In 1969 I was in the 8th grade. I had a red nylon windbreaker. With a cloth patch of the STP turbine Indy car sewn on the front. The jacket is long gone. But I still have that patch.
In '83 thru '84 I was working as a Mr Goodwrench at Henna Chevy in Austin,Tx when Andy walked up to the service counter and wanted to see me!! After greeting the other 60 + techs he asked if I was the super tuner everyone said I was... he offered me a job working on a Nascar crew as the engine guy!!! I declined the offer and after explaining why Andy asked if I would be interested in working at Tune-up Masters. Declined again. It sure was a great honor to be asked by a legend like him despite the other techs booing me when I turned Andy's offer down. Truth is, it defined my career... I was that good at my work
I think you made the correct decision. Unless you wanted to never see your family hardly & that something your kids & wife never forgets!! I had chance too hit NASCAR circus yes Circus I help them sometimes in weekdays nights & I saw the hours & their wife & kids show up in the late evenings just to ask Dad important to them questions. I saw if I was single care less about a family then join that circus. Nope not for myself.
Wow. I used to know most of Granatelli's story, but I guess I just forgot, not having thought about it much in the past 40 years. And you're certainly right about those STP stickers--they were absolutely everywhere in the 60s and 70s...
I had a 1964 Studebaker Daytona Hardtop that had a rust hole in the right rocker panel. I put a STP sticker over the hole and it stayed there for over 15 years.
I was so lucky to get stationed in Southern California in the early 70s. I spent my money on beer, pretty ladies, and cars..the rest I just wasted. I got to meet Mr. Granatelli, Don Prudhomme, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits...Tom McEwen, and so many others..what a ride. I bet every weekend there was an auto race of some kind, somewhere in SoCal. I never got to meet Mario Andretti...drats...
I was honored to meet Andy at the 2011 Indy 500. I passed a pick-up truck and recognized him sitting alone in the truck. I turned around and walked up to the truck. He had his window rolled down and so I asked him if he was Andy Granatelli. He surprised me and jumped out of the pick-up truck and shook my hand. I was thrilled. I told him that I had seen his turbine cars raced at Indy when I was very young and that I thanked him for what he had done. I will never forget that day.
That video brings back a lot of sweet memories. I don't watch Nascar anymore. It lost the charm of the old days and like most things became more about greed than the colorful people who built it before they were kicked out.
Another interesting figure in motorsports is/was Mickey Thompson. Many of us recall when he and his wife were gunned down while riding their bicycles around their neighborhood. He spent more time in drag racing, but became more known after getting into off-road racing, along with his still existant line of automotive tires. Great coverage - as usual - of Andy Granatelli! Thank you!
Mickey Thompson's story is worth telling - for a long time it was thought by many to be a mafia hit. He had created indoor drag racing where the car was slowed by a huge bungee cord. The seats at the end of the track were the prized ones. During one event the bungee broke and killed the spectators at the end. It was thought that they were mob related and brought on the murder. It later turned out that it was a disgruntle business parters. Mickey was truly a genius.
I was a freshman in HS in 1967. Memorial Day was still on May 30 - no school! But the race was red flagged for rain shortly after it started. So it was run on May 31 - a school day. I had a portable radio with an earbud. I listened to most of the race undetected, but got busted with about 10 laps to go. I didn't know who won until I got home from school.
Hey History Guy 👋, I had a dream about you. You invited me over for Thanksgiving dinner and you said that you were bringing back the Whig party 🥳!So I left and returned with an Eva Gabor wig .Her Lisa Douglas holiday wig . The gravy and stuffing was scrumptious!
Dear Uncle Lance, One million thank you's for this long awaited episode of one of my personal heroes, the GREAT Andy Granatelli ... Mr 500 & Mr STP. A 100% true American made hero, inventor, showman. Mr 500 made growing up in the 1960's marvelous ... I had a friend who's family owned AUTO supply emporiums, and that kept me supplied with all kinds of STP stickers and advertising memorabilia. I would like to recommend to everyone who is interested in the incredible US history in regards to auto racing read the book Mr 500, Holy Smokes what a life this self made man lived, simply fascinating. Thanks again for one more fantastic episode. Andy Granatelli life and incredible accomplishments is without a doubt, HISTORY that Deserves to be REMEMBERED ... Best wishes and kindest regards, C.D.
