- And good evening.

You've got More Than Money, You've got Gene Dickison, your host, your personal financial adviser.

For the next half an hour, I am at your service.

if you are a loyal viewer of our PBS 39 More Than Money show, you know that we bring you as much information that we find exciting, inspirational, and hopefully informational, as well, as we possibly can.

These are challenging times.

There are lots of things out there that cause people to have anxiety and concern.

And we encourage you, along with being compassionate and courteous, show some real courage as you face some of the challenges that you do on a day-by-day basis.

Understanding it is a challenging world.

There will always be challenges.

So, courage is a pretty interestingly valuable trait to have.

I say that specifically because we welcome to our More Than Money stage today a gentleman who not only has an American story that you'll wish to hear, but he is indeed truly an American legend.

We welcome to More than Money, Mr. Mario Andretti.

Mario, welcome.

- Thank you.

Thank you, Gene.

Thanks for having me.

- It's an absolute pleasure.

It's an interview we've been looking forward to for a very long time.

Mario, Lots of folks know a great deal about your racing accomplishments.

There's a lot of pieces to the puzzle that they may not be familiar with.

But I want to start with a question that may open up the conversation.

If you look back on everything that you've accomplished, all the many successes, what would you consider to be the highlight?

What's been most satisfying to you?

- Well, the most satisfying, I think, is how we kept the family together, with all of the demands, travels, and somewhat family sacrifices we and the family had to do to put up with me, with my ambitions.

Because, to satisfy my wishes, I had to give up quite a few things, you know, as I said, family picnics, all the other normal things that people do.

So, I think ultimately when I look back, and even as a family, the way things have worked out, how good our sport has been in general, you know, on my brother's side, my twin brother's side, and my side, you know?

Between the two of us, there have been eight race drivers in this family.

So, you can see that sport has played a big, big role throughout our professional lives.

- It makes perfect sense.

- I don't know if that answers your question - Oh, it answered it perfectly!

It answered it perfectly.

A lot of folks are not aware that the first 15 years of your life, when we talk about challenges today, your family faced challenges with World War II, with the communists taking over basically your hometown, living in a refugee camp, needing to completely relocate your entire family to the United States.

How in the world, number one, did you meet all those challenges?

Did you and, obviously, your parents?

And number two, how did that shape who you are today?

- Well, that's quite honestly...

Even though that seems to be a negative, it turned out to be a positive in my life for many reasons.

Because it almost, in some ways, I felt that I can cite so many situations where a negative became a positive.

So, by that, I mean, you never give up hope.

And, as bleak as things seemed to me at that certain time, somehow, either my dad or myself, we found a way to just overcome that and keep your head high.

And you know something?

If you have that frame of mind, that attitude, usually things have a way of working out.

And I have a myriad of situations, even throughout my career, thinking of negatives that have become positives.

So, that's the only way I can put it.

- Your father, obviously, as the head of the family, when you and your brother were young, you and your brother and sister were young, where do you think he got the courage to make such dramatic moves to try to better the lives of his family?

- Well, Gene, quite honestly, when we were in a refugee camp right after the war, things were not very hopeful, from the standpoint of even find a proper job.

And, since we had to, by choice relocated, so we won't have to succumb to communism.

My dad had to basically start all over.

And so, when the opportunity came up for him to come to America, we had an uncle on my mother's side who lived right here in Nazareth, where I am now.

And he's the one that suggested to my dad.

He said, "Well, why don't you come to America?

"You have to have a sponsor to obtain a visa."

My dad, in 1952, applied for visas to come here, and then, never give it a lot of thought, he thought maybe something will happen along the way.

Three years later, visas are approved, and it was time to make a decision.

My dad said, "Well," I said this a million times, by the way, my dad says, "Family, we're going to America maybe for five years, "and then, come back."

And that's, sort of, to soften the situation.

But he always said, "I'm doing this because I'm looking "at your future as kids."

I had a twin brother an older sister, Anna Maria.

And he says, "My life is what it is."

To him, you know, he thought his life was over.

But he said, "It's you kids that I'm thinking of," and that's how it all happened.

- If I understand right, there was an Italian racecar driver when you were, growing up, that was your idol.

I don't recall his name.

What was his name?

- Alberto Ascari.

Alberto Ascari, and this was in the mid-50s.

Formula One is this series.

Formerly, it was very young.

It became the world's World Championship Series in 1951.

But because of the protagonists, Ferrari, Maserati, being Italian, you know, it was huge in Italy.

