In 1969, Mario Andretti won the Indy 500, then the crown of drag racing; today his grandson and namesake sought to match the old man, now 85

By Grand Rapids Anonymous

Mario Andretti's grandson, Marco, attempts to win the indy 500 (what used to be a Memorial Day spectacle back in the day); by the way, Mario (now 85) is doing well)

GRA: The Indy 500 was a big race, in 1969, when Mario Andretti won it. Taking place on Memorial Day weekend, Indy was THE race of the year. Back in those days, my not-rich neighbors would travel to watch the qualifiers (they asked me to go but I declined), which was all they could afford--race day tickets were too expensive.

I followed racing probably because of them, and Andretti winning in 1969 was like Arnold Palmer winning a golf tournament or Dick Weber a bowling championship. Mario never won an Indy 500 again, though remarkably, he captured a Daytona 500 and was a Formula One champion before retiring in the early 1990s.

Today, his grandson Marco is entered in today's Indy--"a one off," says Mario--and I'll tune in to see how he does. It'll almost seem like 1969 again. --GRA


By Grand Rapids Anonymous
sunday, may 25, 2025 at 2:34:00 p.m. edt

"1969" lasted four laps--Andretti out early in 2025 Indy 500

"(Fox) indianapolis — a multi-car collision resulted in Marco Andretti’s 2025 indianapolis 500 ending in the first turn.

"Andretti was on the outside of Dreyer and Reinbold racing teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and Jack Harvey when Hunter-Reay moved the no. 23 Chevrolet to the right. Harvey was alongside Hunter-Reay and moved in reaction to his teammate, colliding with Andretti.

"I’m fine, just bummed. I wait all year for this and to have it end that early is as frustrating that it gets. if I had a crystal ball, I just would’ve waited, but it’s not really in my nature to do that,” Andretti said. “I had a really good start going and just got crowded at the top. I couldn’t move up anymore and got shoved into the wall.”

"The no. 98 Honda spun and hit the wall with the left side of the car before it slid to a stop near the outside wall in turn 1. Andretti climbed out of the car under his own power.

"the 20-year-veteran addressed whether the crash would motivate him to run in the 110th indianapolis 500.

. "it would (not be good) to go out like that, wouldn’t it?,” Andretti said.

GRA: Lost interest after that, chuckle.

--GRA



Sunday, May 25, 2025 at 3:02:00 PM EDT