Mario Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful Americans in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, the World Sportscar Championship, and NASCAR (the other being Dan Gurney). He has also won races in midget car racing and sprint car racing.
During his career, Andretti won the 1978 Formula One World Championship, four IndyCar titles (three under USAC sanctioning, and one in CART), and IROC VI. To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), Daytona 500 (1967) and the Formula One World Championship, and, along with Juan Pablo Montoya, the only driver to have won a race in the NASCAR Cup Series, Formula One, and an Indianapolis 500. As of 2021, Andretti's victory at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix is the last Formula One win by an American driver. Andretti had 109 career wins on major circuits.Andretti had a long career in motorsports. He was the only person to be named United States Driver of the Year in three decades (1967, 1978, and 1984). He was also one of only three drivers to have won major races on road courses, paved ovals, and dirt tracks in one season, a feat that he accomplished four times. With his final IndyCar win in April 1993, Andretti became the first driver to have won IndyCar races in four different decades and the first to win automobile races of any kind in five.In American popular culture, Andretti's name has become synonymous with speed, similar to Barney Oldfield in the early twentieth century and Stirling Moss in the United Kingdom.
1940Feb, 28
Mario Andretti
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Events on 1940
- 17May
Brussels
World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium. - 12Jun
Erwin Rommel
World War II: Thirteen thousand British and French troops surrender to Major General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux. - 5Jul
Vichy France
World War II: The United Kingdom and the Vichy France government break off diplomatic relations. - 10Jul
Vichy France
World War II: The Vichy government is established in France. - 11Jul
Vichy France
World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Philippe Pétain becomes Prime Minister of France.