![]() ![]() Petty clearly stands among – and above most – of them. Yet, not only are many octogenarian former racers still moving above ground, but some also remain key pieces in the ever-changing, personality-driven, high-wire world of auto racing. All cheated death on many occasions, and their hard-charging, fuel-soaked, inches-from-disaster lifestyles weren’t the kind that typically lead to long residencies on Earth. To imagine decades ago that all of them would reach their 80s would be to defy good sense. Racing’s Old Guard now is an Even Older Guard. They were near the start of auto racing careers that would make them wealthy, internationally famous and iconic in the eyes of millions of fans and their peers.Īndretti now is 82. “I thought, ‘That was a really good catch.’ ” ![]() “I remember one time him being very loose in front of me and catching the car,” Andretti said. Mario Andretti remembers racing behind Richard Petty in the 1967 Daytona 500, which Andretti won. This was the dream - somebody pinch me! It was like getting a personal (but violent) tour of the moon with the late Neil Armstrong.RANDLEMAN, N.C. After exiting turn 4 a foot from the wall, we flashed down the front straight and across the famous yard of bricks at 202 mph! ![]() Teeth chattering, my helmet felt like it was about to fly off in the open-cockpit car as we dove down and hugged the white line at the inside of the track. ![]() On the back straight we accelerated to over 180 mph in top gear, and I braced for turns 3 and 4 where many accidents, some fatal, have occurred at Indy. As our speed increased, I began to feel the G-forces crush my body against the right side of the car. By the time we were in the short chute between turns 1 and 2, the car was above 140 mph. The Go Pros were turned on and off we went.Īfter a slow warm-up lap zig-zagging to heat the tires, Andretti gunned the engine and accelerated into turn 1, banked at nine degrees. When my name was called - I was first of the 33 - I belted snugly into the claustrophobic seat with a five-point harness. Upon meeting my fellow ridealongs, I was fitted with a fireproof driving suit and crash helmet, signed waivers and posed for photos. ![]()
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