NBC Sports Promotes Mario Andretti Film With SXSW Panel

Mario with Will Power and Leigh Diffey

NBC Sports this afternoon held a panel at SXSW around its upcoming “Drive Like Andretti" film, which will document the life of Mario Andretti. Discussing the documentary that will come out in May, Andretti appeared on the panel today alongside IndyCar driver Will Power and NBC IndyCar broadcaster Leigh Diffey. For the film, NBC Sports traveled with Andretti to a number of places important to him around the world, including his birthplace in Montona, Croatia. The documentary also features several celebrities and journalists talking about his impact on racing and American culture.

The film debuts on May 11 ahead of the IndyCar Grand Prix later that afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NBC Sports Group Senior Features Producer Matt Allen said, “Here we are taking over the sport and full season, it’s our first Indy 500 and the (50th anniversary of his 1969 Indy 500 win), so we get to highlight the greatest driver in motorsports history and hopefully bring in a new audience — either people who are nostalgic or people who don’t even know why they know the name." Adam Stern/SBD

Note: South by Southwest (abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By) is an annual conglomerate of film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas, United States. It began in 1987, and has continued to grow in both scope and size every year.