John Andretti was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2017 Maria Pasquini is the staff editor for human interest’s digital vertical at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2017.

His nephew, John Andretti, competed in 393 Cup Series races and earned two victories. Marco Andretti, Mario’s grandson, has competed in multiple NASCAR National and Regional Series races since 2022.

Since Mario Andretti's victory at the 1969 Indy 500, no one from the Andretti family has won the elusive race again, with Michael Andretti coming close to ending this curse in 1992. However, this ...