Sign Mario Andretti petition to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

Mario Andretti

The license plate on Jim Knipe's car reads "69 INDY."

Last year, he said, Mario Andretti autographed the plate for him.

"I'm a pretty heavy-duty Mario Andretti fan," Knipe, a 58-year-old Bethlehem resident, said this week.

Considering that it has been more than 20 years since Andretti drove his final IndyCar series race, the fact that Knipe still has such a passionate interest in the 1967 Daytona 500 winner, 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner, 1978 Formula One world champion and four-time Indy-car national champion is beyond commendable.

But this week, Knipe has taken that passion to another level.

On Tuesday, Knipe initiated a petition to get the almost-75-year-old Andretti considered as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

But getting Andretti to the next step in the selection process won't be easy. Knipe won't be bringing a piece of paper to your home. You need to go online to sign the petition. The Web address is: http://1.usa.gov/1KPwIdW.

Knipe needs 150 people to sign his petition online with name, email address and zip code. After the first 150 signatures are received, the petition can be publicly searched by way of the "We the People" tool on the WhiteHouse.gov site.

Then all Knipe needs for President Barack Obama to consider Andretti for the medal is 100,000 signatures on the petition by March 12.

According to WhiteHouse.gov site: "Once the petition reaches the required threshold [100,000], it will be put in a queue to be reviewed by the White House. Others can still sign the petition while it is awaiting a response from the White House. When the White House responds, everyone who has signed the petition will get email from the White House to let you know that we've reviewed and responded to the petition."

The Presidential Medal of Freedom originally was known simply as the Medal of Freedom and was instated by President Harry S. Truman to honor civilians who had roles in the United States' World War II efforts.

President John F. Kennedy renamed it the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.

The medals are given to people from all walks of life. The 2014 recipients included TV news anchor Tom Brokaw, Ethel Kennedy, former pro golfer Charlie Sifford, Meryl Streep, Marlo Thomas and Stevie Wonder.

Only one other race-car driver has received a Presidential Medal of Freedom: NASCAR legend Richard Petty, who won 200 races during his career.

A president may select a recipient, but often, the list of potential award winners comes from petitions that come through the whitehouse.gov website.

"I grew up in Easton and I've followed Mario's career since I was a kid," Knipe said. "My parents took me to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in 1970, the year after Mario won. Basically, I have a room full of [Andretti] artifacts that I've collected."

Knipe, who said he's retired, wasn't aware of the Presidential Medal of Freedom or the means of nominating someone for it until he received an email from an automotive magazine supporting a similar petition for Andretti's main Indy-car rival, A.J. Foyt, who turned 80 in January. As of Thursday afternoon, the petition for Foyt had almost 1,800 signatures.

"I figured if they can do it for A.J., I can do it for Mario," Knipe said. "Mario and his racing accomplishments are well known all around the world."

He says he has set up a Twitter account and hopes to recruit friends who, via social media like Facebook and Twitter, will recruit their friends to sign the petition. He's looking for a snowball effect on social media and also plans to solicit some racing publications for assistance through their websites.

The task appears to be a daunting one, but Knipe is enthusiastic.

And Andretti is flattered.

He said that while he may have met Knipe, who said he has had Andretti autograph various memorabilia over the years, he is not familiar with him. But the fact that fans like Knipe continue to support him is not lost on him.

"Oh, God, it's so wonderful; are you kidding?" Andretti said Wednesday. "That's the precious part of my career. The fans have stayed loyal; they care. They come up and bring memorabilia for me to sign and you can see their sincerity. There is no bigger gift for anyone who has worked like myself than to know people enjoy your work. No bigger compliment."

The honors have never really stopped coming for Andretti, who on June 16 will celebrate the 60th anniversary of his arrival in the U.S. from Italy. Mario and his twin brother, Aldo, were 15 at the time. They'll be 75 on Feb. 28.

Last year, Andretti was the featured driver at Legends Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was grand marshal of the Long Beach Grand Prix and was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame.

In 2006 he was given the Italian government's highest civilian honor — only the second racer to receive the Commendatore — and in 2008 he was named a U.S. Library of Congress Living Legend.

The list goes on and on.

On Facebook, 72,352 people "like" Andretti. He has more than 92,200 followers on Twitter.

If Knipe can crack those lists, he's well on his way to getting his favorite driver still another piece of hardware for the trophy hallway in his Bushkill Township home.

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Andretti said.

Retired sports columnist Paul Reinhard is a freelance writer.

How it works

•After receiving 150 signatures, a petition to have Mario Andretti awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom can be publicly searched by way of the "We the People" tool on the WhiteHouse.gov site.

•Once the petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it is put in a public queue to be reviewed by the White House.

•Recent winners include Stevie Wonder, Richard Petty, Meryl Streep, Maya Angelou, Warren Buffett, Bob Dylan, Yo Yo Ma, President George H.W. Bush. Morning Call