Singing (or Trying to) with John Andretti

So John Andretti died today. Very sad. I have a John Andretti story that spans 20 years...

Many years ago during the month of May in Indiana… in my karaoke DJ years in the 1990’s, my best DJ buddy and I were hired by a local radio station to run karaoke for a 500 driver’s signing party being held at an Indy car dealership. As it was, they set up our stage right next to the table where John Andretti was sitting to sign autographs for the patrons. There were a dozen or so drivers there that night — some heavyweights with the names of Foyt, Bettenhausen, Unser, and of course, Andretti.

We tried like crazy all night to get any driver to get up and sing a song and were unsuccessful except for Raul Boesel, who, despite a very thick Brazillian accent while speaking, sang the Beatles Yellow Submarine with almost perfect English dialect. It was weird, but I digress.

We were particularly ruthless and annoying in our pursuit of John Andretti, who put up with our relentless attack like a champ, mostly because he had no choice, being right next to our stage and all. My friend and I were renown for stopping at virtually nothing to coax someone into singing a song, and we really let John have it all night long. Afterward we thanked John for being such a sport and we all went our way.

Flash forward to over a year later. At the time, I also owned and operated a karaoke/recording shop in Union Station in downtown Indy. One afternoon, a local news station was doing a live broadcast from the entertainment stage in the food court. My shop was located in the food court, and I was working the shop that day. Just so happened that John Andretti was one of the featured guests on the news broadcast. I decided to mosey on over and see if I could tease John — if he even remembered me — into coming into the shop and recording a song. After the broadcast, he was talking with another person and I walked up and waited my turn beside them as they finished their conversation. They finished up, John turned and looked at me, and before I could say a word, he exclaimed, “I’M NOT SINGING A SONG!”

I laughed and said, “You remembered!” And we both shared a chuckle and chatted for a few moments and that was that. He wouldn’t come and record a song, needless to say.

Flash forward many years to 2011. I was asked by a friend to volunteer at a charity event downtown at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse that featured race drivers from all different genres racing against each other in go-karts. There were Indy Car guys and Nascar guys and Truck Series guys and Dirt Track guys all battling out against each other. Again, names like Tony Stewart, Austin Dillon, Josef Newgarden, and Ed Carpenter, and yes, John Andretti battled it out with Stewart winning the event.

I had the fortune of working in the driver’s hospitality room, meeting the guys and escorting them back and forth from that room to the pit area. Several years had gone by and I was fairly certain John wouldn’t recognize me. He was putting on his driver’s suit when I said, “you may not remember this, but I ran a karaoke stage many years ago next to you at a driver’s event.” He looked at me and said, “I’m still not singing a song!”

Again we laughed. He admitted he didn’t recognize me, but said he clearly remembered that night and how much a “pain in the ass” we’d been. I again thanked him for being such a sport, and he kindly chatted with me each time we had a chance the rest of the day.

John didn’t get the press his cousin and uncle did, but he was every bit the gentlemen, race driver, fierce competitor, and ambassador for the sport they are, and just an all around heck of a nice guy. Every time I hear his name, or see him on TV, I’m reminded of the fond memories.

I’m bummed he’s no longer with us.