David Letterman’s career in TV comes to an end this evening with the conclusion of his run as host of Late Show. But Letterman has humble roots in Indiana, and before he became one of the most successful late night hosts in history, he was just a guy from Indiana that loved racing. Here he is at the Indy 500.

Letterman was reporting from one of the corners at the race when Mario Andretti dropped out. Jim McKay introduced him as Chris Economaki, the dean of motorsports journalism, instead of by his own name.

Letterman gets a few questions in to Mario, and that’s it. And nobody there thought they’d still be watching him on TV nearly 45 years later. Letterman will undoubtedly be at the Indy 500 this weekend to watch his own Rahal Letterman Lanigan team go for the win, but he won’t have to talk about it on TV at all.

That’s probably a relief.

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