This dream was only enhanced when they discovered a race track near their new home in Pennsylvania. Previously exposed to racing at the Italian Grand Prix, Andretti and his Brother had dreamed of being race car drivers. Their visas were granted in 1955, and later that year the Andrettis boarded a ship to Pennsylvania, eventually settling in Nazareth with a mere $125.
During this time, Andretti’s parents worked to get visas for the United States. They lived for seven years in a refugee camp, sharing a house with several other families, their quarters separated only by blankets.
In 1948, three years after the end of the war, Andretti and his family fled the Fascist rule, seeking refuge in Tuscany, Italy. Since arriving on the racing scene at the age of 15, Andretti has proved superior at nearly every level of competition.īorn in Montona, Italy immediately before World War II, Andretti grew up in a country under the Fascist rule. Unrivaled on the track, Andretti has won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the Formula One World Championship, and set a record at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Late to the ball, so to speak, but ultimately triumphant, the Brawner Hawk earned the nickname "Cinderella car.Mario Andretti is undoubtedly one of the best known and most decorated race car drivers of all time. Andretti also set a 500-mile record with an average speed of 156.867 miles per hour. He led for 116 laps and took the checkered flag. When the green flag dropped on May 30, 1969, Andretti led the race for the first five laps, temporarily fell back into the pack, and then took control of the race. The crew spent the next week preparing the Hawk MK III to race in the Indy 500. Andretti walked away from the wreck with only minor facial burns, but Granatelli's other Lotuses were withdrawn from the race because of concerns over the strength of their hub supports.
However, in a practice run before the big race, with Andretti behind the wheel of a Lotus, a suspension part broke, the car lost a wheel, and it hit the wall. Brawner argued that the Hawk MK III was a major contender to win, but it became a back-up car because Granatelli had more faith in the speeds attainable by a four-wheel drive Lotus 64 chassis. For the 1969 season, he built the MK III version, which featured a full monocoque chassis consisting of a body that was a stressed part of the structure, rather than merely a covering of the frame, and cutting-edge aerodynamics.Īndy Granatelli and STP became the sponsors going into the 1969 Indianapolis 500. During the next season, Brawner refined his design by adding spoilers to the front and rear, creating the Hawk MK II. In 1965, a Brawner Hawk sponsored by Dean Van Lines carried Mario Andretti to a third-place Indy 500 finish, earning him Rookie of the Year honors. Mario Andretti at the 1969 Indianapolis 500
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