If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.
Mario Andretti
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
If you're so afraid of failure, you will never succeed. You have to take chances.
You're safer in the race car than you are in cars going to and from the track.
Everything comes to those who wait... except a cat.
Do it no matter what. If you believe in it, it is something very honorable. If somebody around you or your family does not understand it, then that's their problem. But if you do have a passion, an honest passion, just do it.
I count my blessings every day, quite honestly, because I take nothing for granted.
If you wait, all that happens is that you get older.
Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal.
I've always said, 'I didn't have a Plan B in life.' I was in pursuit of my dream from the very beginning. It's all about desire and passion. At all costs.
A racing car is an animal with a thousand adjustments.
The man upstairs is pushing the buttons, and if your name happens to be on that button, well, thank you.
Whenever you're aggressive, you're at the edge of mistakes.
Every NASCAR driver watches Formula One in the morning; they are well informed.
Al Unser Sr. was one of the smartest drivers I've ever raced against. And I often said, I wish I could've had some of his patience. I know it would have worked for me many times.
I think it's counterproductive in many ways to pretend to know things you don't. You surround yourself with people who are the real experts.
Motor racing is like one big family, ultimately, and when you come back to it, that's really what it feels like.
You see people in the left lane, and as long as they are on the speed limit, they stay there. Get in the right lane and let people pass you - let the police worry about somebody who wants to speed. Don't force them pass in the right lane and zig zag, which can create an accident, just because you think you're correct.
When you start thinking you may get hurt, it's time to get out of racing.
As far as I'm concerned, Parnelli Jones was the greatest driver of his era. He had aggressiveness and also a finesse that no one else possessed. And he won with everything he put his hands on, including off-road.
I don't have any feeling of accomplishment about anything unless there's a lot of risk to it.
If the Indy Racing League didn't have the Indianapolis 500, do you think it would have lasted more than six months? No chance.
You do a period of go-karting until you're at the age of qualifying for a ride in a 'school-kart,' then you qualify for driving school. And several of the driving schools have a competition series for their own students.
You do the best you can with what's thrown at you, then you try again.
I don't want to go out there and do something 3,000 other people can do.
It seemed like whenever I got a bona fide offer from Ferrari, I couldn't do it. And vice versa - when I was ready, their seats were taken. We always had a relationship, but what's important is that I pretty much started my F1 career with them and ended it there, too.
Quite honestly, I treat myself with cars I really want to drive, and I have some flexibility to do that.
The day of parochialism in sports is over. The world is too small for what people like to call 'the good old days.' Fans want the best, wherever they come from.
When a car's ahead of you, as long as you can see it, you get a tow, just like the draft in NASCAR. Even if it's a long ways down the track, it punches a hole in the air that has to help. When you're running alone, you can feel the difference, and it shows on the clock, too.
What I learned is that in business you must make decisions based on facts, not react with your heart.
Can the U.S. support two Formula 1 races? I think so.
My last race was at Le Mans in 2000, my first race was in 1959, so I dodged a lot of bullets along the way, I can tell you that.
There's something special about racing in real streets. The 'artificial' circuits have a certain sameness to them. But every race conducted on real streets has a character of its own - Barcelona, Monaco, and now Long Beach.
I don't remember as a kid wanting to do or be anything else but drive something, be a race driver.
I see all these old people who don't have anything to do but eat, drink and sleep. I will never say 'retired' because that's such a finality that I don't want to be part of my life. I'll work until they throw me in a box.
A father-son relationship is strong, like no other teammates. You could be straightforward with one another.
Age doesn't affect driving - how do you like that?
I still have the competitive spirit, which is good.
My wife loves football, but I think she's resigned to the fact that I'll never make it there.
At Andretti Winery, I'm not the winemaker.
I lived the true American dream, because I was able to pursue what I set as my goals at a very young age.
It makes great conversation to discuss what's wrong with open-wheel racing today.
I wanted to have a career that would last a hundred years if possible.
Nobody had race savvy like Al Unser in his prime.
I love all motor sports at the top level.
Long Beach is the best. I tell everyone that.
The United States is the only country where a driver can have a successful career - either in stock cars or IndyCar - and he won't need a passport.
In the U.S., we really have fallen short of road-racing facilities that have kept up with the times, unfortunately, but it's a fact.
I like to think that the Grand Prix helped Long Beach to pretty much change its image.
