RACING'S CURSED FAMILY! The Story of the 'Andretti Curse' (1965-?)
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- I'm not big on American racing, but one thing I have heard a lot about is the so-called Andretti Curse- Something that has meant that the Andretti Family only has a single Indy 500 to its name, while the Unser family holds records left right and centre... Probably.
So what is the curse? Is it actually a thing? Are the Andrettis that unlucky at Indy? Let's have a look at that, and some other sporting curses.
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I like the swing music. I think it should be here permanently...
not sure about it, it's less relaxing than the jazz
Its a new era
I love it!
It's OK, but I prefer the last intro music. I thought it would be a one off for the Las Vegas video yesterday.
I like it
Great video - as always. The 1987 Indy500 retirement was not, actually, an electrical issue. Mario was running the then new Ilmor Chevrolet engine. He had such a lead by lap 180, that he "backed it down", running in 6th gear to save revs on the engine. The lower sustained revs put the intake valve springs at a then unknown natural frequency. The repeated load cycles caused the valve spring to fail prematurely. Mario actually lost the race by "taking it too easy" - probably further fuel to the Andretti curse.
BTW - "Electrical" failure is what teams often blamed engine failures on... figuring it was less damaging to the reputations of the engine manufacturers. The Joke was "Electrical failure?! Maybe the connecting rod damaged a wiring harness when it punched through the block..."
Great video as always! As for F1-specific "curses", from 2005 until 2018, there was this Hungarian GP curse where the driver who happened to win at the Hungaroring would end up failing to claim the drivers' title that season.
There was a similar curse for the Austrian GP between 2014-2022 with the exception of Verstappen in 2021 (who himself won in 2021 in a contentious way)
Just curious how Mario finished 2nd at LeMans in 95, could’ve won but for a pit stop to clean the windshield for sponsor logo. It was an open top WSC car, the windscreen was no more then an air deflector free of logos. How can this be???
Love the channel, keep up the good work
I’m lucky enough to have done 2 laps around Mid-Ohio sitting behind Mario in a 2 seater Indycar in 2013... what a legend, and such a nice guy!
How Sway?
Yeah, I got to talk to him for about 10 minutes in '96 at a user's conference my company was holding, where he was the keynote speaker. Super personable, just really fun to be around.
Takuma Sato having more Indy wins than the entire Andretti family is pretty funny.
And Ericsson as well as Sato having more than “greatest of his generation” Alonso as well
You could say the same for Scott Dixon. 6 titles, 56 wins (1 in CART), 32 poles, 138 podiums (3 in CART). Only 1 win at Indy (2008).
The real question is would Dixon trade one of his titles for another Indy win? I doubt he would from what I can see from him in his demanor.
At 10:18 I would like to add one more name that has won in F1, IndyCar, and NASCAR, that being Dan Gurney, the man who finished 2nd to Andretti in his 500 win
The 2006 500 was heartbreaking. Marco had the lead out of turn 4 and was passed by Sam Hornish, Jr. coming to the checker. Marco was leading untill about 100 yards to go.
I've heard this explained. Did something break or was he just waving to the crowd and let off?
@@TwoAcresandaMule Nope, Hornish just got a better run off turn 4 and used the draft from Marco to drive around him. Also, that was the first time in Indianapolis 500 history that a winning pass happened on the final lap.
@@tomanderson6335 It was said that in race trim, Hornish was 5 mph better the Marco.
There was video following the race, showing Dan Weldon watching a video of the finish, Weldon said Marco didn't do anything to defend his lead down the front straight, not a move not a block, nothing.
Mario Andretti is a legend. I met him in 2017 and won a raffle to have a ride in a sportscar with him. Just the loveliest guy you could meet.
That’s really cool. He’s not really covered much here in Europe but I’ve watched loads on RUclips about him and he come across like a real legend. I get the impression he just loves racing and will talk about racing with anyone.