And the current world champion in the '50s was Alberto Ascari.

And at that time he was doing it, the world champion had repeated two years in a row.

And me, as a kid, and my brother, we just became enamored with the sport because of, there's something that I don't know why attracted us to it.

And again, you know, once we saw the very first race in 1954 at age 14, at the Italian Grand Prix, you know, all of a sudden, the mold was cast.

You know, from there, my dream was only to become a race driver.

And he was the inspiration that I had and, because of him, I pursued this career, you know, vigorously and never had a plan B.

So, I can blame him for that.

- Leaving Italy when you did must have seemed at the moment to be a real tragedy.

You've got your personal hero, you've got racing, you've got all that right there.

You show up in Nazareth.

And, if I understand the story correctly, you and your brother hear racing, how did that unfold?

- Well, we arrived here in June, you know, in June, on a Thursday.

So, we were staying at my uncle's house at the time.

And it was a Sunday evening.

And we were just lounging around there just before dinner.

And we see lights in the background.

And then, that big roar of engines.

My brother and I looked at each other.

We had no idea about racing in America, and we were like, "Oh my goodness.

"This sounds good."

And we just booked, you know, we just found the noise.

And here we are at the fairgrounds.

We looked through that, you know, the barrier there, the fence.

And we see these good-looking cars there.

And the last time we saw race cars, obviously, was Formula One cars.

But this gave us some hope because this didn't look as sophisticated, but it looked doable.

So I say, "You know what?

"This could play pretty well."

So it was, you know, immediately there was a ray of hope for us kids, because, as you said, when we left Italy, our dream was to become race drivers there.

And that was either starting in motorcycles or cars, because I had idols in motorcycle racing, as well.

And then, we think, "Oh, my goodness, "here goes our dreams," you know, "they'll be shattered" and all that.

But then, here we are just two days after arriving here, you know, the big hope all of a sudden presented to us.

And we pursued that.

We pursued the idea of building one of those cars two years later at age 17.

- Was there anybody in the racing community that was guiding you at that point?

Or was it just you and your brother making your dreams come true?

- Well, you know, we used to hang around, we had a cousin, actually, they married our cousin.

He had a Sunoco gas station at the edge of town, just near the track, you know, actually in the fairgrounds.

And so, we used to hang around there and had a lot of, you know, opportunities to intermingle with people from our town here, and so on and so forth.

And immediately, we had no problem expressing ourselves, as far as the love for the sport.

So, one thing led to another.

And then, we assembled four buddies from just around the area here, when we started looking at this plan to build a racecar because we didn't know anything about it.

And I always say, "You got to have the geek," you know, "They've got to get the guy that knows everything "about everything somewhere among the team."

And we had that guy, this guy's name was Charlie Mitch.

You know, he lived near Bath and he knew all about NASCAR and everything.

So, we got the proper guidance.

We bought information from that ongoing team and NASCAR, the Hudson team with Marshall Teague.

In the book, they have written a book about Marshall Teague's career and the chapter talks about us, you know, just buying information from them, which was golden because, you know, we had all the setups that we needed to be competitive immediately.

So, we did quite a decent job, actually.

- Pretty decent, I think, is an understatement.

During this time, you're not just racing, you're not just becoming part of the American fabric.

But apparently, if I understand correctly, your wife, Dee Ann, you married her when you two were really young.

Was it true she was only 19 when you got married?

- Indeed, yes.

And I was 21.

- And you raised a family that she...

I don't know, is the word "allowed" the right word?

Did she allow your sons to go into the sport?

Was she giving it her blessing, or was she just praying on the sidelines?

- Well, a little bit of both.

Dee Ann was the rock for us, for me throughout my career at the beginning, and we had a young family, obviously, immediately, and the oldest son, Michael, was the first one that, at nine years of age, he thought, "Maybe I'll have a taste of something," And I bought a competitive go-kart, and I put him in a go-kart during the weekend, you know, I set up a course at the local high school parking lot, and I said, "Let's see how he likes it."

And Dee Ann would just roll her eyes, you know, and said, "OK, boys will be boys."

She knew, obviously, how much all of this meant to me, as far as my career, and so forth.

And, OK, we have a boy, let's see whether he's been exposed to this sort of thing, and let's see whether he really wants to take this thing on.

And it was early, but somehow, he it took like a duck to water.

You look, he looked like he was doing the right things right away.

You can tell that.

And that's how it all started.

