SPEEDWAY, Ind. - Pat Bremer has called Speedway, Indiana home for 22 years. This year will be his last Indy 500 before he moves to a new city. Before he leaves, he is asking his favorite drivers to stop by his home to sign his wing and wheel statute.
Bremer reflected on his time in Speedway on X (formerly Twitter) and his post went viral with more than 100,000 views. That’s what got the attention of one of his favorite drivers.
That driver was racing legend Mario Andretti, who won the Indy 500 in 1969.
“I figure, I am going to stop by,” said Mario Andretti. "It looked like the front door was open basically and I figured I would go up there and ring the bell. Nobody answered. I saw the wheel and wing (statute) and I signed it. I had no idea I was on camera.”
Bremer was at the grocery store when Andretti stopped by his Speedway home, but his Ring Doorbell caught the full interaction.
“When it first happened, I was at the store shopping for groceries for the big party we have tonight,” Bremer said. “When I got out, I checked my X notifications and I saw Mario replied and said ‘Hey, I was just at your house and rang your doorbell, nobody answered, so I went ahead and signed it anyway.’ At first, I was like, ‘No… My wife was there… Maybe he got the wrong house or something?’ I got home and sure enough it was signed.”
At first Bremer was shocked he had missed one of his favorite drivers outside his front door, just missing him by an hour or so.
“I got home and I was like, ‘How did this happen?’" Bremer said. “Now we are laughing about it. Just the fact he was on our front porch and I was able to capture the Ring [Doorbell] video that was 36 seconds. The greatest 36 seconds of my 22 years in Speedway.”
Even though they didn’t meet that day, Bremer and Andretti finally had the chance to connect over the weekend. They exchanged stories and racing memories with one another and laughed about the doorbell incident from a few days prior.
“That’s something I will never forget for the rest of my life.”
Andretti wished Bremer the best of luck on his upcoming move, but before he officially leaves Speedway, he will be back at the track celebrating the Indy 500 on Sunday.