a Mario Andretti M/A 500 Shifter T-Handle with Mario's autograph would be outstanding

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1728316248162469&set=gm.4664932500450658&idorvanity=2695731877370740

Parade car '78 Camaros for the 62nd Indianapolis 500. Mario on the car to the left, on the far side of the road

 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3357155241125128&set=gm.1737445677531251&idorvanity=226675368608297

Mario and a midget in 1963

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=7550613685012995&set=gm.1957546774438563&idorvanity=527146584145263

Happy 86th Birthday to Mario!

 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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Andretti

Mario Andretti, Monaco 1971

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=25198235776452467&set=gm.2958921794301051&idorvanity=527146584145263

Did Bruce Meyers supply Manxs for the 1968 Motor Trend 500 at Riverside? Or did Mario Andretti bring his own to use as a run-about car around the track?

 https://www.motortrend.com/news/old-nascar-drivers-photo-gallery/photos

Mario Andretti's

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/2016-6-9-mario-andretti-racing-letter-to-my-younger-self

Andretti in 1967

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159670476435665&set=gm.2286163758243528&idorvanity=527146584145263

rules to live by, everyone should have some. You know, just to lay the groundwork for minimally acceptable standards

https://catchmeifyoucan427.tumblr.com/

1968 Daytona. Cale Yarborough, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Mario Andretti, Richard Petty and David Pearson

Did you know Mario Andretti got his start in a downhill cart built by a carpenter? Mario Andretti, one of the most successful drivers in racing history, the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500 and the Formula One World Championship.

Mario and his twin brother Aldo were born in Montona, Italy in 1940. Imagine Montona: a sleepy, medieval town set atop a cone-shaped hill in the Italian countryside. To get to the highest point, you need to climb 1,052 steps, the longest stairway in the world. And from the summit, the view of the Quieto river valley with its picturesque vineyards and fertile fields is absolutely breathtaking. In the surrounding forests, residents gather world-renowned truffles using specially trained dogs. Within Montona itself, children play freely, peacefully and happily on pristine cobblestone streets, amid ancient churches and the famous bell tower constructed in the 13th century.

That was Montona as the Andretti family knew it. But World War II broke out around the time Mario and Aldo were born and when it ended in 1945 the town was forever changed. Montona, located on the Istrian peninsula, was ceded to Yugoslavia as part of the post-war political settlement and the town they loved fell under Communist rule. The family stuck it out for three years hoping that the only world they had ever known would right itself. But when things hadn't changed by 1948, the family of five decided to leave Montona knowing their lives would never amount to anything under Communist doctrine. Their first stop was a central dispersement camp in Udine. About a week later, they were transferred to a refugee camp in Lucca.

Today the town of Montona is part of Croatia and is called Motovun.

https://www.marioandretti.com/montona
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-mario-andretti-one-of-the-fastest-americans-ever-discovered-his-speed-1533047673

ok, where've they been hiding this El Camino?

Indy 500 team owner wins

Andretti earned his fifth Indianapolis 500 victory as a team owner, each with a different driver. Andretti also was the winning owner in 2005 with Dan Wheldon, 2007 with Dario Franchitti, 2014 with Ryan Hunter-Reay and 2016 with Alexander Rossi.

Ironically, three of those five winners were with different teams the following year. Wheldon left for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2006, Franchitti left for Ganassi’s NASCAR team in 2008 and Sato in 2018.

Andretti is tied with Chip Ganassi for second on the all-time Indianapolis 500 victory list among team owners. Four of Ganassi's wins came as owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, with the fifth as co-owner of Pat Patrick Racing in 1989. Roger Penske leads all owners with 16 victories in 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.'

http://autoweek.com/article/indycar/takuma-sato-michael-andretti-receive-baby-borg-trophies-indy-500-win

Welcome Mario Andretti, Driver Of The Year

https://www.facebook.com/groups/stiffspeed/permalink/1268257039987576/

get a Kleenex before reading, you might need it. Bobby Unser interview in Auto Week magazine had a cool story to tell. A SALUTE of the day to Mario Andretti for making up with Bobby Unser while they are still alive (77 and 83 years old)

Auto Week question: You win the race in 1981 after one of the most controversial race days in Indy 500 history. You finish first, but the win is taken away and handed to Mario Andretti because you passed cars under caution.
Then the next day, the call is reversed and you regain the win. Does all that still stick out for you?

Bobby Unser reply: It stuck in me for a long time -- really hard.

Mario was one of my very closest friends. He was hard to beat. He went fast.

But he cheated by saying I passed all those cars, which I damn sure did. He passed them all, too!

