Former IndyCar ace Mario Andretti reflects on his ‘fondest memories’ at the Long Beach

Former Formula One and IndyCar driver Mario Andretti recently spoke about his fondest memories at the Long Beach street track. He has four wins at the street track.

As the ACURA Grand Prix of Long Beach is marking its 50th anniversary, IndyCar recently asked their past drivers about their fondest memories at the street track. Andretti replied that his four wins here top the list.

“The fondest memories I have racing on the streets of Long Beach are my four victories. I won the second Formula One race at Long Beach in 1977. In 1984, when the event switched from Formula One to INDYCAR, I won for the second time. That began a run of three victories in four years. On top of that, my son Michael had his first and last career INDYCAR wins at Long Beach. This track is obviously a family favorite,” he said.

Despite not winning the inaugural race at the track, Mario Andretti gave it fame by becoming the only American driver to stand on the top step of the podium at a U.S. Grand Prix in 1977.

In 1984, Andretti won his second race at the track, but this time, it was with the IndyCar series. The American driver was driving for Newman-Haas when he put in a spectacular lap of 1:42:50 to win the race, marking the beginning of back-to-back race wins at the track. His son, Michael Andretti, also won twice at the iconic track, in 1986 and 2002.

Mario Andretti will return to the iconic track this year as Grand Marshall alongside Al-Unser Jr at the ACURA Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, April 13.

Mario Andretti speaks about how Long Beach rescued street races

The Long Beach Grand Prix will mark its 50th anniversary on Sunday, making it one of the longest-running Grand Prix. Mario Andretti recently revealed how this Grand Prix prevented the street race from going extinct.

The first race at this track was in 1975 when Formula One raced at the street course till 1983. However, it was Andretti's win that grabbed the attention of the fans. He became the first American driver to win at an American track. He has a total of four wins at the track and has made his name synonymous with the track.

Andretti told Post Telegram recently:

"I’m one of the few still around, as a driver, of course, who was there from the very beginning. You have to realize, in our sport, street racing at the time was actually becoming extinct in Europe, and all of a sudden, here, it’s becoming a thing in the States. None of the inside experts thought it was going to survive, and it did survive in the best possible way. It blossomed."

Mario Andretti was often called the 'King of Beach' for his multiple wins at the track.