This was a really great story, I never knew a 10th of the info you researched on the Granatellis. For a future subject, you might like Henry "Smokey" Yunick, a long-time car builder who was known for many extensive and clever ways he "bent" the rules and thus developed many advances in racing. A very neat guy indeed.
I worked at a local speed shop and had the pleasure of making the exhaust systems for the fleet of Studebakers that set the Bonneville speed records, drove the twin Paxton blown Avanti on the streets of Santa Monica, and installed a small block Ford V8 in the small Mercedes Indy pit bus. Fun times, and Andy was a great tipper too!
What a GRABBER of a post. By leaps and bounds my most favorite segment of racing history. I am a firm believer that if USAC had failed to legislate away the turbine powerplant, that today's consumer automotive market would be a very, very different place. Granatelli was poised to change the world in big ways, but petty concerns and jealousies got in the way. After all, a Chinook APU turbine is the size of a bread-box. You could literally carry it under one arm, and it packs a whopping 300 horsepower. Imagine THAT under the hood of your Ford Pinto!
Turbines are impractical as automobile powerplants for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is cost. The Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6 engine that Granatelli used in his Indy cars is still made today, and if you want to buy one yourself, you’ll have to cough up around $350,000. For that price you’ll get an engine that responds slowly to demands for more power, is prone to overheating if mishandled, and burns twice as much fuel as a piston engine at equivalent power output. Granatelli’s genius was figuring out that all of those downsides were not that much of a problem for an Indy car that simply has to circle a track 200 times to win. That engine will put out 850 horsepower all day long without breaking a sweat as long as you keep feeding it. As I understand it, the bearing that failed and put the car out of the race was one of the parts added by the Granatelli race team to adapt the turbine to an automotive transmission, so it wasn’t the engine’s fault.
@@singleproppilot Interesting! The Chinook APU that I saw was powering a kit helicopter in San Carlos. And he had it detuned to about 150 HP so nothing would break.
@@grecco_buckliano Experimental homebuilt aircraft have a huge variety of powerplants, including Volkswagen, Subaru, and Corvair boxer engines, experimental diesels, Mazda Wankel engines, and repurposed turbine APUs. A lot of these are long on cool factor but short on practicality. But when it comes building a homemade aircraft, it’s a labor of love and it’s up to the builder to decide if making it cool and interesting is more important than making it reliable, efficient, and cost effective.
Mr. Granatelli is simply LEGEND! What he was able to do and how he did the numerous things in his life are astounding. I love the 500 and loved to watch just to see Mr. Granatelli whooping it up in the infield or on Pit Row. He gave the 500 flash and flare and some much needed laughter at times. His impact on the 500 and racing in general is incalculable. RIP Andy Granatelli. A true GIANT of the racing world!
Excellent as usual. Most of what I knew about Granatelli was from his Studebaker connection. He set a bunch of records at Bonneville driving Studebakers, and if you ordered a Stude with the high performance (and rare) R3 or R4 engine the engine was shipped from Studebaker to Granatelli's shop where they built it. The Avanti pictured was not a Studebaker Avanti, it's an Avanti II, made by the Avanti Motor Corporation after Studebaker closed their South Bend plants. The Avanti has quite a story of its own, and is also history that deserves to be remembered.
I've had two Avantis. Had my '77 Avanti II since '82, and it was restored in 2015. It's fun to park it, walk away, and watch people react when they see it. Older folks get very animated, look inside, talk about it, explain it to friends. This generation has no clue. They tend to walk around it, looking very puzzled, not saying much, and move on.
I worked with his CFO, Al Vitale. He gave me so many STP things from those days. Cuff links, Indy 500 pit passes that are metal badges and the coolest thing he gave me was an STP transistor radio that's still mint, never been opened or used. It's still in a box, in a box. And of course, he gave me a ton of STP stickers.
Not sure how I missed this one when it released. I especially love when you do videos on cars or racing related things. Andy was the man. I had STP stickers on everything growing up, and his cars were the inspiration for my Pinewood Derby car.
Good video! Dad was racing director for Valvoline 1960-70 and knew Andy. And as they did not compete, oil vs additive, they became friends. Dad even bought a Studebaker from Andy. The smartest move Andy made, IMHO, was the deal with Petty. WAY more exposure than his Indy ventures. Part of the Petty deal grew out of a 'friendly competition' Andy had with Dad and Valvoline. Thanks
I live 5 miles west of the Indianapolis motor speedway. I have enjoyed attending races since I was a kid. Probably been to more than 20 races. Me and my wife now attend every year for the last 5. It's a magical place that gives me goose bumps during the opening ceremonies. I miss Jim Neighbors singing, back home again.
