However, this time the former Indy Car driver wasn’t behind the wheel, but rather riding in a van while traveling to the area’s three Andretti Indoor Karting & Games locations.
Andretti, along with his son, grandson and nephew, stopped by to visit team members in The Colony, Grand Prairie and wrapped up at the new complex in the Alliance area of Fort Worth.
This was the first time that Mario Andretti had visited the Fort Worth store since it officially opened Sept. 25, and Andretti family members Michael, Marco and Jarett were all present for an event called "Andretti Day" at the entertainment complex.
Andretti said the idea for the business started with his late nephew, John Andretti. John, also a professional racer, asked Mario and his cousin, Michael Andretti, to join the venture.
“We thought we could make this thing bigger, better and faster,” Mario Andretti said. “We’ll keep growing and keep going."
Mario Andretti talked about the new store and the future with Community Impact. Answers have been edited for length, style and clarity.
What's it been like so far being in Texas overall? You're growing pretty fast this year with locations in Grand Prairie and Fort Worth opening.
Andretti: I feel every community that we're in, we feel so welcomed. Also, we want to be good citizens, we want to contribute and it's just such a positive feeling everywhere we go. I mean, I'm so proud of our team [here] and what they're doing and the ambition that we see. Also, our workforce, that energy is what we want. Like I said, we feel so welcome here in Texas and we want to earn our place.
This is the third store in the last couple of years. How are you working with expanding the business?
Andretti: The economy, especially now, I think it's going to start going in the right direction. But even during the pandemic, we never missed a beat because we had all the safety systems in place and tried to just do the right thing with the community. You can do business here, companies can come here. I'm so proud of the team and the way they try to not miss anything; it’s top-notch. Really, this style of management was something that just kept the energy up for everyone. I had some of the youngsters that just pulled me aside [Nov. 12] say that they were so happy to be here, and we just started.
Do you see more growth in this area or in elsewhere in Texas?
Andretti: This is a big state, but also you have to be cautious, as well. They do a lot of advanced numbers and everything. You can see everywhere that we build is where there's expansion in the communities. You have to have that going for you. If more opportunities come up, why not?
How do you decide you want to come to Texas—what's your role in that?
Andretti: Basically, we do a lot of things in concurrence with Topgolf. [We] see what they do; they do a lot of research in our communities. Then we feed off one another because it's a big investment. When you commit, you want to be pretty sure that you're doing the right thing. Everything is up for grabs. We know we already have 2025 on the board. There are some pretty interesting numbers that we're talking about [for] 2026.
What is it like for you to still be involved in racing?
Andretti: I’m part of the racing family and racing community. That will always be until they put me in a box ... and that box better have wheels. So know that I never stop, I don't retire from anything ...
I don't think you’ll find a go-kart experience anything like we have here anywhere else. I take pride in that we have the latest technology with go-karts themselves. We do try to do the racing the best way possible. But if you want to go bowling, you can go bowling. If you want to do simulators, you got simulators, too.
