RIP John Andretti

[2muchcoffeeman]

Well, ****. Day ruined.

 

[playthrough]

Won in Nascar, open wheel and sports cars, and made the semifinals in his first NHRA event in a top fuel dragster. A throwback that racing doesn't see often anymore. Plus he was an exceptionally good guy.

 

[TigerVols]

Wow, this sucks.

Had the great opportunity to work with John closely when my magazine had a marketing deal with him and RCA and as a result I got to roam everywhere at Daytona, Bristol and 'Dega with him and his team and it's a memory I cherish because I didn't get to hang out in NASCAR nearly enough.

Exceptionally good guy is a great way to put it, @playthrough. He was so genteel and authentic.

Edit: Colon cancer...diagnosed when he was the age I am now. OK, I'll be pooping on a stick this weekend no doubt.

 

[Machine Head]

I was at his first race with Petty Enterprises. Michigan, the interwebs tell me.

One of the days he had on a PE/STP racing suit that was about 5 sizes too big, but man, he had a smile on him. Have a picture somewhere around here of him in that suit and smile. RIP.

That was the weekend Ernie Irvan went into the wall. Watched the helicopter take off. I was in the garage area. No one thought he was going to make it. Irvan and Yates were on a roll, they were a force. Then, Michigan.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

This sucks.

In an age where more drivers are jerked around by PR machines and such, the impression seems to be that he Got It. Wasn't a pile of drivel, useless scripting and cliches. Plus the "good guy" label from the right posters here seals it.

Keep Pounding, John. RIP, good sir and thank you.

 

[playthrough]

He had a wild project around 2011, an IndyCar that he tried to get signed by every living Indy 500 driver. It was eventually auctioned off by Barrett-Jackson for St. Jude's Children's Hospital and he came pretty close to getting all 270 signatures or so. The drivers in prison weren't so easy.

 

[maumann]

The checkered flag falls for a very good driver and greater man. RIP John.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

The Athletic has unlocked Andretti’s obituary, written by Jeff Gluck.

John Andretti is gone, but his legacy of spreading colon...

 

[User 4332]

 

[TigerVols]

The Athletic has unlocked Andretti’s obituary, written by Jeff Gluck.

John Andretti is gone, but his legacy of spreading colon...

That line break is...unfortunate.

 

[maumann]

Really wish they'd have wound it up to 120 mph going down the backstretch, just for John's benefit.

 

[ChrisLong]

That is so incredible taking the hearse onto the track.
A few years ago, I attended a funeral of an old boxing guy. At the end of the service, they unveiled a ring bell and rang it 12 times -- the last round. Damn, I lost it and I didn't even know the guy that well.