He sold it recently, and now he’s consulting for a temp agency. For the last 20, he owned and operated a machine shop that made parts for hospital beds and security locks. He’s been married to the same woman, Corky, for 47 years. Now 67, Aldo Andretti lives a quiet life in Indianapolis. He got into the tire business with his brother, and eventually his race contacts went away. Though he didn’t know it then, Aldo would never race again. “I flipped over and ran into the fence and it destroyed my face. “I thought I was going to be OK, but when I hit the ground, my front axle broke,” recalled Aldo. The driver spun through water on the infield, then darted back up the track right in front of Aldo, who vaulted over the other driver’s car. He was leading his qualifying heat for a semi-feature event when another driver - a local guy whose name Aldo never found out - lost control of his car. Three months later, Aldo’s racing career ended at a dirt track in Des Moines, Iowa. That same year at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway, Aldo and Mario raced against each other for the first and only time. The closest he ever came to landing a ride in the Indianapolis 500 was in 1967, but the opportunity ultimately went to a Swedish driver who never made the race. For the next five years, he ran sprint cars. In 1964, Aldo moved his wife and family from Nazareth to Indianapolis so he could be closer to the tracks where he was racing. “But after he got hurt, it seemed like a cloud was following him everywhere - like he was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.” “Aldo was really, really good until he got hurt,” Mario said. That’s what put him in a coma for four days. But in the final race of the year, Aldo lost control of his car in a qualifying heat at Hatfield, caught a fence and crashed hard. The twins raced the entire season without their father finding out. “Most people thought he was behind this whole thing. “He thought they were telling him, “Good boys, good boys,”‘ Aldo said. Four wins in four races for the brothers Andretti, who didn’t dare tell their father what they were up to.įortunately for them, the Italian-born Alvise Andretti, having lived in the Lehigh Valley for only four years, didn’t speak English, so he couldn’t understand why his co-workers at Bethlehem Steel were congratulating him every Monday. Then it was Aldo’s turn again, and he won. Mario got his shot the next week, and he won, too. Without a clue of what he was doing, 19-year-old Aldo won the race. God Bless and RIP Aldo.Unfortunately for Mario, rain postponed the first race of the 1959 season at Nazareth Speedway, meaning Aldo got first crack the following weekend. Our deepest sympathies to you and your family. Such a shame as Aldo was a wonderful man. Here’s to your partner in crime Aldo, a special man.īobby Rahal: So very sorry for your loss. You guys have all been in my thoughts the last couple of days as I read John’s book. Always so positive and upbeat and raised an amazing side of our Andretti family.ĭario Franchitti: Our deepest condolences Mario to you and the whole Andretti family. I have never heard him complain, a trait that he passed down to John. One of the toughest guys I have ever met. I dearly miss them but I’m sure they will be with us at all the races. He is now up in heaven with my cousin John who we also lost this year. Michael Andretti: We lost my Uncle Aldo last night who was the kindest and truly most salt of the earth person. John succumbed to cancer last year at the age of 56.įamily members, racers and those in the racing world tweeted their condolences for Aldo. He also was the first to ever do “The Double” when in 1994 he raced in the Indianapolis 500 and then flew to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 later that day. He won on dirt tracks in Midgets and sprint cars. If he could enjoy his brother’s success, he could also enjoy that of his son, John. “Not envy exactly, but something close, like my life isn’t quite fulfilled.” “I’m extremely proud of Mario but sometimes I feel something like envy mixed with pride,” he told the Indianapolis Star once. Shortly after that he went into business with a tire dealership called Andretti Firestone and, later, Andretti Machine & Engineering Co.īut he was always proud of Mario’s accomplishments, if maybe just a little jealous. After racing various sprint cars throughout the 1960s, another bad crash in 1969 left him with multiple broken bones and would be his last race. But the car came back to bite him after a crash at the end of the 1959 season left Aldo in a coma for four days. The brothers’ first car, a Hudson Hornet, was driven to its first victory by Aldo, not Mario, after Aldo won a coin toss for the honor of driving in its initial race. Aldo (orange t-shirt) looks on as his brother Mario gets the famous victory lane kiss from car owner Andy Granatelli after winning 1969 Indy 500.
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