25 greatest drivers of all time

25 greatest drivers of all time

I assume most of you have seen ESPN,com 's list of the 25 all time
greatest drivers encompassing all types of motorsports. For those who
may have missed it:

25. Steve Kinser
24. Nigel Mansell
23. Don Garlits
22. Niki Lauda
21. Shirley Muldowney
20. Darrell Waltrip
19. Emerson Fittipaldi
18. Alain Prost
17. Bobby Unser
16. Tony Stewart
15. Al Unser
14. Cale Yarborough
13. Jackie Stewart
12. John Force
11. Rick Mears
10. Jeff Gordon
9. Juan Manuel Fangio
8. Jim Clark
7. David Pearson
6. Richard Petty
5. Ayrton Senna
4. Michael Schumacher
3. Dale Earnhardt
2. Mario Andretti
1. A.J. Foyt

I'll admit to being only marginally qualified to comment on this since
I really have no interest at all in any form of racing other than
NASCAR, but being a big Petty fan I'd like to see Richard ranked a bit
better than sixth. I'm also a bit surprised not to see Bobby Allison
listed.

I know there are folks out there who have a wider scope than I do, so
what's the verdict? Anybody have any major disagreement with this
list?

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time


<bob.paxton@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:5c0639f2-7460-4d2b-9db7-722bed596505@59g2000hsb.googlegroups,com ...
>I assume most of you have seen ESPN,com 's list of the 25 all time
> greatest drivers encompassing all types of motorsports. For those who
> may have missed it:
>
> 25. Steve Kinser
> 24. Nigel Mansell
> 23. Don Garlits
> 22. Niki Lauda
> 21. Shirley Muldowney
> 20. Darrell Waltrip
> 19. Emerson Fittipaldi
> 18. Alain Prost
> 17. Bobby Unser
> 16. Tony Stewart
> 15. Al Unser
> 14. Cale Yarborough
> 13. Jackie Stewart
> 12. John Force
> 11. Rick Mears
> 10. Jeff Gordon
> 9. Juan Manuel Fangio
> 8. Jim Clark
> 7. David Pearson
> 6. Richard Petty
> 5. Ayrton Senna
> 4. Michael Schumacher
> 3. Mario Andretti
2. A.J. Foyt
> 1. Dale Earnhardt

> I'll admit to being only marginally qualified to comment on this since
> I really have no interest at all in any form of racing other than
> NASCAR, but being a big Petty fan I'd like to see Richard ranked a bit
> better than sixth. I'm also a bit surprised not to see Bobby Allison
> listed.
>
> I know there are folks out there who have a wider scope than I do, so
> what's the verdict? Anybody have any major disagreement with this

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I fixed it for Ya !
> list?
>

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

On May 23, 9:36 pm, "Foxinator" <summittr...@aol,com > wrote:

> > 25. Steve Kinser
> > 24. Nigel Mansell
> > 23. Don Garlits
> > 22. Niki Lauda
> > 21. Shirley Muldowney
> > 20. Darrell Waltrip
> > 19. Emerson Fittipaldi
> > 18. Alain Prost
> > 17. Bobby Unser
> > 16. Tony Stewart
> > 15. Al Unser
> > 14. Cale Yarborough
> > 13. Jackie Stewart
> > 12. John Force
> > 11. Rick Mears
> > 10. Jeff Gordon
> > 9. Juan Manuel Fangio
> > 8. Jim Clark
> > 7. David Pearson
> > 6. Richard Petty
> > 5. Ayrton Senna
> > 4. Michael Schumacher
> > 3. Mario Andretti
>    2. A.J. Foyt
> > 1.  Dale Earnhardt


> I fixed it for Ya !


I was hoping for something a bit more thoughtful than just a simple
"Earnhardt's the greatest ever and nothing else is worth discussing".
Let me clarify a bit.

Obviously there's no quantifiable measure for greatness. There will
always be room for legitimate disagreement when compiling or
discussing a list like this. The fact that this spans all of
motorsports makes it even tougher because we're talking about vastly
different skill sets needed to excel in the different types of racing.

