The racing world has lost one of its great personalities. And Granatelli was a little bit of everything in motorsports, from driver to promoter to car owner to innovator to sponsor. In many ways he was the ultimate promoter of the sport, responsible for so many of racing's creative initiatives.
He and his lesser known brothers are best known for their ownership of STP. He brought Indy the wonderful Novi V8's and the failed turbines. He sponsored Mario Andretti's only Indy 500 win. the picture of him planting a kiss on Andretti's cheek in the Winner's Circle is absolutely iconic.
In the 50's and 60's, he set speed records with Studebakers. In 1962, he made the ferocious supercharged R3 Avanti the fastest production car in the world. Not satisfied with that, he built the twin supercharged R5.
In NASCAR, he created the series' first big sponsorship deals. His sponsorship of Richard Petty was one of the longest, most successful in the history of sports.
His autobiography, "They Call Me Mister 500" is one of the great racing books.
R.I.P., Andy. You did it all, did it well and did it with style!
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