Andy Granatelli was one of my favorites Used STP in my VW Bugs. Both went to over 120,000 on the original engines. (except for #3cylinders. New Oilcooler towers helped..)
Thank you, in England the Indy 500,was a legendary race track, and if it was ever broadcasting in England, the lounge was full. Such a great man. Give my love to history cat, and thank you for filling in the gaps to my knowledge ❤️❤️🇬🇧
Being born and raised in Indianapolis, and of big fan of the "500" - especially the former years till around the mid 1980's, this episode was close to my heart. 1963 was my actual first year of becoming a true fan of Indy racing. The STP cars were unique with the NOVI V-8 engine. I personally liked the England built Lotus cars of designer- owner, Colin Chapman. His main driver became my all-time favorite: Jimmy Clark of Duns, Scotland. When Chapman's company (Lotus Cars, Ltd.) joined Grantelli's STP Corporation, I thought, the Grantelli boys were sooner or later going to get finally a winner in "Victory Cirle" at Indy and elsewhere. So it was, three times (1969 ,1973 & 1982: Mario and Gordon Johncock of Coldwater, Michigan) wins at Indy, alone. The STP boys almost did it again in the 1980's with talented Columbian race driver, Roberto Guerrero (which I was pulling for to win) Yes. Andy was a "one of a kind" in motorsport's history. And...I used his products many times. The "stuff" works.
Me too. In 1962, I was a 'paper boy' for the Indianapolis Star. My manager said he would take us the the Indy 500 time trials. I had a ball! Paid 3 dollars to have my picture taken with Eddie Sachs. I came home bubbling with excitement and my dad took the family to the 1063 time trials. I walked into the pits and saw the BRG-British Racing Green and yellow Lotus 29 of Jim Clark and knew he had the right stuff or so a 13 year old kid knows. The day Jim Clark was killed in a Formula Two race @ the Hochenhiem Ring was one of the saddest days of my life.
For awhile, Granatelli owned the Tune-Up Masters chain and the buildings still live on as small repair shops. Not long after he sold the company the advent of computerized systems in automobiles negated the need for regular tune-ups and most of the Tune-Up Masters shops eventually closed.
I never used any lubricating products in my cars that were not STP or Valvoline. Nowadays, I just let the dealership change the fluids since I paid for service for the life of the vehicle. But, I never realized Andy Granatelli was part of STP. Probably because I was more into F1 than Indy or NASCAR. Great short documentary on a racing great.
Since you made an episode about this guy, you should do one about Smokey Yunick. He was a bomber pilot in every theater during WWII, and mechanic shop owner in Dayton after the war. His racing highlights were as a car owner and mechanic for both NASCAR and Indy. Some would call him a cheater when he was racing NASCAR, because of his unique interpretation of the thin rule book back then. It is said a lot of the current rule book should be dedicated to him because of his loose interpretation of the rules inspired NASCAR management to write new ones. He was an inventor, and worked for each of the Big Three, developing racing technology and parts. He also freelance wrote for various racing rags in the later years, writing technical articles. He wrote several engine building books and other go-fast publications to help the weekend racer or hot rodder to improve their car. He is also a founding member of Embry Riddle Aeronautical Academy, and served on the board for several years. He was self educated, and accomplished a lot during his life that still live on with us today. He is a forgotten piece of racing history, that deserves to be remembered.
Until now I wasnt familiar with the STP story or who ran it. My dad covered the Indy 500 races for a radio station in the late 1960's and interviewed most of the drivers of those races. I'll have to ask him if ever met this guy.
I actually met Granatelli as a kid in Florida in 1972. I was a big racing fan even then and had heard of him but as a 10 year old, didn't realize how significant he was in the sport. It wasn't until years later that I came to understand what a gregarious, larger than life guy he was but also down to earth and unpretentious. On the day I met him, he actually came out of his way to see me because he'd heard I was a race fan but the surprising thing was that the people we were visiting were only vaguely familiar with him through mutual friends. I've never forgotten our meeting. I only wish I'd been older at the time and more able to understand how significant it was for a man of his stature to come out of his way to meet some random kid from up north.
This is amazing. Please do a episode on Louis Meyer and the Meyer family! Would be very interesting to watch also! Much history behind the whole family!!!
