Racing Legend Michael Andretti

The Bob Johnston Podcast

It’s safe to say that you’ve probably been living under a rock if you’ve never heard the Andretti name, which has been synonymous with auto racing for decades. What you may not know is the personal story behind racing legend, family scion, and current Andretti Autosport CEO, Michael Andretti.

First, Michael may be one of the winningest athletes in all of sports – he turned pro at 17 and has 42 wins under his belt, behind only his father, Mario, and A.J. Foyt (Tom Brady eat your heart out). And, he's the last American to podium in Formula 1.

Michael is also a savvy entrepreneur – overseeing properties across Indy, Formula E and “Extreme E” (which brings attention to the environment with races that take place at glaciers and deserts with all-electric vehicles). And, the Andretti Autosport factory (if you can call it that) that he built in Indianapolis, is more like a state-of-the-art "operating room for cars” combined with a vibe that feels like Apple’s Cupertino headquarters – I toured the ‘factory' back in 2018 and was blown away.

As a notable fact (and a note to all of you corporate sponsors), racing is one of the most sponsor-able sports platforms in the world. The loyalty metrics and dollars spent per fan is multiples higher than any other sport.