60 Facts About Michael Andretti

Michael Mario Andretti was born on October 5,1962 and is an American former racing driver, and current team owner.

Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART championship, and amassed 42 race victories, the most in the CART era and fifth-most all time.

Michael Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti, a multi-time champion, and is the father of IndyCar Series driver Marco Andretti.

Michael Andretti was born on October 5,1962, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania to race car driver Mario Michael Andretti, a four-time IndyCar champion and one-time Formula One champion and his wife, Dee Ann.

Michael Andretti's uncle, Aldo Andretti, was an open wheel racer until an accident ended his racing career.

Michael Andretti returned to IndyCar in 2007,2008,2009,2010 and 2011, where he raced in the Indy 500.

The Andretti family became the first family to have five members compete in the same series.

Michael Andretti graduated from Nazareth Area High School in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and then attended Northampton Community College in Bethlehem.

Michael Andretti obtained his SCCA National License in 1980, then won six races to claim the SCCA's Northeast Division Formula Ford championship in 1981.

Michael Andretti drove in a number of Formula Vee races in regional SCCA events.

Michael Andretti won the opening race of the 1983 Super Vee season before he moved up to drive in Formula Atlantic, and won his second title by winning the FIA Formula Mondial North American Cup the following season.

Michael Andretti made his CART debut in 1983, racing for the Kraco Enterprises team.

Michael Andretti re-signed for Kraco for the 1984 season, where he managed five third-place finishes and ended his rookie season in seventh overall.

Michael Andretti went on to win his first IndyCar race in 1986 in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Michael Andretti would take the points lead with his victory on the Milwaukee Mile.

Michael Andretti remained with Kraco and won only a single race, the Marlboro Challenge, for which no championship points were awarded.

Michael Andretti won two races that season, Molson Indy Toronto and the 1989 Marlboro 500 at the Michigan International Speedway, placing third in points.

Michael Andretti managed only a sixth-place finish, and could not capitalize on Unser's misfortune.

Michael Andretti was the drivers' champion of the 1991 CART PPG Indy Car World Series.

Michael Andretti won a total eight of 17 races, eight poles and led more than half of the laps during the season, but Rahal still took the championship battle down to the final race of the season.

Michael Andretti's season started slowly, recording DNFs in the opening two events, then the heartbreaking second place at the Indy 500.

Michael Andretti recovered from this, winning four of the last five races of the season and with Rahal retiring during the title decider at Laguna Seca, he cruised to the title.

Michael Andretti would leave for Formula One at the end of the year, with his seat going to the reigning Formula One World Champion Nigel Mansell, who would win the 1993 CART title in his rookie season.

Michael Andretti shared Rookie of the Year honours with Guerrero in 1984, when he finished fifth.

Michael Andretti dropped out while leading the Indy 500 in 1989,1995 and 2003.

Michael Andretti holds the record for most laps led in the Indy 500 without having achieved a victory.

Team owner Carl Haas had originally wanted his CART driver and 1978 World Drivers' Champion Mario Michael Andretti to drive in Detroit in Tambay's place.

However, Mario was not interested in a return to F1, but instead pushed for his son Michael Andretti to get the drive, to which Haas agreed.

Michael Andretti signed during the summer of 1992 and the deal was announced at Monza over the weekend of the 1992 Italian Grand Prix.

Michael Andretti's showing was criticized by former McLaren World Champion James Hunt because Andretti was lapped by his teammate Senna, though Andretti countered by saying that he had been under a lot of pressure to not just finish a Grand Prix, but to finish in the points so he basically drove within himself in order to finish.

Michael Andretti finished in the points on three occasions but not consistently.

Michael Andretti finished third at Monza, which would prove to be his last Formula One race; with three races remaining, he left the team and the championship by mutual agreement after the race.

Michael Andretti was able to continue and fought back up to third, holding off Wendlinger.

Michael Andretti returned to the IndyCar racing after his unsuccessful season in Formula One with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, where he proved successful.

Michael Andretti went on to win in his very first race back in the series at the 1994 Australian FAI Indycar Grand Prix, around the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in Queensland, Australia, having led every lap along the way.

Michael Andretti won again in the Molson Indy Toronto, taking a record fourth win.

In 2000 the team used Lola chassis and Michael Andretti won the Firestone Firehawk 300 held at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan, and again in Toronto.

Michael Andretti tried again to win Le Mans in 1997, again alongside his father, but joined on this occasion by Olivier Grouillard.

Michael Andretti ran in a third Team Green car with Motorola sponsorship and ran at Indianapolis.

Michael Andretti led 16 laps, and was leading the race during a rain delay just beyond the halfway point.

Michael Andretti achieved this during his championship-winning season of 1991.

Michael Andretti entered in the first four IRL events in 2003, culminating with the 2003 Indianapolis 500, after which he retired from full-time IndyCar racing.

Michael Andretti led the race for 28 of the opening 94 laps before a throttle linkage failure put him out of contention .

Michael Andretti returned to the driver's seat for the 2006 Indianapolis 500 in a one-time effort to assist the development of his son, Marco, an IndyCar rookie for the 2006 season.

Michael Andretti led the race with four laps to go, before falling to second behind his son a lap later.

Michael Andretti then announced that this would be his last Indy 500 as a driver.

Michael Andretti leaves driving competition at Indy with a frustrating distinction: the driver who led the most laps without winning the race.

Michael Andretti competed in 16 Indy 500s, with a top finish of second in 1991, but led the race nine times.

Michael Andretti served as the team owners and strategist on Ryan Hunter-Reay's four race victories.

At the beginning of 2018, Michael Andretti partnered with Ryan Walkinshaw's Walkinshaw Racing and Zak Brown's United Autosports to create Walkinshaw Michael Andretti United which competes in the Australian Supercars Championship.

On February 18,2022, it was announced that Michael Andretti had submitted a request with the FIA to enter Formula 1 under "Michael Andretti Global".

In October 2024, Michael Andretti stepped down as CEO of Michael Andretti Global, with the company announcing that he will remain involved in a strategic advisory capacity while the search for a new CEO begins.

In 1996, Michael Andretti invested in a Toyota dealership in his home state of Pennsylvania.

Michael Andretti joined the show as a last-minute replacement for his son Marco, who dropped out when Marco's friend Dan Wheldon was killed in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship hours before Apprentice filming was scheduled to begin.

Michael Andretti was fired in the fourth episode, after a presentation for Buick executives of the Buick Verano.

Michael Andretti promoted the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana, the Miami ePrix and the Global RallyCross Championship events at Washington and New York.

Michael Andretti remarried on December 24,1997, to Leslie Wood.

Michael Andretti officially separated from Wood in 2003, and filed for divorce on September 7,2004.

Two years later, on July 15,2006, Michael Andretti announced his engagement to former Miss Oregon Teen USA 1994, Playboy Playmate of the Year 1999, model and actress Jodi Ann Paterson.

Michael Andretti was inducted into National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2008, the Long Beach Grand Prix Walk of Fame in 2010, the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2012.