I know that it's short notice but the music venue gambling house in Montreux Switzerland burned fifty years ago on December 4 1971 and was the subject of the huge Deep Purple song Smoke on the Water. Very interesting story to tell there...
I live in NOVI. Until recently one of these cars was located in the children’s section of the public library. They since removed the car and put it in the lobby of City Hall. Also the building that they manufactured the engine in “the NOVI Special” May have been recently torn down. I am unsure if that is a fact but there is a water tower that is adjacent to that building or was adjacent to that building and it had a very old look to it with the Novi special drawn and painted on it. Recently the water tower got a facelift and looks incredible again. PPG provided the paint to do the job for free I believe. Thanks PPG your logo looks properly affixed to the underneath portion of the water tower.
I remember trying the STP screwdriver challenge when I was a kid, it's truly impossible to keep it from slipping through your fingers! I used to deal with Vince Granatelli in the San Fernando Valley when he was running Tune Up Masters, we had a small family owned machine shop that catered to automotive businesses in the valley, also an old friend of my dad's was a fabricator for Andy on his indy cars for a time.
I think that the Fordillac originated with Bill Frick in Rockville Center, Long Island, NY. Frick went on in 1953 to produce the Studillac based on the new Studebaker coupe.
I was a customer of " Tune Up Masters" in Southern California during the early 1980's. They always did a great job and I used them until I learned to do the work myself.
Every American should go to the Indianapolis 500 at least once. Something that must be experienced. Granatelli was legendary to be sure. Self-made in the oil "industry" of sorts. Today's equivalent is Forrest Lucas. Born poor but always digging and scratching. Today the Colts play in Lucas Oil Stadium and countless racing series have the Lucas Oil label. Hope he follows Granatelli to major Indy 500 sponsorship. Not as flamboyant to be sure, but every bit the sportsman.
I had a big stack of STP stickers back in the 70's when I was a kid...I remember handing them out to other kids and sticking them all over the place in my little town
I had the pleasure of hosting Al Uncer Jr. In Hawaii, what a family indeed, every Son a motorhead Old man Unser had a special jumpsuit made with the name "GoodStond" om the back so he could share sponsership to his Son's who ran different tirews in the 500. Brad Craig introduced the Unser fa,ily to me and has been a friend ever since.
Nice video. I worked for Andy in the late 70s he was a force of nature. I would have liked to see some info on tuneup master’s and his roll in Californias smog control system.
BRAVO! Please do a bio on Jimmy Clarke. The son of a Scottish shepherd that was arguably the greatest formula one driver ever. He was the jet-set playboy of the era and is memorialized in a little village in Scotland. From a sheep farm to every upscale society in Europe. It's a great story.
I remember in 1968, track officials deemed Andy's engine to be an explosion hazard, and made a rule that an explosion-proof shield between engine and driver was to be installed. This rule was pointedly to keep his car from being competitive. However, Granatelli had engineers create an explosion-proof shield out of titanium, much stronger and lighter than the cast iron that was presumed to be the metal of choice. I also remember that failed bearing, a $6 wheel bearing that failed nearly at the end of the race.
My recollection was that they finally made turbine cars uncompetitive by requiring a maximum engine air inlet size, a size that would have no effect on normal piston engines but would choke a turbine as turbines have a lot more air going through them. They argued it was "fair" as it was enacted on all vehicles, but it's purpose was clearly to get rid of the turbines. It's possible I'm thinking of a different race series, such as Formula 1, which I'm sure had a similar story. Those race series are always trying to keep teams from being too innovative, while they supposedly like innovation they really want to keep things familiar and traditional.
@@quillmaurer6563 You are correct. Prior to the mid 1960s there really were no limits on the turbine air inlet size, because nobody in USAC, the Indy Car sanctioning body, thought anyone would actually BUILD a turbine powered racing car. A few teams messed around with one (John Zink and Jack Adams & Norm Demler) but never really made a serious attempt to qualify for the 500. For 1967 the rule was that the inlet was 25 square inches, partially calculated off of the engine in the Adams and Demler entry's 32 sq in inlet. For 1967 the #40 STP Turbine came in at just shy of 24 sq in. After the 1967 race (and the piston-engined teams complaints) the regulations called for 16 square inches. Andy and Pratt and Whitney spent big bucks getting the engine modified to work at 15.9 square inches of inlet. It worked, and the Lotus 56 Turbines broke the 170 mph barrier in qualifying, but the cars weren't as dominant as in 1967. Bobby Unser actually led more laps than Joe Leonard and could catch Leonard on the track, even though Leonard was leading at the end when he fell out. (Running under yellow the excess heat caused a fuel pump shaft to overheat and break. It was a safety feature added to save the engine from damage carried over from aircraft usage). For 1969 the inlet size was reduced to 12 sq in and the engines were basically obsolete.
