1967: Northern invasion

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- On a chilly day, Mario Andretti had the hot ride.

Andretti, an Italian immigrant residing in Pennsylvania and more at home in an Indy car than a stock car, led a 1-2 Ford sweep in the ninth annual Daytona 500, avoiding a two-car pileup two laps from the finish. Teammate Fred Lorenzen was second, the only other car on the lead lap at the end.

KNOW YOUR NASCAR  The 1960's served as a stage for some of the biggest names in NASCAR history as they evolved from obscure young drivers to champions and then to superstars.  •  1967 Season Recap  •  50 Greatest Drivers  •  More NASCAR History    1967 Daytona 500 Top 10  1. Mario Andretti  2. Fred Lorenzen  3. James Hylton  4. Tiny Lund  5. Jerry Grant  6. Darel Dieringer  7. Sonny Hutchins  8. Richard Petty  9. Jim Hurtubise  10. Neil Catles

The two Holman and Moody Ford Fairlanes weren't expected to pose much of a threat to the Chevelles, Chargers and Plymouths in the field, but Andretti tipped his hand with a blazing lap of more than 182 mph during Thursday's practice.

During the race, Andretti was able to tap into that speed despite nine cautions for 54 laps, many of which were spins caused by the unusually cold weather. His primary challenge came from David Pearson, who was running third when the engine on his Charger let go with 41 laps remaining.

That left Lorenzen and Tiny Lund to chase Andretti to the finish.

"I don't like people drafting me, so I weaved and drifted trying to shake Lorenzen," Andretti said. "But Freddie is smart and he stuck until he and Tiny Lund started jockeying around and forgot about me momentarily. Then I slipped away."

Andretti built a lead of 27 seconds, only to have Jerry Grant and Jim Hurtubise tangle in the fourth turn directly in front of his Fairlane on lap 198.

"All I could see was smoke," Andretti said. "So I just hugged the wall and hoped and prayed that they were down on the track. Couldn't see a thing and I had absolutely no control of the situation."

Andretti slipped through unscathed and crossed the finish line under caution, followed by Lorenzen, James Hylton, Lund and Grant. Defending winner Richard Petty finished eighth despite mechanical problems.

After the race, Andretti was still fuming about the unfamiliar technique of drafting.

"Why draft when you're fast enough to lead?" Andretti asked. "I leave that stuff alone and try to get out front. It is very frustrating, though, when somebody drafts me. It's hard to shake them off."

This is one in a series of articles counting down to the 2003 Daytona 500.