A Chance Encounter with Racing Legend John Andretti: Lessons in Humility and Kindness

Reflect on the power of fleeting encounters as I recount an unforgettable meeting with the late racing legend John Andretti in this week's road trip episode. Picture an unexpected pairing at Bertel Roos Racing School, where our son Henry found himself teamed up with John's son, Jarett. This chance encounter with John revealed not just his legacy on the track but his genuine character off it. Learn how his humility and kindness left a lasting impact, showcasing that the true measure of success isn't just accolades and titles, but the positive influence one can have on others.

Journey with me as I share dinner conversations filled with racing stories and life lessons that John generously imparted. This episode serves as a heartwarming reminder of the connections we form and the importance of cherishing them, no matter how brief. Discover how John Andretti's words of encouragement and acts of kindness can inspire us all to leave a positive mark in our own lives. Tune in to explore how even the most fleeting encounters can leave a profound impact on our journey through life.

Home - CheckIt4Andretti Foundation

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to Dan the Road Trip Guy. I'm your host, dan, and each week we'll embark on a new adventure, discovering memories and life lessons of our incredible guests, from everyday travelers to thrill seekers and everyone in between. This podcast is your front row seat to inspiring stories of passion, resilience and the pursuit of happiness, so buckle up and enjoy the ride. I'm on a solo drive today. I hope you enjoy it. If you've listened to this podcast, you know it's about stories and, again, my encouragement to you is to record stories of family and friends that are close to you so that you can preserve those stories.

Speaker 1: 0:45

I am sure, like me, you've had people come into your life over the years. Some stay for seasons, some stay for decades, some stay for years, some stay for a day or two, but no matter what, people impact our lives on a daily basis. We're not here living on an island all by ourself. We're surrounded by people. I was recently reminded of one of those people that came into our life for basically two days back in November of 2013. And I thought of him recently because of a note I wrote in February of 2020, shortly after his death in January. His name is John Andretti. Yes, he's of the Andretti family. He was a racer, but my note was entitled A Racer and a Gentleman, and that's exactly what he was. John's career covered IndyCar. It covered NASCAR, nhra, imsa, rolex, sports cars. If you know anything about racing, you know those are the pinnacles of racing. He's the nephew of Mario Andretti, the son of Mario's twin brother, aldo, and here's how that note went. If you know me well, then you likely know my affinity for auto racing, and in my lifetime I've had the honor of having dinner with one of the great racing legends, john Andretti. I remember it was like yesterday. Henry had just returned from Canada. John Andretti, I remember it was like yesterday. Henry had just returned from Canada. He was signed up with the Bertel Roos Racing School to be a part of their enduro race at Roebling Road. In this particular race, each driver is partnered up with a teammate for a one and a half hour race in a formula car, but the teammate was a surprise. Henry had no idea who he'd be paired up with.

Speaker 1: 2:22

Upon arriving at the track, the first person I see is John Andretti. Of course, I tried to remain calm and act casual. There was no denying I was starstruck. This was John Andretti and, lo and behold, henry's partner was none other than John's son, jared. Later that evening, henry and I had the pleasure of swapping racing stories over dinner with John and Jared. To say it was fun would be an understatement.

Speaker 1: 2:45

Indie winner, nascar winner, 24 hours of Daytona winner All I could think about were the titles this man held and what an inspiration he had been to a lot of people. Though the stories were pretty cool and his track record rather impressive, what struck me the most was John's character. He was both thoughtful and humble, and not once did he or Jarrett, and not once was he or Jarrett dissatisfied. They had been partnered with Henry, just 18 years old at the time. Rather, john spoke words of encouragement into Henry, giving him practical instruction and tips on the track. He didn't know it to us, but he did it anyway, and I even recall that when Jared noticed Henry didn't have tear-offs on his visor, he prepared Henry's helmet for the 45-minute race. You hear people talk about random acts of kindness, and though our time was brief together, I experienced just this with John. After everything I'd read about him, I can attest that John was not only remembered for his talent behind the wheel, but he will be remembered for his heart and what he did for others. Never take for granted what kind of impact you might leave on someone else's life. I know I will never forget the experience of meeting John and his son, jared.

Speaker 1: 3:59

I think the thing we can take away from this story and I'm sure you have many like it is that people come into our lives for a reason and we need to embrace the time with them. One of the things that Lauren gave me for Christmas in 2023 was StoryWorth. It's a product where she picked 53 questions that I would be prompted with each week to answer. I fell off schedule a bit, so I was left with about nine questions a couple weeks ago and I've been knocking those off one by one. One of those questions this week was what qualities do you value in friends? And this made me think back to our time with John Andretti and his son, but it also made me just wonder Go way back to my childhood and think about all the people who have come into my life and the things that I landed on that were important in these friendships. As I said early on, friendships can last a day or two, like ours with the Andrettys, or they can last lifetimes or anywhere in between. So you need to embrace why people are sent into your life in the moment.

Speaker 1: 5:05

I hope you've enjoyed this little short podcast today and I do hope you'll record stories with those that are around you and if you've got an old friend that you need to call up, hop on the phone today. Give them a call and catch up. You might be surprised. You might just pick up right where you left off the last time. In case you were wondering how Jarrett and Henry finished up in 2013 in that race, they finished second, second only to the owner of the school, so we walked away from that feeling pretty good. Jarrett has gone on to be a racer in his own right, following in the steps of his father. John Henry spent 10 years out on the road making drivers go fast. He focused his attention last year to his BMW performance and tuning shop here in Cincinnati, and so that's where you find him today off the road and in his shop, still making people go fast in their BMWs. John Andretti's memory still lives on today. With the Check it for Andretti Foundation, they are on a mission to bring awareness to colon cancer, which is what, unfortunately, took John's life. I hope you'll visit their website and learn more about their cause.

Speaker 1: 6:12

Thank you for tuning in to Dan the Road Trip Guy. I hope you enjoyed our journey today and the stories that were shared. If you have any thoughts or questions or stories of your own, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to me anytime. Don't forget to share this podcast with your friends and family and help us to spread the joy of road trips and great conversations. Until next time, keep driving, keep exploring and keep having those amazing conversations. Safe travels and remember you can find me on the internet at dantheroadtripguycom.