Mario Andretti Quotations

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.

Motor racing is like one big family, ultimately, and when you come back to it, that's really what it feels like.

It seemed like whenever I got a bona fide offer from Ferrari, I couldn't do it. And vice versa - when I was ready, their seats were taken. We always had a relationship, but what's important is that I pretty much started my F1 career with them and ended it there, too.

A racing car is an animal with a thousand adjustments.

Do it no matter what. If you believe in it, it is something very honorable. If somebody around you or your family does not understand it, then that's their problem. But if you do have a passion, an honest passion, just do it.

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.

I count my blessings every day, quite honestly, because I take nothing for granted.

The day of parochialism in sports is over. The world is too small for what people like to call 'the good old days.' Fans want the best, wherever they come from.

If a neighbor is killed in a car accident, do you sell your car and stop driving?

Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge and adding to your experience, so that you can make the most of opportunity when it occurs.

If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.

You should never get away from where the real foundation of Formula One has been, which is Europe. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the expansion to countries like Asia, China, Malaysia.

Everything comes to those who wait... except a cat.

You're safer in the race car than you are in cars going to and from the track.

I look at myself as the luckiest man alive.

Anybody who can drive and doesn't come out of it a rich man is a fool.

As far as I'm concerned, Parnelli Jones was the greatest driver of his era. He had aggressiveness and also a finesse that no one else possessed. And he won with everything he put his hands on, including off-road.

With tennis, you can go pick up a racket, take a lesson, and understand how much talent and skill it takes to be as good as the top pros. Same with golf: pick up a club. But not many can go out and get in a race car and experience a drive at over 200 miles an hour.

When a car's ahead of you, as long as you can see it, you get a tow, just like the draft in NASCAR. Even if it's a long ways down the track, it punches a hole in the air that has to help. When you're running alone, you can feel the difference, and it shows on the clock, too.

Whenever you're aggressive, you're at the edge of mistakes.

Every NASCAR driver watches Formula One in the morning; they are well informed.

The man upstairs is pushing the buttons, and if your name happens to be on that button, well, thank you.

There is so much more demand for Formula One than it can supply. You have governments investing in circuits all over the world, and the private sector sometimes has a tough time competing with that.

If you're so afraid of failure, you will never succeed. You have to take chances.

I lived the true American dream, because I was able to pursue what I set as my goals at a very young age.

Unfortunately, we don't educate drivers enough to be respectful on the road.

In NASCAR, you can do a lot of banging around and get pretty serious and even get yourself upside down. All of those things can happen - and then you give an interview two seconds later.

You do the best you can with what's thrown at you, then you try again

When you start thinking you may get hurt, it's time to get out of racing.

There's something special about racing in real streets. The 'artificial' circuits have a certain sameness to them. But every race conducted on real streets has a character of its own - Barcelona, Monaco, and now Long Beach.

I don't have any feeling of accomplishment about anything unless there's a lot of risk to it.

I think it's counterproductive in many ways to pretend to know things you don't. You surround yourself with people who are the real experts.

The banked oval tracks are obsolete tracks for Indy cars.

I see all these old people who don't have anything to do but eat, drink and sleep. I will never say 'retired' because that's such a finality that I don't want to be part of my life. I'll work until they throw me in a box.

All of the courses that run through real streets are very demanding. There is no room for error, no shoulders to lean on. If you go off the road, you're into somebody's shop-window or front porch.

Al Unser Sr. was one of the smartest drivers I've ever raced against. And I often said, I wish I could've had some of his patience. I know it would have worked for me many times.

You see people in the left lane, and as long as they are on the speed limit, they stay there. Get in the right lane and let people pass you - let the police worry about somebody who wants to speed. Don't force them pass in the right lane and zig zag, which can create an accident, just because you think you're correct.

My last race was at Le Mans in 2000, my first race was in 1959, so I dodged a lot of bullets along the way, I can tell you that.

I wanted to have a career that would last a hundred years if possible.

What I learned is that in business you must make decisions based on facts, not react with your heart.

I like to think that the Grand Prix helped Long Beach to pretty much change its image.

I love all motor sports at the top level.

I love technology - yes, I have fallen in love with older cars, but I'm all for new technology.

Long Beach is the best. I tell everyone that.

The United States is the only country where a driver can have a successful career - either in stock cars or IndyCar - and he won't need a passport.

A father-son relationship is strong, like no other teammates. You could be straightforward with one another.

It makes great conversation to discuss what's wrong with open-wheel racing today.

I've always said, 'I didn't have a Plan B in life.' I was in pursuit of my dream from the very beginning. It's all about desire and passion. At all costs.

The most important thing at Daytona is, are you going to have friends willing to work with you during the race as far as drafting? You've got to have friends out there. You can't do it alone. You form those relationships as the race moves along.

