Foyt drove during one of the deadliest eras in motorsports, and far too many of his racing contemporaries pulled off pit lane never to pull back in. Later McGee discovered that the gearbox inside the car was totally dry and the ball bearings "were ready to fall out." Memorial day in 1969 was Mario’s day. The tough-as-boot-leather Texan was irreverent about death that day, too. Andretti later said that because he was running 270-degree oil temperatures throughout the entire race his whole back was burned.Īndretti won the race in three hours, 11 minutes and 14.71 seconds, nearly two minutes ahead of second place Dan Gurney. The car was so hot inside the cockpit he got blisters on his back. Indycar adversaries in the 1960s and ’70s, their frosty relationship remained cool throughout their racing careers. The only thing he had left to fight was distraction and discomfort. Mario Andretti on AJ Foyt: My Greatest Rival. Foyt and Mario Andretti crossed for the first time, but it was the 1967 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans that first saw the men go head to head. Ruby fell out on lap 105 and from there on, as long as the car didn't overheat, the race was Andretti's. All images courtesy Ford Motorsports History.Its hard to pinpoint exactly where the paths of racing greats A.J. Andretti's lone concern then became Lloyd Ruby. Slowly Foyt and McCluskey dropped out due to mechanical problems. Slowing down dropped the temperatures into a more comfortable range but he was going to have to bide his time. Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt share comments on each other. Then he looked down and all the temperature gauges showed hot so he had to back off. Andretti shot into the lead, beating Foyt to the corner. He had no idea whether the Hawk was going to survive 500 miles without overheating. Embarrassed, Andretti enlisted the help of an impostor to fill in for him at the traditional front-row photo shoot - his twin brother, Aldo.Īndretti later said he didn't even think Foyt noticed.Īndretti's problem wasn't pace. Foyt and Bobby Unser.Īndretti suffered burns on his face from the crash. Despite getting only a day-and-a-half of practice, Andretti qualified on the front row between pole-sitter A.J. McGee questioned the running gear, Colin Chapman used Formula One hubs and uprights.Ī post-mortem showed an overall structural weakness in the hubs, so Chapman withdrew the Lotus cars he’d built for not only Andretti but Jochen Rindt and Graham Hill.Īndretti and Company pivoted to the Hawk. Andretti dominated the speed charts in the Lotus during practice, then two days before the time trials, he suffered a horrific crash. Driver Sammy Sessions prepares for the run and is shown on the track (1:01-2:48). The 68 Wynn’s Mickey Thompson Spitfire car passes the camera. It was very fast but Clint Brawner and Jim McGee - his co-chief mechanics - loathed it. Racers shown are Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, Graham Hill, Jackie Steward, Jimmy Clark, and rookie Joschen Rindt.
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