When Mario Andretti pulled into victory lane after winning the Daytona 500 on February 16, 1967, it was at the time the biggest victory of his racing career. Andretti had already established himself as one of the top young drivers in American racing when he won the 1965 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award after starting fourth and finishing third in the Dean Van Lines Special. He would go on to cap his rookie season by winning the United States Auto Club (USAC) IndyCar National Championship. In 1966, he won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 and wracked up an incredible eight IndyCar victories in 15 starts to once again claim the USAC IndyCar National Championship.
Andretti was a big-name IndyCar driver who was part of the Holman-Moody Racing Team – Ford’s factory-backed team in NASCAR – when he arrived at the 1967 Daytona 500 along with Ford’s “Golden Boy” Fred Lorenzen… read more >