Should Andretti's team be allowed to come to F1, i can only hope their curse doesn't persist
I know as it took them 9 seasons in FE to win a title with Jake Dennis the current reigning champ and also despite Sam Bird's efforts the 1st Briton to win it.
The Curse of the Billy Goat lasted 71 years against the Chicago Cubs.
Mario's 1987 race probably hurt the most. With 25 laps to go while in the lead, he had been backing off to protect his engine. The lower revs developed a harmonic imbalance in the engine, which led to a broken valve spring. He lapped the field by 2 laps and second place was one lap down.
Micheal had the mechanical gremlins curse. In the total laps lead at Indy, Michael ranks 11th. Out of the top 32 lap leaders, all but Micheal and Rex Mays have won the race.
As a Calgary Flames fan I'm wondering what curse they've been under. I never knew they were under a curse, but I guess it's the curse of lousy ownership.
@@RRaquello not being able to win in Anaheim.
@@AidanMillward This year there's 32 cities they can't win in.
That reminds me of Glenn Seton dropping a spring with about 10 laps to go at Bathurst in 1995.
It's not as bad as some curses - they all have survived. The Unsers may have won the IndyCar series more, but oldest brother Jerry had a fatal crash in a practice session for the Indy 500.
My dad always said that Mario had so many DNFs because he drove a 500 mile race like it would be over in 30 minutes. Mario is still the most fun guy to see in the IndyCar paddock, standing around greeting a huge line of fans in the Andretti hospitality area, one by one, being cheerful and happy to see everyone. He's an icon.
Just a FYI the curse was placed by his former chief mechanic Clint Brawner’s wife after Andretti split in 1971.
WHAT??? Never heard of it!
In 1993? John Andretti drove in Indycars, Stock cars, and a top fuel dragster. If i remember correctly the sponsor was Pennzoil.
I was at LeMans 2000. And during the drivers parade through the city of Lemans, when the car that Mario was in came by the mob of fans surrounded his car all looking for his autograph. I was one and made my way within arms reach of Mario. I handed him my ball cap to sign. As he was doing this I told him that him racing with team Panos this year was one of the exciting reasons I was at LeMans. I said clearly too him that I wished him the best of luck. To which he handed me my signed ball cap back and looked right at me saying, "Thank you."
I know it's just a small thing in life but I'll never forget that personal moment.😎
Swing music takes this channel to the next level of cool.
That exploded baseball at the Chicago Sports Museum is a work of art.
For as many members of that family that took to the racetrack, none of em lost their lives on one.
The Unsers, The Allisons, the Pettys, and the Earnhardts all lost at least one member on track....snakebit at indy...yes, cursed...no
Really enjoying the increased rate of new content this year @aidanmillward. Thank you for all you do!
The Bettenhausen family, now that is a family that has been truly cursed!!!
Awesome video, got me thinking that it would be a weird twist of fate if the Andretti team where to get into F1 and they started dominnating in a short space of time as it could then be argued that the Andretti curse was either lifted or not an F1 thing, or just lifted in F1 given Michael Andrettie's struggles in 1993
Worth noting that both Mario and Michael missed chunks of their primes at Indy (F1 and the Split respectively).
Also John did complete the Indy/Charlotte double, which was insane then and is still insane now.
Michael should have more than 1 CART championship and no 500s. He is one of the best drivers of the CART era, along with Bobby Rahal and Little Al.
I don't know if I'd call Michael's split time his prime, but it was still significant to lose all of those chances when he had that much experience.
@@alexisborden3191 His 1996 was sublime.
@@alexisborden3191agreed, but he missed one year for F1, and remember that the 96-00 run was also when Penske had its only real slump. I think MA could’ve stolen a win from Ganassi at some point.
@@mrterp04 Right his age 31, and 34-38 seasons, not that he couldn't have won, but it wasn't his prime. In his 7 seasons during the split he won 12 races, in the 7 years preceeding the split he won 23.
The Bela Gutman curse is still one of my favourites in sport. When Benfica refused to renew his contract he allegedly cursed them and said they'd never win a European cup ever again, they've lost 7 (I think) in a row.
