"This was a fortunate time in my career": $130M-worth Mario Andretti shares memories of his Daytona 500 victory with Holman-Moody

Racing icon Mario Andretti reflected on his historic win in the 1967 Daytona 500 in a recent interview. Andretti is one of only two drivers, along with A.J. Foyt, to have won the prestigious event having never been a full-time NASCAR driver.

The racing legend, who's worth $130 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, sat down with Jason Toy of Motor Racing Network in an episode of NASCAR Live. The episode is titled "The 500 Club" as it looked back on past Daytona 500 winners.

Driving for Holman-Moody Racing, co-owned by John Holman and Ralph Moody, Mario Andretti expressed his gratitude to get to race for one of the more prominent NASCAR teams of the 1960s. He said:

"This was a fortunate time in my career to be able to team up with one of definitely the top teams at the moment, Holman-Moody. John Holman was a good friend and a guy that I could always go to. Ralph was the mechanical side." [6:01 onwards]

Andretti raced for Holman-Moody in 10 of his 14 NASCAR races, including in his triumph in the 1967 Daytona 500. The 84-year-old gave a lot of credit to Moody, who was recently inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He also praised longtime crew chief Jake Elder for helping fine-tune his car to get him ready to participate in the Daytona 500.

"They came up with a pretty good setup to get me going. We unloaded the car and it felt like I had never felt a stock car feel. It was a very special beginning in that respect. We had some work to do on the engine side, but Jake Elder, good ol' Jake came to the rescue with the race engine and the package was perfect for me." [6:35 onwards]

Mario Andretti started 12th in his #11 Holman-Moody Racing Ford and proceeded to dominate on that day in 1967, leading 112 of the race's 200 laps en route to victory. It would be Andretti's only NASCAR win. Andretti and Foyt are also the only two drivers in history to have won both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 as Andretti would become the Indy 500 champion in 1969.

A look at Mario Andretti's career

Mario Andretti was one of the most successful racers in all of motorsports. He most notably competed in Formula One from 1968 to 1982 and in IndyCar from 1964 to 1994.

Andretti was a four-time IndyCar National champion, winning titles in 1965, 1966, 1969, and 1984. He won the Formula One World Drivers' championship in 1978 and also the USAC Silver Crown in 1974.

Aside from his Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 victories, Andretti also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1972, alongside Jacky Ickx.