You do a period of go-karting until you're at the age of qualifying for a ride in a 'school-kart,' then you qualify for driving school. And several of the driving schools have a competition series for their own students.

I don't remember as a kid wanting to do or be anything else but drive something, be a race driver.

I still have the competitive spirit, which is good.

I wish we could be 100% shielded from danger, but nothing is in life.

I've driven just about every kind of car there is.

If the Indy Racing League didn't have the Indianapolis 500, do you think it would have lasted more than six months? No chance.

Age doesn't affect driving - how do you like that?

At Indy, we are the NASA of the production-car world, and that's clearly why manufacturers are involved - it's such a good testbed.

Foreign players is what makes golf so popular now.

I always say that every win has something that is special.

If you weren't on Chris Economaki's radar screen, you probably weren't on anybody's.

My wife loves football, but I think she's resigned to the fact that I'll never make it there.

Nobody had race savvy like Al Unser in his prime.

Quite honestly, I treat myself with cars I really want to drive, and I have some flexibility to do that.

Whatever the changes, from one era to the next, Pocono has maintained its character and significance to me, and it always will. My family shares this sentiment.

From a prestige standpoint, the U.S. needs to host Formula 1. And I think Formula 1, they know they need the U.S. as well. So many companies that are global are based in the United States support Formula 1.

I don't think I could have called my career complete without racing in IROC. You always compete against the best of the best.

Car accidents are the leading killer of teens in this country. Teens are just learning to drive and face many distractions, so they're at a very high risk for accidents. We want to help teens learn good, safe habits from the very beginning. Our hope is our Safety Scholars program will help us find the best way to get all teens to hear this important message.

We don't need someone else to tell us when he's ready. We wouldn't put him out there if we didn't think he was.

You feel for guys you know deserve it, that you know have the ability but will be considered less of a champion if they don't get it done. That's why the guy that wins it does somersaults.

In the U.S., we really have fallen short of road-racing facilities that have kept up with the times, unfortunately, but it's a fact.

Can the U.S. support two Formula 1 races? I think so.

He's very much at ease with where he's at and who he is. The jury is still out (with his driving); the ultimate proof is in the races. But as a rookie going in, is he well-prepared? I think so.

I don't want to go out there and do something 3,000 other people can do.

If everything's under control, you're going too slow.

It is amazing how may drivers, even at the Formula One Level, think that the brakes are for slowing the car down.

If you don't come walking back to the pits every once in a while holding a steering wheel in your hands, you're not trying hard enough

A goal isn’t something you just arrive at and stop.You have to stay curious and hungry and foolish....

For every negative, there’s a positive. It’s in everything. How you deal with life, outlook, how much energy you put into achieving something. That’s why I detest entitlement. Anything that’s worthwhile is going to call for some sacrifice. Nothing worthwhile will come to you without a price. People think in sports, you have different rules. You really don’t. It’s whatever motivates you,

In racing, there is no question who is best - the first one to cross the finish line wins first prize. But with wine, even if you make the best wine in the world, someone isn't going to like it, because it isn't their style. Judging wine is very subjective.

The crashes people remember, but drivers remember the near misses.

I don't have many superstitions, just dumb things I don't talk about. I will not sign an autograph with a green pen.

Love what you do. Believe in your instincts. And you'd better be able to pick yourself up and brush yourself off every day.

The first time I fired up a car, felt the engine shudder and the wheel come to life in my hands, I was hooked. It was a feeling I can't describe. I still get it every time I get into a race car.

If you think you're always in control, then you're not going fast enough.

Failure is sucess if we learn from it.

Desire is the key to motivation.

I’ve always said I didn’t have a Plan B in life. I was in pursuit of my dream from the very beginning. It’s all about desire and passion. At all costs.

Speed is relative. You have to live it. You can't just jump into it. You have to live it all the time.

Tom Carnegie will never be replaced.

The only thing that happens if you wait, is that you get older.

If things don't seem out of control, you're not going fast enough.

The passport changes but the blood doesn't

You dream what you're supposed to do

My biggest concern during a race is getting bored. The biggest thing I have to combat is falling asleep while going around and around.

Nobody is born with a steering wheel or a gear shift in his hand. It's something you choose to do or you don't.

When you are losing it can seem like there is a black cloud following you around, but like they say there is a silver lining in every cloud.

Sebastian Vettel's brilliant talent will ultimately come forth and he'll continue to show what he's capable of. I will never ever degrade Vettel's ability. Sooner or later, he'll prove anyone so wrong

Sometimes you have to bring back only the steering wheel so the car owner will know that you're giving it all you have.

If you don't feel out of control, you're not driving fast enough.

Speed takes a little bit of getting used to, but rules have to be followed. At any speed, the more you run, the more you get used to it.