June 16: Mario Andretti

Andretti: winning the 1969
Indy 500 race. Photo
courtesy of ESPNcdn.com

On this date in History .... June 16, 1955: 

The Italian ocean liner, Conte Biancamano, arrived in New York harbor with 15 yr old Mario Andretti & family aboard.  Andretti became one of the greatest race drivers in the world, becoming the only man to win all of the following races:

·         the Formula One World Championship,

·         the US Nat’l Championship (1965, 1966, 1969, 1984),

·         the Indianapolis “Indy” 500,

·         the Daytona 500,

·         the 24 Hours of Daytona,

·         the 12 Hours of Sebring (1967, 1970, 1972) &

·         the Pikes Peak Internat’l Hill Club. 

Mario Andretti won the last of his 52 Indy Car victories in 1993. He officially retired from racing in 1994, having competed in 407 Indy Car events.

May 29: Danica Patrick - Indy 500

On this date in History ... May 29, 2005:  

Danica Patrick becomes 1^st woman to lead Indy 500.  

May 29 is a significant date for women in the sports world.  In 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first woman to drive in the Indy 500.  28 years later, on May 29, 2005, Danica Patrick became the first woman to take the lead in the Indy 500.  

Patrick had engine trouble and dropped from 4^th to 16^th place but climbed back up and with only 10 laps left, she took the lead. Her team gambled with the idea of avoiding one more pit stop, which forced her to conserve gas, allowing Dan Wheldon to pass her and win the race. 

Patrick came in 4^th and earned her Rookie of the Year.