My interview with Mario Andretti

Mario Andretti's 1969 Champ Car win at Hanford Motor Speedway represented extreme highs and lows: a secret tire setup that left competitors in his dust and a freak pitlane accident that contributed to the death of a mechanic.

In a telephone interview with me from his Pennsylvania offices, Andretti recalled his five appearances at the Hanford tri-oval: a 1965 USAC stock car drive and four Champ Car races from 1967-1969 that resulted in one win, two third-place finishes and two DNFs from the third and fourth starting spots. He obviously found the speedway -- the rough 1.4-mile 1965 version and the renovated 1.5-mile late 1960s version -- a good match. 

Andretti heads down the front stretch in the 1967 Champ Car race at Hanford"I liked the layout," Andretti said. "I liked that it had different radius corners. It required a compromise in the setup. I liked that extra challenge." 

But Andretti's only vivid memories of his time at Hanford were of the April 1969 200-miler, the second race of the Champ Car season and the one immediately preceding his only Indianapolis 500 victory. A key to his Hanford win was to add stagger -- using tires on the outside wheels that were larger than the inside pair -- and therefore pick up speed through corners. 

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More photos from the 1967 Champ Car race

Here are some photos from the 1967 USAC Champ Car race at Hanford Motor Speedway. They came from the race program for the March 1968 race at Hanford, which explains the goofy cutouts and driver's name in script lettering.

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