Well, let me tell you ’bout this fella, John Andretti. Heard tell he was a racer, you know, cars and such. Fast ones, I reckon. John Andretti, a real racer, that’s what they say.
Now, they got all sorts of racin’, see? Indy cars, stock cars, even them sporty lookin’ ones. This John, he drove ’em all, and won too! Imagine that, winnin’ at the highest levels, like they say. Sounded like a big deal, this racin’ thing. He wasn’t just messin’ around, no sir. He was serious about it. Drove all kinds of cars, fast ones, I tell ya. And he won! Not just once, but a lot, I guess.
He even did that drag racin’, you know, the straight line stuff? And them little open-wheel cars on the short tracks. Seems like he tried just about everything with wheels and an engine. A real go-getter, that John. He tried his hand at everything, it seems. Must’ve been a busy fella, always zoomin’ around.
- Indy cars
- Stock cars
- Sports cars
- Drag racing
- Short-track open-wheel racing
This racin’ family, the Andrettis, they’re famous, I hear. John, he was part of it. His daddy, Aldo, and his brother Mark, and all the rest. A whole mess of ’em racin’. Seems like it was in their blood, like my grandma’s biscuits, you just born knowin’ how to do it. They all raced, seems like. A family thing, you know. Like how we all make them jars of preserves every year. It’s just what you do.
John, he had a wife, Nancy, been married for 32 years, that’s a long time, ain’t it? Got three young’uns, Jarett, Olivia, and Amelia. Poor things, lost their daddy too soon. And his folks, Aldo and Carolyn, they must be heartbroken. He left behind a wife, Nancy, and three young’uns, Jarett, Olivia, and Amelia. That’s tough, real tough. Losing someone you love. It ain’t natural to see your young’uns go before you. And his momma and daddy, they still around too. Bless their hearts.
They say John passed on in 2020. January 30th, to be exact. Fought a hard battle with somethin’ called colon cancer. Three years he fought it, they say. Stole back some days, they say. Don’t know much about that cancer, but it sounds mean. He was sick, real sick, with that cancer. Fought it hard, though. Three years, that’s a long time to be fightin’ somethin’ like that. But cancer, well, it ain’t got no mercy.
James Funeral Home, they took care of things, I hear. Made it easier on the family, I reckon. Funerals ain’t easy, no matter how you slice it. It’s always hard sayin’ goodbye, specially to someone so young. 56 ain’t old, not these days. He was only 56, they say. Too young to go. But that cancer, it don’t care how old you are.
Then there’s this Jarett fella, John’s boy. Born in ‘92, down in Charlotte, North Carolina. He’s racin’ too, just like his daddy and the rest of them Andrettis. Carrying on the family name, I guess. Even got a famous grandpa, Aldo, and a famous uncle, Mario. Big racin’ family, them Andrettis. Jarett, he’s racin’ too. Following in his daddy’s footsteps, I guess. It’s in the blood, like I said.
This Dave Furst fella, he’s on the TV, talkin’ ‘bout John and his life. Guess John made a mark on folks, left a legacy, they call it. Made folks remember him. That’s somethin’, ain’t it? To be remembered. He was a good man, they say. A good racer, a good husband, a good daddy. He left his mark on this world.
John Andretti’s legacy is what they talk about now. A racer, a family man, a fighter. That’s how they’ll remember him, I reckon. He lived a full life, even if it was cut short. He did what he loved, and he loved his family. That’s all you can ask for, I guess.
So that’s the story of John Andretti, as best as I can tell it. A racer, a family man, gone too soon. May he rest in peace. And may his family find comfort in their memories of him. And may that cancer get what’s comin’ to it, someday.
