Andretti ‘would have crawled’ to honor Canadian inductees

Andretti stayed on for the Barrett Jackson auction at the Collectors portion of the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame. A McLaren Can-Am car he drove in 1969 was up for auction

When his plane being grounded in Pennsylvania last week because of bad weather in Toronto – he was not being given a landing time by Toronto air traffic control, Mario Andretti was not sure he was going to make it to Toronto in time to be the guest speaker for the induction of journalists into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

But he finally made it and said he would have crawled to be there.

Andretti was on hand in Toronto last week for the induction of journalists into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

Speaking to fellow inductee Erik Tomas of Raceline Radio and me, the racing icon had flown in from Pittsburgh to attend the Art and the Automobile black-tie dinner at the Canadian International Auto Show, which was the scene of the CMHF induction.

"I am so happy I was invited to this event," he said.

"You guys deserve this honor. You are the catalyst between the race car, us, and the fan.

"Without you the sport doesn't exist. I have so much respect for you, and I would have crawled to get here tonight."

Looking like he could still step into a race car and be competitive at 79, Andretti was the main speaker at the event. He sat with IndyCar driver and NBC motorsports commentator Townsend Bell, speaking to the gathering on his long and successful career in the sport.

An Italian native who settled in Pennsylvania in 1955, Andretti became one of the few racers who could drive the wheels off anything.

Although his focus was USAC, CART, and then IndyCar, he raced in other open-wheeled series, stock cars, and sports cars.

He won the Indy 500 in 1969. He won the Daytona 500. He won at Sebring three times. And driving a Colin Chapman Lotus, he won the 1978 Formula One title.

Andretti was inducted into the CMHF in 2012 as the international inductee. His first trip to Canada to race was for a Midget event in Quebec in 1962, and he also raced Midgets at Toronto's CNE track in 1965.

He was a fixture at the USAC (now IndyCar) events at Canadian tracks such as Mosport (now Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) and Sanair in Quebec. He continued with IndyCar, driving for Newman/Haas Racing, and retired in 1994.

Today, he speaks at motorsport-related functions, continues his promotion work with Firestone, and cheers on the racing of son Michael and grandson, Marco. His name is synonymous with motorsport.

With the running of last Sunday's Daytona 500 just before the induction ceremony last week, Andretti talked about his 1967 victory of the Great American Race, his one and only race in NASCAR's top tier.

"That was a hell of a day, a good day," he said. "We led 118 of the 200 laps. I had a very competitive car." (He was driving a Holman-Moody prepared Ford). "It was one of the most satisfying wins of my career." Tim Miller/Hamilton Spectator