent seven years in a refugee camp in Lucca, living in an abandoned college dormitory without running water
A day before his birthday, the Cadillac F1 team announced that they are calling their racecar the MAC-26, for Mario Andretti Cadillac 26. It's a nice honor for Mario, who helped get the team into F1, after the Andretti team was denied into F1.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7075650/2026/02/27/cadillac-f1-car-name-andretti/