By DAVID CUCCHIARA

Washington Daily News

 

WILLIAMSTON — Racing legend Mario Andretti visited the area on Thursday on behalf of Firestone for the grand opening of the new Pugh’s Tire and Service Center across from Riverside High School.

Racing fans from all over eastern North Carolina came to see the man the Associated Press named “Driver of the Century.” Employees and racing enthusiasts alike lined up to shake the hand of the 74-year-old legend.

Andretti is the only driver to win the Daytona 500 and Indy 500 and has won over 100 races.

Sports editor David Cucchiara sat down with Andretti to discuss racing culture in North Carolina and his esteemed career.

 

Q: What makes the fans and racing in North Carolina so unique?

A: Especially in the stock car world, all the teams are based somewhere around this area. It’s a breeding ground for motor racing. Of course, being our business, we love that. I have a nephew that lives in this area, John Andretti, who has been racing stock cars for the latter part of his career. We connect with that. Of course, my career I connected somewhere with stock cars and had some good fortune there. Even though that was not my specialty, I enjoyed it. We’re like a big family. We all have respect for each other even though they’re different disciplines. Motor racing is motor racing.

 

Q: Your grandson Marco had an excellent race the other day, finishing third in the Indy 500. How proud of you of his career as a whole?

A: You have not seen the best of him, for sure. For some reason, it seems like he keeps missing some of the breaks that he probably, in my opinion, deserved. It is what it is, but Marco is becoming a very solid racing driver. He has a good solid team and can look forward to some good things. Having a great car that’s capable under you, it’s a huge part of the equation.

 

Q: What was your most memorable victory?

A: Victories, they’re all very special. The one that people might not be able to identify with here is winning the Italian Grand Prix because that’s where I saw my very first meaningful big race when I was still living in Italy at age 14. As fate would have it, I won the Italian Grand Prix and also clinched the World Championship there in ’78. I could not have written a script like that in my life. So, as you can see, I feel very blessed in my career.

 

Q: How does racing in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s compare to today in terms of performance and the culture as a whole?

A: I feel like I have a different appreciation for what’s going on today, mainly because I’ve experienced decades of racing. I love the idea of the technology coming on, the computer. We were the first team to put a computer instrument in an IndyCar in 1985. The best part about it is that I’ve raced in the cars of today, so I’m up to date. And I love the transition and what we’ve leaned over the years, whether it’s chasse dynamics, aerodynamics, engine size and how things have progressed. The knowledge you have today, you know everything that’s going on in the in the car, every movement of the wheel is calculated. It’s all there in the telemetry in the laptop of the engineer. The game becomes more and more perfect and elevates everything to the next dimension. It seems like everybody knows something. In Indianapolis, the whole field averaged 229 mph. It seemed like everybody knows the setups. It makes for a really incredible competition and entertaining event.

 

Q: Three decades of successful racing, what do you attribute all your success to over the years?

A: Simply the love for the sport and the love driving. I have a deep, deep passion for my work and I couldn’t think of doing anything else in my life. I’ve enjoyed every single moment of every day when I’m involved in my work. Could I ask for more? No. Nothing else has satisfied my as much as driving in terms of my profession. I was very fortunate to be around a long time, dodge many bullets in my life and am very thankful for that.