Quotes from Mario Andretti

My last race was at Le Mans in 2000, my first race was in 1959, so I dodged a lot of bullets along the way, I can tell you that.

I've always said I didn't have a Plan B in life. I was in pursuit of my dream from the very beginning. It's all about desire and passion. At all costs.

You should never get away from where the real foundation of Formula One has been, which is Europe. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the expansion to countries like Asia, China, Malaysia.

The most important thing at Daytona is, are you going to have friends willing to work with you during the race as far as drafting? You've got to have friends out there. You can't do it alone. You form those relationships as the race moves along.

I count my blessings every day, quite honestly, because I take nothing for granted.

Can the U.S. support two Formula 1 races? I think so.

When you start thinking you may get hurt, it's time to get out of racing.

It makes great conversation to discuss what's wrong with open-wheel racing today.

If the Indy Racing League didn't have the Indianapolis 500, do you think it would have lasted more than six months? No chance.

If you weren't on Chris Economaki's radar screen, you probably weren't on anybody's.

Foreign players is what makes golf so popular now.

A racing car is an animal with a thousand adjustments.

I love technology - yes, I have fallen in love with older cars, but I'm all for new technology.

I'm so thankful that I've had such a long and uninterrupted [knocks wood] career... I count my blessings every day for that because it was so fulfilling.

As far as I'm concerned, Parnelli Jones was the greatest driver of his era. He had aggressiveness and also a finesse that no one else possessed. And he won with everything he put his hands on, including off-road.

I see all these old people who don't have anything to do but eat, drink and sleep. I will never say 'retired' because that's such a finality that I don't want to be part of my life. I'll work until they throw me in a box.

Speed is relative. You have to live it. You can't just jump into it. You have to live it all the time.

Al Unser Sr. was one of the smartest drivers I've ever raced against. And I often said, I wish I could've had some of his patience. I know it would have worked for me many times.

You can't take a vacation from speed. I probably could have taken more time off and not driven in all the different disciplines, but I wanted to drive, drive and drive.

I wanted to have a career that would last a hundred years if possible.

You see people in the left lane, and as long as they are on the speed limit, they stay there. Get in the right lane and let people pass you - let the police worry about somebody who wants to speed. Don't force them pass in the right lane and zig zag, which can create an accident, just because you think you're correct.

Tom Carnegie will never be replaced.

With tennis, you can go pick up a racket, take a lesson, and understand how much talent and skill it takes to be as good as the top pros. Same with golf: pick up a club. But not many can go out and get in a race car and experience a drive at over 200 miles an hour.

I like to think that the Grand Prix helped Long Beach to pretty much change its image.