John Andretti, a former NASCAR, IndyCar Series and sports car racing regular died Thursday.
Andretti was 56 years old. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2017.
The Andretti Autosport team released this statement Thursday:
It’s with the heaviest of hearts we share that John Andretti has today lost his battle with cancer. John was a loving husband and father, a devoted son and a trusted cousin. He was a philanthropist, an advocate for the sport, a dedicated teammate, a driven competitor and most importantly a dear friend.
Through Race4Riley, John spent decades dedicating his time and fundraising attention to Riley Hospital for Children. When first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2017, John vowed to fight back and use his voice to help spread the word of prevention and early detection. He fought hard and stole back days the disease vowed to take away. He helped countless others undergo proper screening, and in doing so, saved lives.
We will forever carry with us John’s genuine spirit of helping others first and himself second. Our prayers today are with Nancy, Jarett, Olivia and Amelia, with our entire family, and with fans worldwide. We urge all our followers to, please, #CheckIt4Andretti.
Andretti was a two-time winner in NASCAR’s top level Cup Series where he made 393 starts from 1993 to 2010. He won in July 1997 at Daytona International Speedway driving for Cale Yarborough Motorsports in 1997 and then in 1999 at Martinvsille Speedway driving for Richard Petty.
Andretti was was the son of Aldo Andretti, the twin brother of Mario Andretti. He was the cousin of Michael Andretti.
John Andretti made 12 starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of fifth in 1991. He became the first driver to run the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day in 1994.
Condolences to the Andretti family. John was a great competitor, as well as a gentleman, who passed on way before his time.
Sad news. Way to young.
I just always pulled for that guy. He was just so genuine, in cup at least. The good die young i guess. Rip.
ONE thing about John coming from the ANDRETTI family which def has some very UPFRONT personalities, he was always so soft spoken and a guy you always wanted to root for, I SURE DID,
RIP JOHN
The only racer I’m aware of that has driven ISMA prototype, Cup cars, Indy cars, and NHRA Top Fuel!
Apparently God needed a racer who could absolutely drive ANYTHING! R.I.P.John!
Spot on Fast Eddie! I was going to add a like comment but was glad to see someone else did it for me perfectly. RIP John.
I would have put Russ Hersey behind the wheel. He seems to get better performance out of Spafco cars than anyone else.