INDIANAPOLIS — John Andretti, a veteran competitor who enjoyed success across multiple forms of racing and was a member of the famous Andretti racing family, died Thursday after a long battle with colorectal cancer.

He was 56 years old. His passing was confirmed by Andretti Autosport.

“It with the heaviest of hearts we share that John Andretti has today lost his battle with cancer,” the statement read. “John was a loving husband and father, a devoted son and a trusted cousin. He was a philanthropist, an advocate for the sport, a dedicated teammate, a driven competitor and most importantly a dear friend.”

Andretti was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in April of 2017. He went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy and had multiple surgeries in an effort to battle the cancer.

“They call colon cancer the ‘Silent Killer,’” Andretti told SPEED SPORT in July of 2019 (read this story here). “They do that because you can have it and not ever know it. The only way to find out if you have it is a colonoscopy.”

While he battled the disease, Andretti worked to raise awareness with his #CheckItForAndretti campaign. He also spent decades working with and raising awareness for the Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis through the Race4Riley program.

“The thing that has helped me a lot is not only the support of people around me, that is huge,” Andretti said. “But if you go into a children’s hospital and you don’t have a child there, you are crushed because these kids have the attitude and the inspiration that nobody else has because of what they are going through.

“We’re on our 23rd year of Race for Riley at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. I’ve seen at least a generation of kids come along and grow up from babies,” Andretti went on to explain. “One kid came up to me and wanted to meet me because ‘you held me as a baby.’ He told me he was completely healthy.

“This walk that I’ve gone down is a piece of cake compared to them,” Andretti said. “I’m 56 years old and I’ve lived my life. It’s been awesome. They haven’t had that chance to do that. You ask them how they are doing and they say they are fine. I know they may have had surgery just two days ago.

“I’m just an old guy that needs to deal with it and move on. These kids fight stuff more than I’m fighting.”

Born March 12, 1963, he was one of four children of Aldo Andretti, the twin brother of auto racing great Mario Andretti and cousin of Andretti Autosport team owner Michael Andretti. Much like his father and famous uncle, Andretti was bit by the racing bug and continued the family tradition by putting on a racing helmet.

He began his career in the United States Auto Club, capturing the 1983 USAC Indianapolis Speedrome Midget championship. It turned out to be the first of many forms of auto racing he would compete in during a lengthy racing career that spanned 30 years.

By the late 1980s, Andretti was racing sports cars, competing in the 1986 IMSA GT Championship alongside Davey Jones. He soon garnered attention from car owners in CART, making limited starts from 1987 through ’89 before securing a full-time ride in 1990 driving for Porsche Motorsports.

Prior to landing his full-time CART ride, Andretti partnered with Derek Bell and Bob Wollek to co-drive a Porsche 962 to the overall victory in the 1989 Rolex 24 at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

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“We are devastated by the news that our dear friend, John Andretti, has passed away,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “John was an extremely talented IMSA racer, as his 1989 Rolex 24 victory and three other victories will attest. But he was one of the most versatile racers ever, winning races in IndyCar and NASCAR and reaching the pinnacle of top fuel drag racing as well. Our thoughts and prayers are with John’s family, friends and many colleagues, and he will be missed by many throughout our motorsports community.”

Andretti raced full-time in CART for three seasons, from 1990 to ’92, earning his lone open-wheel victory during the 1991 Gold Coast Indy Car Grand Prix at Australia’s Surfers Paradise Street Circuit driving for VDS Racing.

In 1993, Andretti began to make the transition from open-wheel racing to stock car racing, making four starts in a car owned by Tex Powell in what is now known as the NASCAR Cup Series. He also dabbled in NHRA Top Fuel competition, reaching the semi-finals in his first Top Fuel race at Atlanta Dragway that year.

One year later, Andretti made the switch, running the full NASCAR Cup Series schedule by splitting the season between Billy Hagan’s No. 14 and the No. 43 for Petty Enterprises.

The same season that Andretti shifted his focus to stock car racing, he became the first racer to compete in the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the same day.

Driving a car owned by A.J. Foyt and supported by Jonathan Byrd’s at Indianapolis and Hagan at Charlotte, Andretti was the center of attention for two weeks. He finished 10th at Indianapolis before flying to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, where he finished 36th after a crankshaft failure.

Andretti made a living competing in NASCAR, making more than 350 starts and scoring Cup Series victories at Daytona Int’l Speedway in 1997 and Martinsville Speedway in 1999. His victories came while driving for a pair of NASCAR Hall of Famers, Cale Yarborough (Daytona) and Richard Petty (Martinsville).

After last competing at the Indianapolis 500 in 1994, Andretti returned to Indianapolis in 2007 and raced at Indy for five straight seasons. In 12 Indianapolis 500 starts, Andretti earned a best finish of fifth in 1991. He made his final Indianapolis 500 start in 2011.

His son, Jarett Andretti, made his Indianapolis Motor Speedway debut last year by racing in the Indy Lights Freedom 100. He became the seventh member of the Andretti family to compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.