Since this list encompasses all forms of motorsports and my personal
interest is limited to just NASCAR, I'm really more interested in
hearing from fans whose interest in motorsports extends beyond just
NASCAR. Is there anyone who deserves to be on the list who didn't
make it? Who's there who shouldn't be?

Again, I'm surprised by Bobby Allison's absence, but I don't know
enough about some of the other drivers to know if they really deserve
to be ranked ahead of Bobby in the grand scheme of things.

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

bob.paxton@gmail,com wrote:
> On May 23, 9:36 pm, "Foxinator" <summittr...@aol,com > wrote:
>
>>> 25. Steve Kinser
>>> 24. Nigel Mansell
>>> 23. Don Garlits
>>> 22. Niki Lauda
>>> 21. Shirley Muldowney
>>> 20. Darrell Waltrip
>>> 19. Emerson Fittipaldi
>>> 18. Alain Prost
>>> 17. Bobby Unser
>>> 16. Tony Stewart
>>> 15. Al Unser
>>> 14. Cale Yarborough
>>> 13. Jackie Stewart
>>> 12. John Force
>>> 11. Rick Mears
>>> 10. Jeff Gordon
>>> 9. Juan Manuel Fangio
>>> 8. Jim Clark
>>> 7. David Pearson
>>> 6. Richard Petty
>>> 5. Ayrton Senna
>>> 4. Michael Schumacher
>>> 3. Mario Andretti
>> 2. A.J. Foyt
>>> 1. Dale Earnhardt
>
>
>> I fixed it for Ya !
>
>
> I was hoping for something a bit more thoughtful than just a simple
> "Earnhardt's the greatest ever and nothing else is worth discussing".
> Let me clarify a bit.
>
> Obviously there's no quantifiable measure for greatness. There will
> always be room for legitimate disagreement when compiling or
> discussing a list like this. The fact that this spans all of
> motorsports makes it even tougher because we're talking about vastly
> different skill sets needed to excel in the different types of racing.
>
> Since this list encompasses all forms of motorsports and my personal
> interest is limited to just NASCAR, I'm really more interested in
> hearing from fans whose interest in motorsports extends beyond just
> NASCAR. Is there anyone who deserves to be on the list who didn't
> make it? Who's there who shouldn't be?
>
> Again, I'm surprised by Bobby Allison's absence, but I don't know
> enough about some of the other drivers to know if they really deserve
> to be ranked ahead of Bobby in the grand scheme of things.
>


I can see putting AJ Foyt up at the top (or down at the top, as the case
may be), since he drove in multiple series. As did Andretti. Did
Schumacher or Senna? I know they're great in their class, but did that
extend beyond F1?

Petty, I feel, should have been ranked about even with Earnhardt. Maybe
higher. I know that's sacrilege coming from an Earnhardt fan, but he
won 7 championships and a WHOLE LOT MORE RACES.

I think Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon are ranked too high. Yes, they have
experience in open wheel, and yes, I believe that both of them will move
UP the list as they accrue more wins, etc. But are they really any
better than Jackie Stewart and Al Unser?

John Force should be higher, too. He is, IMO, the greatest drag racer
of all time. Top 5 in my book.

And yes, I agree that there aren't as many "good old days" drivers as
there should be. Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, Darrel Waltrip, and
David Pearson are as far back as the NASCAR stuff goes??? Gimme a break....