"...1973 Piston broke..." So was I mate!
The real incredible thing about Mario is how many years he remained as an active racer at the top levels, well into his 50s!
The story of the Bettenhausen family curse at the Indy 500 is also a tragic but good story. Unlike Andretti tho they didn’t even win 1. Their curse goes as for as Tony (the forefather) choosing not to race the sprint car he raced all year in the 500, that car ends up winning in 1951. Then while testing a friends car at the Brick Yard he was killed when the car had a suspension failure.
Yeah, and this was the fate of his three sons
1972: Merle loses an arm in a crash three laps into his first (and, understandably, only) Indy car race
1974: Gary almost loses an arm in a sprint car wreck (which cost him his Indy car ride with Penske)
2000: Tony Jr., who ran a moderately successful CART team, dies in a plane crash
@@tomanderson6335 Flo Racing has a great documentary on them. BONUS FACT: That 1951 500 winning car was built in my home town of Crown Point Indiana, near Chicago and Tinley Park where the Bettenhausens were from.
Really surprised you didn’t mention Marco losing the 2006 Indy 500 in the last 300 meters of the race. That’s when I KNEW the Andretti curse was real.
I was thinking that Marco probably doesn't have a shot, what being semi-retired and on an Indy only schedule with Andretti who hasn't been good as of late. The last guy to win doing it part time was Wheldon, and he almost didn't, and before that was Helio and Penske in 2001 funnily enough, but they don't really count IMO, they were full time in CART, and Gil won the championship even. But then again Helio did get his 4th on an Indy only car, that hadn't been good as of late. Wackier things have happened.
But yeah the difference in success between Andretti as a driver and Andretti as a team are stark, they inherited the record of Team Green, such that Villeneuve's 1995 win technically goes to them, but if you're only counting since Michael got involved, they won with 5 with 5 drivers, Wheldon in 05, Dario in 07, Hunter-Reay in 14, Rossi in 16, Sato in 17.
AJ Foyt needs to be in consideration for best all-around driver of all time. I don't think he's #1, or even better than Andretti, but he's got to be in the conversation for top 10. He was more known for his domination on ovals, but did win Leman's in his only attempt. Smokey Yunick is quoted, "A.J. Foyt, I think, was the greatest race driver there ever has been in U.S. racing history so far...A.J. Foyt could beat your ass in anything that had a motor and wheels."
Mario is the man who makes rating systems for drivers impossible. I've seen in car footage of Jimmy Clark and he was as smooth and effortless as anyone who ever held a steering wheel. But Mario raced on dirt, a surface that changes continuously through out the race. He raced fire breathing monsters with more horsepower than F1 cars of that period. On dirt, wheel to wheel for lap after lap and won. Sébastien Loeb is The God of the Forest. No human has ever been better at being at the edge of control on unfamiliar roads for HOURS on end. But Mario won on the steep banks of Daytona. Door to door at 180 mph when understanding of aerodynamics was sketchy at best, in a car that was VISABLY oversteering the entire race.
His talent always puts him into the GOAT conversation. The diversity of that talent makes it impossible to compare him with anyone else. Was he the best F! driver, no. The best NASCAR driver, no. The best dirt oval driver, no. The best endurance racer, no. The best paved oval driver, arguably, (Mr. Foyt also has an opinion on that). But he was successful at all of those disciplines. Has there ever been a driving career with such diversity and his level of success? It's the diversity of his career that puts him in the GOAT conversation and at the same time makes top 5 lists obsolete
Andretti's win at Pikes Peak the same year as his Indy 500 win is often overlooked; his participation in rally/hill climbs is as limited as Loeb's circuit racing, but the big win is much more significant than anything Loeb accomplished in road racing. Most importantly, the understanding of American motorsports in that era is incredibly poor even from most Americans. It's something I'd love to see content on that doesn't exist, but I don't really have the time right now to devote to making it myself.
