Mario Andretti is one of the most outstanding and exciting race car drivers of all time. During a career that began in the late 1950s, Andretti won four National Indy Car Championships, logged more than one hundred career victories, and captured more pole positions than any other driver in history.

Andretti was born in Montona, Italy, on February 28, 1940. His parents were farmers in northern Italy, but were in a displaced persons camp following the Second World War. Shortly before his family immigrated to the United States in 1955, Andretti attended his first auto race, the famous Mille Miglia, a thousand-mile road race through central and southern Italy. The teenager was enthralled by the driving skill of Alberto Ascari, who profoundly impacted his life.

His family settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and Andretti quickly set to work modifying stock cars. He won his first race in 1958 driving...