McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown recently expressed his feelings towards his idol and racing legend Mario Andretti. The 53-year-old shared the impact that the four-time IndyCar champion had on him as a child, and how his 1987 Long Beach-winning car, which Brown now owns, makes him feel like a teenager again.Zak Brown has created a lasting legacy at McLaren. Its F1 team won its first constructors' trophy in 26 years in 2024 and already has one hand on both drivers' and constructors' championships this year. Though its IndyCar team, Arrow McLaren, has yet to earn similar success, it is on its way to a title in the near future, with Pato O'Ward as the lead driver.Since joining McLaren Racing in 2016, Brown has changed the face of its racing operations. Simultaneously, the connections built in the motorsport world, coupled with the big bucks, have helped him build an incredible, multimillion-dollar car collection, consisting of both road and racing cars. One of those vintage racing cars is Mario Andretti's 1987 Long Beach winner.Zak Brown recently spoke about that Ilmor Chevrolet V8-powered car with which Andretti had ended an 84-race win streak for cars powered by the Ford Cosworth engine. In a conversation with the FOX booth ahead of IndyCar's 2025 Indy Toronto on Sunday, he said:"My historic cars are pinch-me moments because those are all the cars and drivers I grew up watching, idolizing. That brings out the 13-year-old, the 10-year-old, the 15-year-old in me. Like I can't believe I've got Mario Andretti's 1987 Long Beach winner. That's the car that I watched him win in when I decided I wanted to get into racing. Then I met Mario, and I just look at that like... it makes me 15 years old again.""Coming to Mario, who is a legend and a big hero of mine. I did his introduction for his lifetime achievement award in New York. I've never been so nervous... and it had nothing to do with me, but it was like I can't believe I've been asked by the Andretti family. So you have those moments," he added.Andretti had started the Long Beach race on pole and led all 95 laps to take his third IndyCar win on the iconic circuit, and fourth overall. The 1978 F1 champion will be present on the 2026 F1 grid as director of the Cadillac F1 team. For the first time in his life, Zak Brown will face off against his racing idol as McLaren's leader.Pato O'Ward gifts Zak Brown a special "first memory" in IndyCar with Toronto race winPato O'Ward with Zak Brown at the NTT INDYCAR Series Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto - Source: GettyArrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward secured his second IndyCar race win in the last three races on Sunday. He started the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto in P10. But a picture-perfect strategy from his No. 5 squad, coupled with brilliant driving from the Mexican driver, and a dash of luck, gave him his first victory on the streets of Toronto.Zak Brown, who was in attendance on the team's pit wall, got to witness Arrow McLaren's first race win in person. O'Ward was ecstatic to finally give the McLaren Racing CEO that experience."Zak [Brown] is the superstar this weekend. He's never been at any of our wins. He's been close, at the 500. He's never been at one of our wins. I'm glad and I'm super happy that I can give him that first memory of his IndyCar team, at least first win being there in the flesh. It's a really cool place to do it at," he said via ASAP Sports.Brown was equally thrilled about the victory, which took O'Ward closer to championship leader Alex Palou in the standings. The mammoth 129-point gap came down to 99 points, as Palou finished the race in a lowly P12 after a strategic mess-up.