---
title: "Mario, Michael, and Marco Andretti: Racing Is a Family Business"
description: "Three generations of world-class racing drivers explain what motorsports mean to the Andretti family."
date: "2018-04-03"
modified: "2019-07-16"
authors:
  - name: "Jerry Perez"
    job_title: "Deputy Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jerry-perez"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/19851/mario-michael-and-marco-andretti-racing-is-a-family-business"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
  - "People"
  - "Racing"
tags:
  - "Andretti Autosport"
  - "Formula 1"
  - "Indycar Series"
  - "Marco Andretti"
  - "Mario Andretti"
  - "racing"
---

# Mario, Michael, and Marco Andretti: Racing Is a Family Business

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/04/04cj9659.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

The world of motor racing is filled with many famous last names, stars, and some would even dare say icons, but few last names evoke the kind of folklore and magic that Andretti does. From [Formula 1](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/18735/heres-how-the-2018-formula-1-liveries-shouldve-looked>) to IndyCar, NASCAR, and even Pikes Peak, they've done it all.

[Mario Andretti](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/195/mario-andretti-and-the-brutal-magic-of-monza>) and his family left their home country of Italy in 1955 at the age of 15 years old and settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where some of the Andretti family including his grandson Marco still reside to this date. Fast forward to the late '80s, when Mario and his young son Michael made history by becoming the first father-son duo to compete against each other in the back then called, IMSA GT and Champ Car racing series.

This [video](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uup_6vRp90&feature=youtu.be>) commissioned by Firestone, a backer of the Andretti family for decades, shows us the more personal side of the three generations of racers. Mario, Michael, and Marco share what it's like to sit at a dinner table when every chair is occupied by a member of one of the greatest [racing dynasties](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/10281/quadriplegic-racer-sam-schmidt-faces-off-with-mario-andretti-at-indy>) to ever exist.

https://youtube.com/embed/5uup_6vRp90

"Racing has been my life," said Mario. "Then I think it just spread; it's kind of contagious," he added while pointing at his son Michael. "For us, it's the family business. What's more fulfilling for a father to [build a business](<https://epconfranchising.com/epcon-homebuilding-franchise/why-become-an-epcon-franchise-builder/>) and have the second and third generation follow? It's a tremendous pride."

[Marco Andretti](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/19608/sights-and-sounds-of-the-indycar-ims-road-course-test>) is that third generation, and 2018 marks his 12th season as a full-time IndyCar racing driver. Despite coming awfully close to winning the Indy 500 in 2016 as a rookie, Marco has struggled to put as many wins under his belt as he did in the lesser series.

"It doesn't matter what field you're in, [the bar is being raised](<https://www.thedrive.com/video/5223/we-chauffeured-two-indycar-drivers-in-a-196-000-mercedes-benz-maybach>) every year," said Marco. "There's no downtime if you want to succeed."

## Author
Jerry is responsible for upholding The Drive's ethos as an audience-first, enthusiast-driven car blog that serves up industry-leading news, reviews, culture, and motorsport coverage. Overseeing a staff of writers and editors from his home base in Indianapolis, he helps curate the site's daily rundown, as well as its medium- and long-term content strategies. Jerry joined The Drive in 2018 as a writer and worked as news editor and managing editor before becoming the deputy in 2023. As a lifelong car enthusiast and racing fan, Jerry believes that all cars are cool, but the people behind the machines are even cooler. This belief often gives The Drive a slightly different focus from most other car sites, where we explore the humanity behind the machines. When he's not obsessing over the day's biggest stories or hanging out at a race track, Jerry can be found behind the wheel of a car, most likely sharing a laugh with his teenage son or daughter.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/drive_jerry/>)