Andy Granatelli Dead at 90

Andy Granatelli, who made STP a household name, died Sunday of congestive heart failure at the age of 90.

Granatelli is most famous in NASCAR circles for the pioneering sponsorship of Richard Petty in 1972. The company backed Pretty Enterprises for more than 30 years. Granatelli’s son, Vince, confirmed his father’s death Sunday afternoon.

Granatelli was CEO of STP after its parent company, Studebaker Corp., put Granatelli in charge of the Chemical Compounds Corp. One of its products was STP Oil Treatment.

Granatelli led STP into prominence by putting the company’s name on the Indy cars he fielded during the late 1960s. Granatelli’s STP machine won the 1969 Indianapolis 500 with Mario Andretti at the wheel and he won again in 1973 with Gordon Johncock at the controls.

A fixture at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for decades, Granatelli was one of the most popular and enduring figures in motorsports history, titling his autobiography, “They Call Me Mister 500.”

“Andy Granatelli – known appropriately as “Mister 500″ – understood better than anyone the spirit and challenge of the Indianapolis 500 and had a remarkable ability to combine innovative technologies with talented race car drivers to make his cars a threat to win at Indianapolis every year,” said Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles. “Andy leaves a legacy of historic moments that will live forever in Indianapolis 500 lore including his famous turbine that dominated the 1967 Indianapolis 500, the Lotus 56 of 1968, and giving the great Mario Andretti a kiss on the cheek in victory lane after his 1969 win. Our thoughts and prayers are with Andy’s family, friends and legion of fans.”

Granatelli is a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

National Speed Sport News contributed to this article.