A burning desire to win
source: champcarworldseries.com A desire so deep, so absolute, so passionate, to reach the top. Mario Gabriele Andretti knew no other way. He was that way when he was a rookie at Indy, and he was that way when, at the ripe old age of 38 (old by F1 standards) he became Formula One Champion of The World. Mario's "way of life" is American, but his heritage remains attached to the land near Trieste, Italy. Although he's very proud to be an American, his heritage is important to the great Andretti, today 65...and counting. Always remembered by the racing fans, he was clear choice as "Driver of the Century" by the American Media. "I came to the United States, when I was a teenager, because of international politics" explains Mario." I was born in Montona, near Trieste, before the Second World War. My father became administrator of a big factory. He inherited the land in Istria and financially we were pretty well off. It seemed like we had a fortune by our side in that difficult time. My family exported wine and flour. But after the war, unexpectedly, the Yugoslavians arrived and they took everything, including our financial savings. "We escape to Lucca (Tuscany) and we lived on a refugee camp where we remained from 1948 till 1955." Then the Andretti family, with papa' Gigi and mamma Rina, moved to the USA and settled down in Nazareth in Eastern Pensylvania. Thanks to Mario racing success, Nazareth became famous around the world, and in appreciation, the town renamed the street on which he has lived for more than 40 year:"Victory Lane" The complete article at champcarworldseries.com
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