This was the state of the world when he entered it on Feb. 28, 1940. And the next 15 years didn't get any better. But turning bad situations into opportunities -- even when things look bleak -- became a trademark of this man, who went on to become possibly the greatest driver in auto racing history.
Montona is a farming community, a humble village in the northern tier of the country. This was the place where he first fell in love with racing.
Rina, his mother, used to tell the story about how when he was just 5 years old he would take a homemade car and ride it down the hillside streets of Montona with his twin brother, Aldo. Not even the German soldiers could dissuade the boys to stop their version of a soap box derby.
The war ended in 1945, but unfortunately, Italy's struggles did not. And it was those very problems that ultimately led the family to move to Nazareth, Pa., ten years later.
"IF IT WASN'T FOR THE WAR, my family would not be here in the United States. It's because of the war and border conflicts with Yugoslavia and Italy that we went away from home," he said once in an interview. "We became like classic refugees because it (Yugoslavia) became a communist country. We were just 40 kilometers inside the border when the new borders were drawn, so we left."
But that was not until 1955. Before that move occurred, he already had been hooked on auto racing. What caused him to drive down that road?
"The news clips, when I saw the movies back in 1950 in Italy and watched guys in the Grand Prix or wherever. Motor racing was always in the forefront in those years in sports in Italy," he said. "I just became totally fascinated. That was something I wanted to pursue in life. I've said many times I had no idea how I was going to go about it. But as I reached manhood, and it was time to make decisions, I figured, 'Well, I'm going to pursue this, and find a way.' And once you do, you find that it's everything it was cracked up to be and then more. And less as well."
He took this fascination of speed literally, starting to ride motorcycles whenever the opportunity arose at the age of 13.
"CARS WERE TOO FAR-FETCHED, too hard to get involved in," he said. "So I thought the opportunity would have been in bikes, and which really would have been all right with me because that was really my first love."
Later in the year in 1953, he entered his first racing event -- he drove a Formula-I Junior car event in Ancona, Italy.
In 1954, he attended his first real Formula I race. It was the Mille Miglia, a 1,000 mile event with roads that twisted and turned their way from the town of Brescia in central Italy to Rome and then back again to Bresica. He was just 14 at the time, but he was totally captivated by the cars, the sounds, the sights and especially his idol, Italian racing star Albert Ascari.
But 1955 came and so did an opportunity for the family to move from the madness of politics in post-war Italy. He protested at first because he felt he would not be able to return to race in F-1 contests in Europe, but the family was determined to escape Italy and live in the land of opportunity. Which is how he arrived in Nazareth.
PRACTICING ON THE POCONO ROADS of eastern Pennsylvania as a teenager, he started racing modified stock cars and in 1958, driving a Hudson Hornet, he won his first event.
The following year, he and his twin brother built their own car. "It was 1959 when my brother and I stared to build our own car -- which was the only way to get started at the local level -- and all of a sudden we proclaimed ourselves race drivers," he said. We didn't give too much of a background (when they applied to enter events). We said, 'Well, we just came from Italy. Here's our resume -- a license.'"
From there, his career kicked into high gear. In 1964, he entered his first Indy-car event in Trenton, N.J.
That began three decades of championships and more than 100 victories in every thing from Midget cars to drag races. And all the while, he had no idea of the history he was forging.
"No, you could never predict anything or foresee the outcome of your career in any possible way. One thing I've always tried to do is set my goals over-ambitiously," he said. "Honestly, that gave me reason to work that much harder to try to achieve things. I was very fortunate along the way that somehow I was able to put a lot of things together, and a lot of good things happened for me."
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Who had the only unassisted triple play in world series history?
-- From C. Hollenbaugh at a juno.com.
I know that one, C. It was Cleveland's Bill "Wambsganss" Wamby in the 1920 series where the Indians beat Brooklyn, 5 games to 2.
How did this man, Mike Krzyzewski, really win ACC coach of the year over the man (Dean Smith) who, no question, did the best coaching job this season? What up with that?
-- From E.W. at a Nando kind of .com.
Well, EW, it beats me. I think we ought to give breathalyzer tests to those guys who voted on that one. Dean Smith should have earned coach of the century for taking that team to the Final Four. Heck, everyone had them written off months before the Big Dance.
Here's one I bet you don't know. Who made the longest shot in NBA history?
-- From some nerd using one of the dang HotMail accounts.
Never underestimate the minutia of the master, bud. It was Norm Van Lier of the Chicago Bulls who stung the nets from 84 feet on Jan. 19, 1977. But those were his only points of the night and not enough to beat the Spurs.
Do you really, really, honestly and truly, think the Mariners can go all the way this year?
-- From some Junior at a Mariner.com.
Sorry, Junior, but not even you are enough to put the M's in the Classic this fall. With Russ Davis and Mike Blowers filling in for Paul Sorrento when lefties are on the mound, you have a real problem at the corners. The pitching staff is good for two wins but after Randy Johnson and Jeff Fassero it goes downhill fast. And we are betting with you all-out attitude even you will be breaking some bone this year. Ya gotta slow down, kid.
1) What driver has won more pole positions in Indy-car racing than him? Give up?
2) In terms of Indy-car career victories, who has him beat? Give up?
3) He set a world, closed-course speed record on July 31, 1993, by driving 234.275 mph at what Indy-car course? Give up?
4) When did he enter his first Formula One Grand Prix event? Give up?
5) Where did he notch his first GP victory? Give up?
Mike Emmett has been kicking around sports departments in newspapers and online operations around the U.S. for years. Got something to say to the Irishman? Email him with a click here.
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