Throughout a 29 year top-level motor racing career, it’s safe to say that Mario Andretti and Lady Luck have never been the closest friends when it came to Indianapolis (as we will see in more detail in a later update of this countdown), but one time that good fortune was on the Hall of Famer’s side came in 2003, when he somehow managed to walk away from one of the most bizarre and frightening accidents ever seen at the Brickyard.

By the time of the 2003 Indianapolis 500 the open wheel power struggle between CART and the Indy Racing League had began to shift in favour of Tony George’s series. The powerhouse outfits of Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske had both defected to the series shortly after the turn of the millennium and with CART beginning to find themselves in financial trouble away from the track speculation began to mount that many teams would follow in their footsteps and join the IRL in time for the 2003 season. One of those that did make the switch over the winter however was Team Green; the Canadian outfit had been one of the strongest teams in CART over the past six seasons, and for the last two years had crossed the proverbial picket line to field cars for their drivers at the Indianapolis 500, including a controversial second placed finish for Paul Tracy in the 2002 running of the event. Ahead of their transition to the IRL, driver Michael Andretti purchased a controlling stake in the team, rechristening it Andretti Green Racing ahead of what was expected to be his final start at Indianapolis. With a strong driver line-up consisting of Andretti, Tony Kanaan, Robbie Gordon as well as rookie Dan Wheldon, Andretti was hopeful that his first 500 outing as an owner would prove to be a successful one.

Come the Month of May however AGR’s preparations for the 500 were severely hampered, when Tony Kanaan suffered a radial fracture in his arm following an accident with Scott Dixon at the previous round in Motegi. Although the Brazilian was still expected to participate in the 500 itself, it meant that Andretti would be forced to hire a backup driver on short notice to set up and prepare Kanaan’s car ready for the race itself. After much speculation surrounding who the driver would be Michael shocked many by appointing his father Mario into the role, the first time in nine years that the elder Andretti would pilot an Indycar in some capacity. Many in the press and paddock reacted to the news with bemusement, Mario was 63 years old at the time of the announcement, although he had competed in the Le Mans 24 hours three years previously there were concerns over whether he would be able to adapt to the high speeds and advanced technology of modern Indycar machines.

After turning speeds in the low 200mph range early in practice, Mario saw his pace increase significantly over the course of the month, reaching competitive speeds compared to the rest of the field and impressing many with his adaptability to modern Indycar technology, with one journalist stating that it was almost as if Andretti had never been away from the paddock. Such was the level of performance that Mario demonstrated during those practice sessions, there was even some speculation that AGR would prepare a fifth car to allow Mario to attempt to qualify for the race, an accomplishment which if successful would have made him the oldest man ever to contest the Indianapolis 500.

Come the end of the day however such murmurings came to a shuddering halt. With just two minutes remaining in the practice session Kenny Brack lost control of his machine coming out of turn one, sending his car into the outside retaining wall and spreading debris across the track. Believing that the yellow warning lights were to indicate the end of the session rather then an accident, Mario entered turn one at full speed and struck a piece of debris from Brack’s machine, causing the front of the car to lift off the ground at a speed of over 200mph. The car somersaulted twice in rapid succession, clipping the top of the catch fencing before tumbling towards the ground and eventually coming to rest upright in the middle of turn two. CCTV footage would later show that Mario came very close to leaving the confines of the circuit altogether such was the level of height gained from the contact with Brack’s debris.

Amazingly however Mario was able to get out of the car unaided, the only injury of any kind being a mark on his neck roughly the size of a penny coin, but the crash proved to be the wakeup call for the 63 year old to hang up his helmet for good, announcing his retirement from all forms of motor sport a few days after the accident following consultation with his son Michael. By the time that pole day came around however Kanaan had returned to full fitness following his crash, and in a car prepared by Mario qualified second on the grid before finishing third in the 500 itself, with many believing that the hard work of Mario on that day helped play a part in Kanaan’s strong performance during the race.

Mario’s practice accident certainly isn’t the way the 63 year old wished to end his racing career, but it does act as a testimony of the safety of Indycar technology that he was able to walk away from such an accident with such minimal injuries, as well as proof that, sometimes, Lady Luck could be on the side of the Andretti clan when it came to the Brickyard.

In today’s video we take a look at the incident itself. Note how high Mario is able to get before hitting the catch fencing.