Like father, like son. Back in the early 1970s, while Mario Andretti was burnishing his legend on the auto-racing circuit, his son Michael was preparing for bigger things by racing go-karts. Winner of 50 out of 75 go-kart races between the ages of 10 and 17, Michael then followed in his father’s tracks -- literally.

After qualifying for his Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) amateur and national license in 1980, Michael won the Toyota Pro-Celebrity contest at Watkins Glen, N.Y., that same year. A year later, he captured the SCCA Northeast Division Formula Ford title and took six national victories. He stepped up to the Bosch-Super Vee series in 1982, gaining the championship with six victories and being named SCCA Pro Rookie of the Year.

In 1983, Michael teamed with his father for the first time, finishing third in the 24 Hours of LeMans. A year later, in his debut at the Indianapolis 500, he qualified in fourth position and finished fifth, sharing “Co-Rookie of the Year” honors with Roberto Guerrrero.

Michael’s breakthrough season came in 1986, when he scored Indy Car wins at Long Beach, Calif.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Phoenix, Ariz. At the Phoenix event, he qualified second to his father, creating racing’s first-ever father-son front row.

More history-making drives were on the way. In 1989, Michael began racing with the Newman/Haas team under a Kmart/Texaco/Havoline sponsorship in 1989 as his father’s teammate -- the first time a father and son raced as members of the same Indy Car team. After three years as CART runner-up, Michael won the PPG Indy Car World Series Championship in 1991. And what a year it was, with a record-setting eight wins, 965 laps led, 234 PPG Cup points and eight pole positions.

After leaving the CART series in 1993 to compete in Formula One, Michael returned two years later to take his father’s place behind the wheel of the Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Lola. In 1996, he won a series-high five races while finishing second in the Championship.

Michael again made history in 1997 when he scored a win for the all-new, American-made chassis in its debut run, the first time an American-made car had won a CART race in 14 years. In 1999, he recorded a victory in St. Louis, Mo. and scored five podium finishes en route to fourth place in the FedEx Championship standings.

In 2000, his final year with the Kmart/Texaco/Havoline team, Michael added to his impressive win total with victories in Japan and Toronto, Canada, and finished eighth in the season standings.

Over his career, he has won more races, led more laps and won more pole positions than any active CART or Indy driver -- a fit achievement for the son of Mario Andretti.

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