And he competed at a very young age.

He wasn't even old enough.

I had to sign him up at the national level, you know, and went in some races.

And so, again, Dee Ann was not a race fan, I could ever say, but she knew what she was getting into.

And obviously, when she accepted to marry me, or to be married to me.

But along the way, you know, we had some tough times and uncertain times.

And you know what?

She was always solid, you know, and no big emotions either way, which was exactly what I needed, quite honestly.

And when I reflect and look back today, I could have never done anything in my life, especially in my professional life, without someone like her.

- Goodness.

Mario, you've won more races on more different kinds of tracks with more different kinds of race cars than anybody in history.

What do you think it was about your style, or your approach to racing that allowed you to do what most people would say is unthinkable?

- Well, Gene I can say is I was always driven by love, the love of the sport, and a desire, a burning desire to just do it.

And that was just not satisfied... One to really specialize in one discipline.

The high levels of our sport, the different areas and the top disciplines.

I mean, just behind me, you see Formula One, you see sports cars, you see stock cars.

And I had the opportunity to be tried with top teams, something that was out of my specialty.

And that curiosity just gave me even more desire to just experience that, because I think it was increasing my dimension, as far as, you know, some of the knowledge that you need to be the best you can be in your profession.

And as you can see, you're shooting for the ultimate every weekend, whether you have a realistic chance or not.

But then when the result that you're seeking becomes reality, the satisfaction is just beyond explanation.

You know, you just had to be there.

And I had those moments that... And, you know, what gave me all the inspiration or all the courage and the confidence that I needed just to keep pursuing this more and more.

And like I said, that the sport has been just blessed and incredible to me.

We had our drawbacks, setbacks, you know, family-wise.

We had injuries and things like that.

As you know, my twin brother, for instance, he couldn't realize his dreams and my younger son couldn't because of major injury, you know, racing.

So, we knew the reality of it.

You know, take nothing for granted.

But overall, as I say, you know, this sport has given us so much.

And I was just thinking, I don't know, I'm thinking in the shower, I said, "OK, what is really important in my career, my life?"

And I look back...

I raced in six continents.

And I won races in five continents, and I was on a podium in all six continents.

But when I was on podium, my son, Michael, won the race, an Andretti won races in six continents, you know?

And when I looked back, I said, "My goodness, "are we blessed or not?"

You know, and the fact that for the sixth continent, which is Australia, my nephew, John, also won a major race.

These are not local races, but major international races, you know, it was an IndyCar race that John won.

And when Michael won, I was on podium there.

So, I claimed podium in all six continents.

And so, again, you know, you look back, you know, I'll give you another one.

My family was in Pocono in 1986, the Pocono 500.

There was a supporting race with the IndyCar race.

My younger son, Jeff, was a supporting race.

He was on pole for that race.

He won that race.

And the major, the 500, Michael was on pole for the 500, and I won the 500.

Between the three of us, we cleaned house that weekend.

Now, as a family on, you know, I look, in my sports bar, I have a photo, you know, with Barbie, my daughter up on the podium with Jeff and myself, and Michael.

I mean, can you want anything more?

No.

So, again, you know, I don't know to explain it, but blessings are plenty here.

- Without a doubt.

And I was going to ask you, who, among the competitors that you raced against, were your toughest competitors?

I'm going to suspect you kept it in the family.

Some of the most difficult races you had were against your own family members.

I want to talk about this idea of blessings for a second.

You became an American citizen 55 years ago.

So, you've been an American citizen longer than you were officially an Italian citizen.

What has that meant to you, in terms of your career and your family?

- Well, to me, it meant a privilege.

Privilege to be able to do that, to become a citizen in a country that, in so many ways, provided everything we could ever want out of life.

And I always said this, and I continue saying that I'm a perfect example of the American dream as an immigrant, and so thankful and proud.

You know, 1977 was another milestone for me.

As a Formula One driver, since it's so international, I think that is something extremely special, and it's a feather in your cap if you can win your own country's Grand Prix.

And in '77, I won the US Grand Prix, which no other American driver has done before or since.

And at the same time, later on that season, I won the Italian Grand Prix, which is my native Grand Prix.

So how can I want anything more?

You know, as I say, when I look back, I just have to pinch myself.

- Goodness gracious.

One of the personalities that you were connected to during your racing career is one that many people watching our show this evening are going to connect to a different profession.

You spent a fair amount of time with Paul Newman.

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

- Oh, yes, indeed.