The most well known curse in American motorsports is actually likely the Earnhardt Daytona 500 curse, but that's obviously not open wheel and more modern which is part of it too.
Curse my ass. Been hearing that for 60 years. How many Andrettis died racing? He made a fortune and walked away. Many didn't. Ask the Allisons about racing curse.
I understand that the FiA is the world governing body for Motor Sport and that if it was at all interested in the sport and had the necessary balls, it could take action against any persons or body bringing the sport into disrepute. So, I am asking them to take immediate action against Liberty Media and FOM for their anti competitive and pro monopoly actions in regard to Andretti/GM and the way in which they distribute the spoils from their endeavors which seem to bear a great resemblance to Blackmail. Aiden, would you be prepared to act for all F1 fans in setting up a protest group to persuade the FiA to become an unbiased effective body free from being an Old Boys Club making money from the sport which we the Fans actually provide?
Lloyd Ruby was even more cursed at Indy than Mario. Given the amount of deaths at the speedway during Marios career l would say if you survived you were not cursed.
You should look into the “curse” of Talledega. They used to have commercials about the fact that it was built on an Indian burial ground.
The Andretti family has little luck i mean they did win a race here and there and Mario did win the the 1969 500
You forgot 2006, when rookie Marco and his father Michael held 1-2 in the final laps of the Indy 500 and Sam Hornish Jr. was able to pass them both at the very end
The people that hit dislike obviously did it by mistake. Great video. Can you do a tribute to Murray Walker, I think with your knowledge you can be the next generation F1 commentator
I appreciate the music so much
There is kind of a petty curse in NASCAR aswell
Don't forget the Unsers at Pikes Peak- a TON of wins there....
The 1992 Indy 500 is another race you could do a whole video on.
There's a reason Mario Andretti is the eponym for people that drive fast in America
Good thing F1 doesn’t run the Indy 500 anymore. 😂
Michael and that tyre change that cost him the win. Also been a fan of the different line the Andrestti's would take at Indy and Fontana to get around the track. Curse is real.
Came close in 2006. Hornish at the line…. -U10
Cannot recommend enough Andretti's episode of F1's "Beyond the Grid" podcast. intelligent, well spoken, humble, and incredibly nice guy
I think it's probably an Indy curse. If you raced through that time in F1, Indy Car and anything else and came out alive and (relatively) uninjured I would say you're actually lucky.
I mean if the _Cubs_ can win a world series...
Mario and Michael were notorious for driving their cars too hard when it wasn't necessary. That contributed to many DNF's, that otherwise may have been victories. Jeff and John on the other hand. Were just not that good. They both used to race karts with us. Neither was that good. They got to were they did by their last name.
John Andretti was a good driver what are you on about? "He got where he did by his name" - complete nonsense.
Yeah man, you're right, John Andretti was famously so bad and coasting on his name that when he finished a race, he finished in the points 70% of the time between 1987-1994.
John Andretti is on the short list of drivers that won both in CART and NASCAR.
@@markko17 John also won the 24 Hours at Daytona and came close to winning in, of all things, an NHRA Top Fuel dragster. He tried a lot of different things.
@@RRaquello I think he might have been among amongst the last group of drivers to successfully transition from sprint cars to MR ground effect formula cars.
I love that you're gradually covering more and more American open wheel content. It has such a rich history and I grew up around it as a kid in the 90s. One great American open wheel story is the story of Bobby Rahal's 1986 Indy 500 victory and the relationship between him and his car owner. I'd love to see you do some deeper dives into the American open wheel families like the Unsers, Rahals, and Andrettis.
There are a number of curses around the Indy 500... Any green other than the green flags on the flag stand. If you wanting to, you could do a video (series) of all the curses.
im a calgary flames fan and i have no idea what curse you're referring to. Possibly the curse of us not winning in anaheim during the late 2000's early 2010"s???
