Mario Andretti is recognized as one of the all-time greats in motorsports and remains one of the most recognizable drivers in the world. As the countdown to this year’s Daytona 500 continues, Ford Racing recently spoke to Andretti about his only NASCAR victory, which happened to be 45 years ago in the 1967 version of “The Great American Race.”
MARIO ANDRETTI, 1967 Daytona 500 Winner -- MANY PEOPLE FORGET THAT THE 1967 DAYTONA 500 WAS YOUR FIRST MAJOR VICTORY.
“Yes, indeed, but I don’t forget it. It was a great event for me as you can imagine. That was before I was fortunate enough to even win Indianapolis. A couple of weeks after Daytona we won Sebring as well, so things started to really happen, but Daytona was a very, very important moment in my career, no question.”
YOU RAN A FEW RACES THE YEAR BEFORE WITH SMOKEY YUNICK, BUT IN ’67 YOU CAME BACK TO DAYTONA WITH HOLMAN-MOODY. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?
“All along I had a great relationship with Ford in Indy ...
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