Actually, I met Newman in 1967.

And so... And then, somehow he became enamored with the sport, because I met him at a race where I was driving for Ford as a factory, they call the Can-Am series in Long Island.

And Ford brought him on and had, on a Sunday morning, he had a sponsor, the sponsor on the car was Paul Newman.

So, here is Paul Newman enjoying showing up.

And that's when I first met him.

And a year later, he did the movie Winning, which is about a driver obviously winning Indianapolis and the road to Indy, and all that.

And then, soon after that, he started driving amateur racing in SCCA, and we kept bumping into each other.

And when I came out of Formula One, he had even you know, he owned some Can-Am teams, and he even asked, invited me to drive some of the races for him, but I couldn't because I was already committed.

And then, in 1980, at the end of '82, when I came back to the United States to finish my career in IndyCar, I wanted to be with a team that I would have some control with.

You know, not that I want to own the team, but I lined myself up with a Lola Importer, you know, Carl Haas from Chicago, who had been a team owner as well, but not in IndyCars.

And then, I got he and Paul Newman together, and they formed a new team, and I drove for that team for 12 seasons.

That's the longest that I've ever driven for any team.

We won 18 IndyCar races together, a championship, and we became really good friends.

I have so many stories about him.

What a guy, what a guy.

An amazing individual.

He made my life richer, believe me, by knowing him and having him in my life for so many years.

And so, again, that was another part that I consider very precious in my life, for sure.

- A blessing, indeed.

And all of us who admired Paul Newman from afar, who never had the chance to get to know him, are very relieved and appreciative to find out that he was as good a man in his personal life as he appeared to be.

- Mario, I'm going to ask you one, it may be our final question, we'll see how time flows.

You've stayed in Nazareth all these years.

You could have lived anywhere, anywhere around the world.

Why did you choose to stay here?

- Because I chose.

I had been pressured many times because I have been driving most of my career for teams especially on the West Coast, and they said, "Why don't you live in Phoenix?"

You know, "Why don't you live in L.A.?

"Why don't you live in..." And I never had any desire, never, you know, any thoughts about moving from Nazareth.

I mean, my parents were here, Dee Ann's parents.

But overall, however, it was totally by choice.

My sister moved on and she married, and she lived in Florida.

My you know, my brother in '64, he married a local girl, but they moved on in Indianapolis.

And it's been Indianapolis since 1964.

But I stayed here, happily so.

And I will stay here until the end of my days, happily so, as well.

- I think, I don't pretend to speak on behalf of the Lehigh Valley or Nazareth, but we are very, very happy that you've chosen to make this your permanent home, and hopefully for many, many years to go.

And maybe, if we're very lucky in a future show, we'll get maybe some of the Andretti kids or grandkids.

We'll get a group of Andrettis together to talk about... Maybe they can talk a little bit about what it was like growing up Andretti.

That'd be a pretty fascinating story, I would think.

- Well, they certainly welcome.

Yeah, there's plenty of us around.

- Mario, thank you so very much for sharing part of your day with us and, on behalf of our audience.

we want to thank you not just for your career, but for your role model throughout the sport and throughout Pennsylvania, as well.

Thank you, sir.

- You're very kind, Gene.

Thank you.

My pleasure.

- And as we wrap this show, I want to thank Mario Andretti one more time.

That's a story that all of us can be inspired by.

If you think you have challenges, I'm sure you do, we all do, but when you see someone who has taken those challenges and said, "That's interesting, now I'm "going to step it up, now I'm going to be competing on "a higher and higher level just to see what I can accomplish," its got to give you strength of heart.

It's got to give you that sense of courage that we all need on a day-by-day basis to face the challenges that 2021 has presented to us.

If you wish to be part of our More Than Money experience going forward, we invite you to do so.

We talk about all manner of topics on air, investments, income taxes, estate planning.

And, as you just heard, American stories about folks who have accomplished the kinds of things that we would want to accomplish if we thought we could.

And that's their message to you - you can.

If you have a question for us, an email that you'd like to answer perhaps on a future show, we answer every single email directly.

So, whether your email appears on a future edition of More Than Money or not, you will get the counsel of myself, our entire team based in the holy lands just south of Nazareth, just north of Bethlehem.

Mario and I are, in essence, neighbors.

We're happy to serve you.

So, send me those emails, Gene@AskMTM.com.

Gene@AskMTM.com.

And we'll see you next time on More Than Money.

Goodnight.