Super Mario

Did you ever wonder what happened race car driver Mario Andretti?

I think I saw him Tuesday. He drove me to Turin.

I was supposed to catch a bus from the mountains to Turin, but it was delayed for some reason. So a kindly Olympic volunteer said she would get a car and driver for me and two other journalists.

An older man soon pulled up in a nondescript sedan. He didn’t look like Andretti, but he sure drove like him.

Zipping down from the mountains, he gunned the car up to 150 kilometers per hour. I didn't know how fast that was, but the beautiful snowcapped peaks were a big white blur. I vowed to convert that to miles per hour when I got down to Turin — if I got down to Turin.

Not surprisingly, a warning light on the car dashboard was flashing “Exccessivo Velocita.”?

That didn’t bother Andretti. And it didn’t bother us either — save for our white knuckles from gripping the seat. We made it to Turin 30 minutes faster than the bus would have.

Andretti dropped us off, then zoomed away. I sure wish I had gotten his number. We could probably use him next Monday morning when we need to get to the Milan airport.

Oh, and 150 kilometers per hour? That's a mere 93 miles per hour.