Mario Andretti on AJ Foyt: My Greatest Rival
Indycar adversaries in the 1960s and ’70s, their frosty relationship remained cool throughout their racing careers. So just how did AJ become Mario’s BFF?
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I’ve had so many great rivals but the one that lasted the longest was AJ Foyt. We fought really hard through the 1960s and ’70s, never gave an inch, and there were a few scrapes along the way.
When I arrived at the top level in Indycars he was already a champion, the one you had to go after, and when I won my first road race he was second, and that didn’t go down too well. That’s natural, I was new on the scene, and a thorn in his side.
I regarded him as the supremo on the dirt tracks but then, at the Hoosier Hundred in 1967, it got pretty serious. I beat him on the dirt. That race was a turning point – he’d always been the king there. That day I beat the king – I passed him right at the end.
