The man who called himself “Mister 500” in honor of the quest that dominated his life, has passed away at the age of 90 due to congestive heart failure. A member of multiple Halls of Fame for his exploits as both racer and businessman, Andy Granatelli’s greatest fame came from his chase of victory in the Indianapolis 500 with cars that often revolutionized the sport.
Perhaps the greatest of these was the Pratt & Whitney turbine-powered “Silent Sam” machine that in 1967 nearly carried Parnelli Jones to his second Indy win. The next year Granatelli engaged in a partnership with Colin Chapman that brought a trio of turbine-powered Lotus wedges to the Speedway, where another of his STP-sponsored cars was denied victory by the late failure of a minor part while leading.
With turbine power effectively banned by USAC, he finally achieved his lifelong goal of victory at Indy in 1969 by sponsoring Mario Andretti’s Clint Brawner-built, STP Hawk-Ford, then planted that infamous kiss on Mario’s cheek in Victory Lane. He would enjoy a second taste of Indy success in 1973 as the sponsor of Gordon Johncock’s winning Patrick Racing Eagle-Offy.
In 1972 he signed Richard Petty to a lifetime contract, and in STP-sponsored stock cars Petty won four of his seven NASCAR championships and a similar number of Daytona 500s.
Granatelli had first pursued his passion at Indy in 1946 when Danny Kladis drove the Grancor Spl. he’d entered with brothers Vince and Joe to a 21st-place finish. Prior to that he had driven in and promoted races around the Midwest, and subsequently entered cars at Indy under the Grancor banner during the early 1950s, coming closest in 1952 when his driver, Jim Rathmann, finished 2nd. He had tried to make the 500 field himself in 1948, but crashed while qualifying.
Apart from turbine power, he also championed the cause of the legendary supercharged Novi V8 engine in the early ’60s when almost every car carried naturally aspirated four-cylinder Offenhauser engines. The Novis seemed to suit Andy to the proverbial “T,” big and loud and brash, and unsuccessful, but then his fortunes began to change.
Away from racing, his entrepreneurial spirit helped him turn STP Oil Treatment into a major global brand and made him a rich man, as in 1974 he sold the STP company to Esmark Corporation for $135 million.
Granatelli also set numerous production-car world land speed and endurance-run records on the Bonneville Salt Flats, as speed simply seemed to be in his blood. He is survived by wife Dolly, and sons Vince and Anthony.