The Honda Centre Curse
My favourite sporting curse comes from Japan. In 1985, the Hanshin Tigers baseball team won their first Japan Series championship - during the celebrations, some rowdy fans grabbed a statue of Colonel Sanders from a local KFC and chucked it in a nearby canal. Apparently this angered the restless spirit of the Colonel, and the Tigers suffered a horrendous streak of bad luck. The club even hired divers in 2009 to retrieve the statue in an attempt to appease the Colonel. It appears to have worked, as the curse was broken last year.
Okay... closing pitlanes definitely needs its own video. WHY THE HELL WOULD THEY WANT TO CLOSE A PITLANE?!
A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Jim Clark -- the holy trinity of motorsport gods if you ask me.
About football curses, there is one involving the portuguese Benfica team (the team I support, btw).
Béla Guttmann, the coach that led the team to win its Champions Leagues, in 1961 and 1962, left the team due to a pay rise being negated by the administration in 1962. He allegedely placed a curse that said, withouth him, the team would not win an european cup in 100 years. And it was true, so far, in the main team. The team got to 8 european finals and did not win a single one.
In 2014 it was built a statue to honor him in the Cathedral (Estádio da Luz, the home field), to try allegedely to break the curse. And in 2022 they conquered the UEFA Youth League. Maybe it was a little bit broken by that statue...
I have some kind of weird curse where every time I am in europe something will happen in the royal family, like twice isnt a tonne of times but being Australian it is weird that I was in London when the queen died (I live reported it to my friends from Buckingham Palace because that just happened)
Great video, always a fan of Andretti. However, when I said in an earlier video Ickx deserved to be a World Chapion you disagreed.
Incidentally, the best Rally Druver of all time was Hannu Mikkola!
There was a Toronto Maple Leafs story concerning Bill Barilko. He went missing on a fishing trip in 1951 after the Leafs had won the Stanley Cup. The bush plane was not found for over a decade, in the same year that the Leafs next won the Cup.
I only know this from the fucking song, couldn't tell you the years or the dude's name, I've just heard that song far too many times on the radio.
No. I need the jazz back. I know it's just some stock music, ihear it all over. But I heard it hear first, and I associate with AM. no, not El plan.....
I’m just saying, if the Andretti’s hadn’t crossed Danhausen then this curse wouldn’t exist…
What? I’ve watched too much AEW this week… sue me.
The Andrettis were from Albania, so the Americans have had one true born F1 Grand Prix champion, in 61 Phil Hill.
I love these videos. But purrrrleeeeeeeseee can the football referances. I watch you for amazing nerdy (ment as a compliment) Motorsport knowledge.
I dont follow sport channels in general because... Football. I'm sure I'm not the only Motorsport fan who cant stand the game.
In Michael's later career (1996-2002) , he was always either stuck with the wrong engine, wrong tires, or wrong chassis, sometimes all 3. By the time he got the Honda Engine and Reynard chassis in 2001, it was too late - Toyota had caught them.
Go Leafs Go :/ you're not wrong plus being run in wrong dimension
If leafs were a F1 team they would be best at qualifying and sprints but awful when it matters during the actual GP / drivers / constructors
Another obscure football curse is the Mick Jagger one. Every time Mick is at a game in Brazil, the team he cheers for will lose. Sir Jagger has become a meme in the brazilian football fandom.
9:39 The numbers don't lie and they spell disaster for Andretti....💪
If Max gets bored with F1, I’d love to see him try American short track dirt oval racing. He’s an autistic genius of car control with an oversteering, pointy beast of a machine. He’d be a natural fit with the wheelie pulling, 1000 horsepower monsters over here. He’d have tons of fun.
Loving the swing music…..and loving your content, one of my fave go to channels as soon as a new vlog appears, top work Aidan….👍👌🇮🇲
HOW DARE YOU LEAVE DAN GURNEY'S NAME OFF THAT LIST?!?!?!?
It isn't a curse. Reliability is something fans take for granted these days. Even till the nineties cars broke. Everybody on your list, including sainted Senna and Schumacher had a car that broke sometimes. Only the advances in electronics, CAD, CAM, software and engineering talent, not to mention safety that goes with that has made more bulletproof race cars. Andretti, Foyt and Gurney are with ease the greatest American drivers. Thanks.
