"Odds of this happening are so slim": When Mario Andretti had 'greatest' IndyCar moment by beating son Michael on Father's Day

Mario Andretti and his son, Michael Andretti, were part of one of IndyCar's most memorable finishes at the 1986 Grand Prix of Portland. The younger Andretti was on track for a commanding victory over his father on Father's Day and the rest of the grid until disaster hit in the final moments of the race.

He led the race comfortably and was more than a minute ahead of his dad, Mario, in P2, at one point. However, after a crash-induced pit stop, that lead shrank to 20 seconds and eventually to eight seconds with over 10 laps remaining. In the final stint, Michael Andretti's No. 18 Kraco Racing Cosworth experienced a fuel pick-up problem. As a result, he adopted a fuel conservation strategy.

While he was doing that, his dad and Al Unser Jr in P3 reduced the gap to him to less than three seconds. However, Michael's fuel-saving efforts weren't enough as his car ran out of fuel on the final straightaway, and he coasted to the finish line. Mario Andretti overtook him just before the finish line to set a new closest finish in IndyCar with a margin of 0.070 seconds between them.

The former Newman/Haas Racing driver was thrilled with his victory, which also marked his first win since the 1983 Grand Prix of Portland.

"I’ve been blessed with a lot of great moments in my career," Mario Andretti said (via the LA Times). "But this has to be one of the greatest because blood is thicker than water. It’s something that’s so special because the odds of this happening are so slim. How sweet it is.”

Meanwhile, a disappointed Michael Andretti called losing the race a "Father's Day gift" to his father. That year, he also lost the championship to Bobby Rahal by just eight points.

Mario Andretti had nearly settled for P2 at the 1986 Grand Prix of Portland before a crucial team radio message

Mario Andretti was nearly out of contention for the race win at the 1986 Grand Prix of Portland despite being in P2. His son had built such a large time cushion for himself in the lead that even a crash with Danny Sullivan didn't threaten his lead.

As a result, Andretti Senior had mentally accepted a P2 finish. He said (via IndyCar):

"I was running second in the latter part of the race, but he (Michael) controlled the race. He was pretty much dominating. Toward the end, there was no way I could catch him, so I settled protecting second place and figured I’d bring it home.

However, with about four laps remaining, Mario Andretti's team manager warned him about a fuel problem in his son's car, and the race was back on.

"About three or four laps from the end, I started getting word from my team manager. He said, 'Hey, I think Michael’s having a little problem with some fuel pick-up.'"

When everything was finished, the Andretti family left Portland with a 1-2 finish, just not in the way they had imagined until the final corner of the last lap. They have recounted the story several times in interviews, including on the Jimmy Fallon show, where all three generations of the Andretti family once gathered.

Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer