I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned here yet: "Over the years, the man who holds the unofficial title of best all-around racer ever has been given many honors. None is more prized than the one he received Monday night at the Columbus Citizens Foundation in New York. A beaming Andretti, standing before a small crowd of family and friends, received the Commendatore dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in honor of his public service, achievements as a race car driver and enduring commitment to his Italian heritage. The Commendatore, as it is known, is the highest honor granted a civilian by the Italian government, similar to being knighted in Great Britain. Only a handful of Italian Americans have been given the honor, and it took a while for the folks who give out these things to get around to Andretti." "Mario proudly displayed the green ribbon and medallion placed around his neck, a symbol of his new stature, and thought about the other recipient of the Commendatore from the racing world, the late Enzo Ferrari. 'Mr. Ferrari was one of my heroes for most of my life,' Andretti said. 'A lot of people called him Commendatore, but he always wanted to be known as Engineer, which he was early in his career. Still, it's truly an honor to be mentioned in the same breath with him.'" Congratulazioni, Mario!
Couldn't go to a more deserving driver. Congrats Mario! hmmmm....Marco in A Ferrari. I hope he takes after granddad and not Michael.
I met Mario, briefly, 4 or 5 times. You would never see a person more gracious to the fans. One time I was on a balcony looking down as Mario signed autographs. He missed my then 5 yr. old son. As he passed through a secure area I yelled "Mario". When he looked up I pointed to my son behind the barrier. He went back, picked him up, signed his shirt. My son remembers that today and always will.
I've met him twice;really down-to-earth great guy. I was at a book signing by him in Manhattan;before the signing I'm standing in the book store hanging out, I turn around and there he was right behind me. I started speaking Italian to him, telling him I was at Monza in 1982 when he grabbed the pole and finished third after some turbo trouble. He was very impressed. When it came time to get my book signed he wrote a nice note in Italian to me. Pure class... A few weeks ago I was at a Porsche club DE event at Pocono; an orange Murci showed up, took a quick spin and left; on his way out I was coming the other way and the driver waved to me-I'm 99% sure it was Mario.... Guy won in everything from dirt track to F1. How many drivers can say that??
World Champ. Indy 500 winner, Daytona 500 winner, runner-up at LeMans (twice?). NO driver can claim that.
He could have easily won the F1 Championship in 1977 also if the Lotus-Cosworth were more reliable and we all know the bad luck he's had at Indy... I think he finished second and third at LeMans-not wins but still podiums...
Just as a matter of interest. I read somewhere, long time ago and I can't remember where, that Enzo Ferrari's Commendatore title had been withdrawn after the war, along with those many other Italians, because it had been received under Mussolini's regime -1923 to 1945. I don't know if this is true, but apparently all these titles were cancelled, although after a while they were again allowed to be called Commendatore(s) although they were not reinstated in the order. I think that there is a mention to that effect in Enzo Ferrari's memoirs "Mi joii terribli" (probably wrong spelling!), where he wrote that he prefered to be called Engineer. Re Mario Andretti, I can just echo most of the comments in this thread: a damn good driver and a terrific guy. I wish there were more racers like him on the circuits now...
Great driver, no one deserves the honor more. Only saw him race once, USGP in '76, I think. in this car... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