5:47 Yes! Would be an excelent video. Maybe that and the '84 together, like the near misses of Mario
anyone ever mentioned (albeit outside of racing himself) nico rosberg's curse.. commentator's curse and all that but nico rosberg's is so potent it affects other sports
Interesting perspective. I'm a big indy fan so seeing someone's views on it who is just diving in is interesting. My biggest point of disagree is that top 5 list because how can you not have A.J. Foyt on there?
Good job, Aiden. Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.
Who are the best 5 drivers of all time? Think about it: Roberto, Roberto, Roberto, Roberto and Roberto because he spits hot fire
There is a saying at Indy. What are the most common words heard at the track “Andretti slowing on the track”
Hard to argue your top 3 all time drivers, nice to see Ickx getting some love too, possibly one of the most under appreciated drivers out there.
No love for Aj Foyt or Dan Gurney in your top 10 all around best?????
Yeah I'm a Toronto maple leafs fan. There's no curse. They just suck.
I would say the Pettys post-Richard are more cursed
How can you here that swing music and not want to take off in a Spitfire-after riding up on a Brough Superior.
The reasons behind not having many globally recognized drivers from the United States are many and it's sad we can produce more notable names. However the fact that he is still the face and ambassador of US Motorsports is to be celebrated. The Andretti family are the kind of person that even when you cheer against them (and many do) you still do so with a mild reverence. American F1 fans are starting to take the battle to get to the grid personally. In light of yesterdays news F1 will need to be careful as many of us will absolutely be insulted if they continue to treat our racing royalty this way.
In the case of AJ Foyt, he certainly measures up with any racer from anywhere in the world but he chose not to compete (much) internationally, so his reduced stature overseas was his own choice and I don't think it bothered him at all. After 50 years of watching racing I think AJ was right in his attitude. F1 isn't for Americans. Americans (except for their money) aren't wanted, and Americans don't really care much for it. You can't be good at everything and if F1 (and soccer) are what we're not good at, it's no big deal.
@@RRaquello good point. Here in the Midwest he is probably the biggest legend of them all but when I lived down south he was a little bit of an afterthought even there.
@@chaddepew5831 He was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers for what that's worth. Usually lists like that are just cheap & easy ways to generate publicity, but he made it even running limited races in NASCAR.
@@RRaquello I think that just shows how much other drivers and the racing industry respected him. When you poll drivers his name is always at the top of the list!
I used to feel this way but came around to the other side: American motorsports are often treated as second class and they're anything but. The level of competition and the quality of professional driver is higher in, say, dirt late model racing in the US today at some track championship levels than it is of saloon car racing in pretty much all of Europe. We shouldn't apologize for racing on ovals: it's what made our series commercially successful and made race car drivers rich rather than mandated they be wealthy first. Heck, *both* of America's F1 champions started as dirt racers. Phil Hill ran midgets in Southern California when he was discovered.
There's a podium for the Indy 500?😮
Hello Aidan: I agree with your top 3. Have a good day.
Finally....I've been asking for how many years?
The curse of the Bambino died in 2004.
To be fair the only driver good enough is Mario, all the others are cursed by a lack of talent.
When are you doing a storytime on the great Alan Jones ??
Where is Walter Röhrl in your Greatest List? 😢
The big band jazz music was a very fun change of pace!
We call it now the Dixon curse.. ;)
Cursed? No. It's just really hard.
You brits and your curses! Cracks me up every time
2:45 damn, the leafs just caught a stray lol
You have to make one for Dani Pedrossa Moto GP rider.
Loeb is one place down for my taste
You missed The Curse of the Billy Goat, which haunted the Chicago Cubs for 71 yrs.
And remember, it's unlucky to be supersticious.
I didn’t miss anything. I can’t stop and name EVERY curse in sports. 😅