“But you know, at the beginning of those seasons, especially when I got to drive sprint cars, you'd look around at the drivers' meeting and say, 'Who's going to be here at the end?'
“We would lose four to six every year. In 1964 we lost two drivers in sprint cars in two races – four in two different races. And one of them was my teammate.”
While each circuit presented a daunting challenge for drivers of the day, particularly in the IndyCar disciplines, Andretti cites the infamous Langhorne as a track particularly known for taking few prisoners.
“The place claimed 52 lives,” he emphasizes. “The year before I was allowed to drive the IndyCar [in 1963] I was a spectator in the infield looking for a ride [at Langhorne] and there was one death. Bobby Marvin was killed in turn 2 and I watched him burn. And I took him with me.”
Andretti cut his teeth on treacherous sprint car dirt ovals
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Andretti's second-ever IndyCar event took place at the track, with the 1978 Formula 1 champion expressing his feelings before the race.
“I was really, really worried – just because all the talk was about the danger aspect and I'd never driven it before,” he remembers.
“Right away there was just a short circuit, you basically just drove with the accelerator. One area in Turn 2 was very bumpy. You had to grit your teeth and just power through it. If you backed out, you would turn around.”
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