My interview with Mario Andretti

Mario Andretti's 1969 Champ Car win at Hanford Motor Speedway represented extreme highs and lows: a secret tire setup that left competitors in his dust and a freak pitlane accident that contributed to the death of a mechanic.

In a telephone interview from his Pennsylvania offices on Monday, Andretti recalled his five appearances at the Hanford tri-oval: a 1965 USAC stock car drive and four Champ Car races from 1967-1969 that resulted in one win, two third-place finishes and two DNFs from the third and fourth starting spots. He obviously found the speedway -- the rough 1.4-mile 1965 version and the renovated 1.5-mile late 1960s version -- a good match. 

Read my complete interview with Andretti in my Marchbanks Speedway/Hanford Motor Speedway history section. And if you missed it, check out my interviews with Bobby Unser and other race legends in my section devoted to the "History of Marchbanks Speedway, aka Hanford Motor Speedway."