@@mmack647 So in other words the sanctioning body never wanted to allow turbines, but for some reason couldn't simply ban them outright, and thus engaged in an arms race between their rules and those trying to design turbine cars?
@@quillmaurer6563 I don't think they never wanted to allow jet turbine powered cars, I think the sanctioning bodies never thought anyone would try it. The minute someone did make a somewhat workable car (Adams & Demler) they realized "Hey, we ought to look into this" and came up with what they thought was an acceptable limit to "equalize" the turbine with piston engines. I don't think they expected someone with the money and engineering expertise available to Andy Granatelli to show up with something as advanced as the #40 STP Turbine. The car really embarrassed the piston engined cars (even though it lost) and a lot of teams complained. They were afraid they'd have to spend big money to build their own turbine cars and began to raise Hell to USAC. USAC and the Indy 500 needed the cars and drivers and didn't want to rock the boat. The problem was the fans LIKED the car, or a big enough number did, so they couldn't outright ban it. And the publicity it brought in was nice. So they added extra restrictions (smaller inlet, smaller diameter tires for the 4WD drivetrain) thinking that took care of that. And Andy and Colin Chapman of Lotus came back with a better car in 1968. But the piston engined cars could catch it. Even then it almost won the race. And USAC at that point had had it, and added more restrictions. And eventually banned 4WD cars too. So I'd say their view "evolved" as it were.
@@mmack647 So what you're saying is they didn't necessarily want to ban turbine engine cars, but wanted to restrict their performance so that conventional piston engine cars could keep up? I suppose that makes sense, though I've always been interested to see what someone could build if there weren't restrictions like that, if designers could do whatever they want to make the fastest possible car. I guess Le Mans is sort of like that, as is the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. I don't know of a turbine car in that one, my guess is the nature of that race, with it's tight turns and thus rapid throttle changes, wouldn't work well with a turbine car, despite them having an advantage at high altitude. Interestingly the current anything-goes-class record holder is electric, I guess at the moment (and probably from now on) electric is the best approach for that particular race.
The man deserves to be remembered. I felt so sad for him when that darned bearing let go sooooooooo close to the end that I thought that God was being unkind.
A correction: at 12:52 The Bonneville record of 241.731 was set in August of 1985. The car was a 1982 Camero. (The cover shown is the August 19th, 1985 issue.) A month before he had set a much more amazing record of 194.387 in a 1983 Chevy Caprice with 3 passengers! 😲 - A couple weeks after this issue, in the 'reader's response' column there was a very funny letter where someone said, "Who cares about the car. Tell us about the lawn chair. Is it carbon fiber?" (I wouldn't be surprised if the letter had been sent in by a friend taking a pot shot.😆)
- Additional about the Chevy Caprice. He related how much he enjoyed having it shipped to Europe and blasting past cars on the autobahn with this huge American land barge! 😂🤣🤣🤣
andy granatelli owned champion lab the oil filter company we made the filters in the now closed west Salem factory and he owned pyroil at the same time
You started off on the wrong foot, what do you mean 'the so called' greatest spectacle in racing? Andy was the man at the 500, don't recall anyone ever saying anything but good about him. A little history, the man that stuck the BW trophy on the back of Mario's car was my freshman biology teacher Jack MacKensie, he did that for over 20 yrs. In 82' a young Navy recruiter got to be part of the color guard, there are no words how proud I was to be part of the National Anthem in front of 300k race fans.
Suggestions for other stories? There is a lot of interesting history in auto racing. Races, tracks, drivers, teams, builders. You could have a channel on that alone
You know I never backlash anyone but when Andy granatelli opened up tune-up Masters. That's when his name declined and his name became shameful. Don't go by my statement go by the online reviews on the company Tune-up Masters. Mr history guy you are amazing and I loved every second of this video. I actually thought towards the end of the video you were going to mention the tune-up master automotive repair locations They would also give you a sticker with the TM logo to put on your back windshield
