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Granatelli inducted into Hall of Fame Posted: Thursday May 23, 2002 3:25 PM
The book cataloged his contributions here -- both real and exaggerated -- and it infuriated many in the old guard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Granatelli didn't care what people thought about him then, and he doesn't care now. The rotund Chicagoan spent 22 years as a team owner at the speedway, winning with Mario Andretti in 1969 and Gordon Johncock in 1973. His Indy tenure was passionate and polarizing. Now 79, Granatelli was as brash as ever when he finally was inducted into the speedway's Hall of Fame last weekend. "For those of you who came, I thank you," he said at the induction. "For those of you who voted for me, I really thank you. For those of you who didn't -- tough luck. I made it." Whether it was the waddling dash down pit lane and the infamous kiss he gave Andretti in Victory Lane, or the white suit covered in red STP logos that he wore along pit row, Granatelli always found his own way to do things. Some didn't like his style, and perhaps that was the reason it took Granatelli so long to reach Indy's Hall of Fame. He was inducted along with team owner Roger Penske, who team has won a record 11 500s, and the late Sid Collins, who was the radio voice of the race from 1952-77. Granatelli's personality is also what made him so successful in virtually every venue in which he's competed - on the racetrack, in the business world, and even now in raising money for charity. The honors keep coming. A week before the Indianapolis induction, Granatelli went into the Studebaker Hall of Fame in Chicago. Next month, he's scheduled to join Ireland's Achievement Museum, dedicated to preserving the life stories of those who made prominent international accomplishments. By the end of the year, Granatelli will have his name in 19 different halls of fame, including the one that proved most elusive. "They say the last place you're appreciated is at home," he said. "But I'm very happy to be in. This place has certainly been good to me." While much of Granatelli's success has come in the business world, such as turning STP from an unknown company into a multimillion-dollar corporation, his most enjoyable accomplishments were in racing. He employed some of the sport's greatest drivers and won some of its greatest events, winning not only at Indy but also at the 1972 Daytona 500 with Richard Petty. Granatelli always was testing the limits. "He was the most flamboyant person racing ever had," speedway historian Donald Davidson said. "We never had anyone like him before or since." He handed out decals, shirts and hats by the thousands. Fans chanted his name, and when a 1970s survey was taken to determine the most famous racing personality, Granatelli finished first -- mostly thanks to his STP fuel additive commercials that showed him swathed in a tan trenchcoat. "I always gave the public something to like," he said. To others, Granatelli was a symbol for everything they despised, turning the sport into a marketplace for STP, his own company. In 1967, he brought turbine-powered engines to the Indy 500, but it was banned after two years. Yet Granatelli was given the Louis Schwitzer Award for race-car development. "People were jealous," he said. "When the turbine engine came along, every mechanic here said, 'I'm dead in the water.' "It was like I had come out with cancer," he said. After winning the '73 race, Granatelli walked away from competitive racing, although he still returns to the track each year. Old-timers, such as A.J. Foyt, have not forgotten Granatelli's imprint. "I think he should have been in the Hall of Fame a long time ago, before me," said Foyt, a four-time Indy winner who was inducted in 1978. When the call finally came earlier this year, the plain-talking Granatelli demonstrated a characteristic not usually associated with him -- grace. "What I'm proudest of is not being in 19 halls of fame. I'm just so happy to have lived this long," he said. "But this is the place I always wanted to be."
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