John Andretti's life was driven by family and fueled by a passion for racing. In Racer, Andretti candidly recounts how these powerful forces shaped a diverse professional driving career. The honesty and character that defined Andretti's life offer a behind-the-scenes look at racing at all levels full of lessons in racing and life supplied by this fiery and fiercely competitive driver.
John is a wonderful storyteller, and the book is comprised of a series of John's stories as told to bestselling author Jade Gurss (Beast, In the Red, Driver #8). The book opens with John's memories of growing up as a member of auto racing's famous family. His father, Aldo, is the twin brother of Mario Andretti. The book offers an intimate look at the interplay between these two men, and how their intensity and integrity shaped John's life.
John was one of the world's most versatile race car drivers, and Racer includes John's remembrances of scoring wins in the NASCAR Cup series, IndyCar, IMSA sports car racing, and in sprint cars and midgets on dirt ovals across the country. He also tells about his experience winning the 24 Hours of Daytona, competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and even his colorful venture racing an NHRA Top Fuel dragster.
The powerful narrative includes John's substantial charity work, and the story of how he contracted colon cancer at age 53 and turned his affliction into a public awareness campaign.
Racer is an intimate look at racing at the highest levels as well as life lessons from one of the world's most celebrated motorsports family.
Andretti, John: - "
John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963 - January 30, 2020) was an American race car driver. He won individual races in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR during his career. He was the son of Aldo Andretti, older brother of racer Adam Andretti, nephew of Mario Andretti, and first cousin to IndyCar champion Michael and Jeff Andretti.
Andretti devoted vast amounts of time and energy to raise funds for sick children. For 23 years, John's "Race for Riley" program raised more than $4.8 million for Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. With his long-time sponsor Window World, Andretti also helped raised millions for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Andretti was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 53. He soon began a program to raise awareness and to encourage people to get colonoscopies at or before age 50. As he went through multiple surgeries and barbaric chemotherapy treatments, he never stopped sharing his message.
Andretti passed away on January 30, 2020, with his entire family (wife Nancy, son Jarett, and daughters Olivia and Amelia) by his side.
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Andretti, Mario: -
Mario Andretti was voted "Driver of the Century" in 1999, but his heroics on the race track take a back seat to his role as uncle to John Andretti. Mario's twin brother Aldo is John's father. Mario is known as a driver who could race and win in nearly anything on four wheels. His superlatives are nearly too many to list: Formula 1 World Driving Champion, IndyCar National Champion, winner of the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 and 12 Hours of Sebring to name a few. He resides in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, just as he did when he and Aldo arrived in the United States as emigrants from Italy in 1955. The twin brothers celebrated their 80th birthdays in February.
Andretti, Michael: -
Michael is the son of Mario and the cousin of John Andretti. He followed his father's footsteps into racing and had a driving career that was very successful. He was the IndyCar National Champion in 1991, and is ranked fourth in all-time career race victories in the long history of IndyCar racing. He has been even more successful as a race team owner. His Andretti Autosport team has won numerous IndyCar championships and Indy 500s. The team currently competes in a number of categories around the globe, including Formula E, GT4 America, Australian Supercars, Indy Lights and the IndyCar series. He is the father of IndyCar driver Marco Andretti. Michael and his family currently reside outside of Indianapolis.
Foyt, A. J.: -
The tough Texan A.J. Foyt is world renowned as one of the most successful and versatile race car drivers in history. He was the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times and has a long resume of victories, including being the winningest driver in the history of IndyCar racing (67 wins). He is the only man to win the Indy 500, the Daytona 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a career. Foyt, who was John Andretti's godfather, resides in Houston, and is the long-time owner of A.J. Foyt Racing.
Gurss, Jade: -
Jade Gurss is the owner of fingerprint inc. The company was founded in 1999 to direct media and public relations for clients such as Anheuser-Busch and the Budweiser NASCAR program with driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Gurss is the co-author of two New York Times Best Selling books. "Driver #8" (Warner Books) chronicles Earnhardt Jr's rookie season. It is believed to be the most successful book about auto racing in American publishing history, spending 17 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. He also co-wrote "DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles" (Putnam Books), which reached the New York Times Best Seller non-fiction list in February 2004.
fingerprint inc. has been consistently innovative in developing a long list of media firsts for a NASCAR driver for Earnhardt Jr., from major magazine features to a series of documentaries on networks such as MTV, CMT and other non-sports outlets such as 60 Minutes, Rolling Stone Magazine and Playboy.
Prior to forming fingerprint inc., Gurss was in charge of marketing and publicity for Ilmor Engineering, the race-engine design and manufacturing arm of Mercedes-Benz. He also managed sports publicity for Mercedes-Benz USA while at the Cotter Group in Charlotte, NC after being the director of publicity at Heartland Park Topeka in the early 1990s.
A native of Topeka, Kansas, Gurss has a bachelor's degree in broadcast communications (Cum Laude with departmental honors) from Washburn University, and has a technical degree as a certified audio engineer. Gurss has a background as a musician and in video and television production.
Gurss actively provides lectures and presentations for universities as well as corporate clients on topics such as sports marketing and publicity, small business ownership, and NASCAR.
Petty, Richard: -
Known as "the King," Richard Petty is the all-time winningest driver in NASCAR history. His 200 victories far exceeds the win total of any other NASCAR driver. His race team, now known as Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), featured John Andretti in the famous No. 43 car in the 1990s and 2000s, and considered John to be one of their family. Behind the wheel, the King earned seven Daytona 500 wins and was NASCAR Cup champion a record seven times. Richard Petty is the son of the late NASCAR champion Lee Petty, the father of racer Kyle Petty and grandfather of the late Adam Petty. Richard Petty resides in his hometown of Randleman, North Carolina.