It turns out I was totally right. It was legal. But Mario got excited seeing me get away like that.

 I was going to beat him. I had passed him three or four times in the race. My car was faster than any of the other cars. Jackie Stewart talked about it on TV and said what I did was illegal.

That stirred it up. If Bobby was wrong, how could Mario be right? It was all on tape.

My recent hospital stay was bad, for four or five days, it was pretty close. Guess who I got a phone call from?

 First time since 1981, from Mario. He just wanted to talk.

 It went really good. I hate to say it, but I’m a hard person. I know that. I can be pretty ornery.

But I got a tear in my eye. I really did. He knows I like him. He knows how close we used to be. We used to room together on the road.

 You can’t believe how much better it made me feel talking to him. I hadn’t talked to him in so many years, I didn’t recognize his voice.

 I asked who it was. He said, “Damn it, it’s me, Mario.”

You know, I don’t need another car or another airplane. Talking to Mario did me good. It was good for my health. Got me over some of the grudge I had.

http://autoweek.com/article/indycar/inside-unserville-visit-racing-legend-bobby-unser-his-home-albuquerque

name dropping Ak Miller, Art Chrisman, Danny Eames, Chickie Hirashima, and Mario Andretti. What one thing did they all work on? This indy engined Mustang on Bonneville, nitro powered

a 255-inch Ford Indy engine and a basically stock fastback.

They were shooting for a run at 200 mph during the private Bonneville timing session scheduled by Arfons and two streamliner teams.

After successfully setting both D/Production Sedan FIA records at 136.645 (standing kilometer) and 150.134 (standing five-mile), they tipped the can for back-to-back nitromethanated blasts of 171 and 175 before a burned piston ended the outing.

From start to finish, the ambitious project spanned just 34 days in late October and early November.

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/funny-cars-can-trans-women-racers-emerge-1966-2/#031-struggles-1966-static-display-mustang-ohc-indy-engine-front-overhead

Mario is back for more racing!

http://www.firestonetire.com/raceandretti
https://www.facebook.com/FirestoneTires/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE9SvlcWeZrbRTKdGC4Zn9w

The Race Andretti program will feature four challenges, including
The Keychain 500, in which fans can race Mario in adding a key to a key ring,
The Can Opener 500,
The Egg Peel 500
and The Chopsticks 500

“Firestone has created another series of fun challenges to help all of us get back into race mode for the Indy 500,” said Andretti. “I love a good competition and I’m looking forward to seeing fans push themselves to perform these tasks like never before.”

https://www.bridgestoneamericas.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2017/racing-legend-mario-andretti-competes-against-fans-in-firestone-

in the latest issue of the Hagerty magazine, they did a cover feature on the Corvair, startling photo of why Nader was scared of it... but they have conclusive data that it's actually safe.

On very authentic tires even, they tested it. Yeah, looks scary, but, lots of race cars go around corners on three wheels... https://www.facebook.com/HagertyClassicCars/photos/a.117703904926013.14865.114612551901815/1561753210521068/

the recommended tire pressure for a Corvair was 15 psi fronts, and 26 psi rear

Ralp Nader with that `60 Corvair at the Cobo Center, July 2016. Photo credit Pete Koehler

Even Sir Stirling Moss and Mario Andretti took the stand to defend the car:

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/10/10/page/210/article/i-love-my-corvair

The Holman Moody Honker, tested by Andretti, and he called it the worst race car he'd ever driven

Andretti praised Holman Moody for exceptional Nascar racers, and he should know...he won in Nascar too, but he said they didn't get it with sports cars. Again, he knows these things.

Here's something I found interesting about the Honker, it's chassis was designed by the same guy that designed the Ford GT, Len Bailey... Alan Mann Racing developed the chassis, but running the program and building the engines was up to Holman Moody

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/870/Holman-and-Moody-Honker-II-Ford.html

Mario Andretti with the M6B, the “429’er, actually 494 ci, 8.1 liters

They claimed 720 horsepower from this monster and Andretti said he could get wheelspin in any gear any time; he said the acceleration was so great he had trouble reaching the gearshift.

Unfortunately, during pre-race warm-up a constant-velocity joint failed, breaking an upright which was fixed but the unseen CV joint breakage prevented the car from starting from the pit lane at race time

http://www.diecastxchange.com/forum1/topic/185130-pro-sports-racing-cars-wanted-in-118th-updated-52116/

Andretti in his Hawk Ford, Pikes Peak 1968, he was 4th in ’68, won in ’69

https://primotipo.com/2014/10/24/the-most-versatile-ever-magic-mario-andretti/