Cindy

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time


"Cindy Murray" <c1ndyluhu@tx.rr,com > wrote in message
news:48382506$0$30479$4c368faf@roadrunner,com ...
> bob.paxton@gmail,com wrote:
>> On May 23, 9:36 pm, "Foxinator" <summittr...@aol,com > wrote:
>>
>>>> 25. Steve Kinser
>>>> 24. Nigel Mansell
>>>> 23. Don Garlits
>>>> 22. Niki Lauda
>>>> 21. Shirley Muldowney
>>>> 20. Darrell Waltrip
>>>> 19. Emerson Fittipaldi
>>>> 18. Alain Prost
>>>> 17. Bobby Unser
>>>> 16. Tony Stewart
>>>> 15. Al Unser
>>>> 14. Cale Yarborough
>>>> 13. Jackie Stewart
>>>> 12. John Force
>>>> 11. Rick Mears
>>>> 10. Jeff Gordon
>>>> 9. Juan Manuel Fangio
>>>> 8. Jim Clark
>>>> 7. David Pearson
>>>> 6. Richard Petty
>>>> 5. Ayrton Senna
>>>> 4. Michael Schumacher
>>>> 3. Mario Andretti
>>> 2. A.J. Foyt
>>>> 1. Dale Earnhardt
>>
>>
>>> I fixed it for Ya !
>>
>>
>> I was hoping for something a bit more thoughtful than just a simple
>> "Earnhardt's the greatest ever and nothing else is worth discussing".
>> Let me clarify a bit.
>>
>> Obviously there's no quantifiable measure for greatness. There will
>> always be room for legitimate disagreement when compiling or
>> discussing a list like this. The fact that this spans all of
>> motorsports makes it even tougher because we're talking about vastly
>> different skill sets needed to excel in the different types of
>> racing.
>>
>> Since this list encompasses all forms of motorsports and my personal
>> interest is limited to just NASCAR, I'm really more interested in
>> hearing from fans whose interest in motorsports extends beyond just
>> NASCAR. Is there anyone who deserves to be on the list who didn't
>> make it? Who's there who shouldn't be?
>>
>> Again, I'm surprised by Bobby Allison's absence, but I don't know
>> enough about some of the other drivers to know if they really deserve
>> to be ranked ahead of Bobby in the grand scheme of things.
>>
>
>
> I can see putting AJ Foyt up at the top (or down at the top, as the
> case may be), since he drove in multiple series. As did Andretti.
> Did Schumacher or Senna? I know they're great in their class, but did
> that extend beyond F1?
>
> Petty, I feel, should have been ranked about even with Earnhardt.
> Maybe higher. I know that's sacrilege coming from an Earnhardt fan,
> but he won 7 championships and a WHOLE LOT MORE RACES.
>
> I think Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon are ranked too high. Yes, they
> have experience in open wheel, and yes, I believe that both of them
> will move UP the list as they accrue more wins, etc. But are they
> really any better than Jackie Stewart and Al Unser?
>
> John Force should be higher, too. He is, IMO, the greatest drag racer
> of all time. Top 5 in my book.
>
> And yes, I agree that there aren't as many "good old days" drivers as
> there should be. Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, Darrel Waltrip, and
> David Pearson are as far back as the NASCAR stuff goes??? Gimme a
> break....
>
> Cindy
>

Good post, Cindy. Lee Petty, Ralph Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, and
Fireball Roberts should be in there somewhere, along with Bobby Allison.
IMHO, mixing the different types of racing makes this way too
subjective.

Ken

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time


<bob.paxton@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:5c0639f2-7460-4d2b-9db7-722bed596505@59g2000hsb.googlegroups,com ...
>I assume most of you have seen ESPN,com 's list of the 25 all time
> greatest drivers encompassing all types of motorsports. For those who
> may have missed it:
>
> 25. Steve Kinser
> 24. Nigel Mansell
> 23. Don Garlits
> 22. Niki Lauda
> 21. Shirley Muldowney
> 20. Darrell Waltrip
> 19. Emerson Fittipaldi
> 18. Alain Prost
> 17. Bobby Unser
> 16. Tony Stewart
> 15. Al Unser
> 14. Cale Yarborough
> 13. Jackie Stewart
> 12. John Force
> 11. Rick Mears
> 10. Jeff Gordon
> 9. Juan Manuel Fangio
> 8. Jim Clark
> 7. David Pearson
> 6. Richard Petty
> 5. Ayrton Senna
> 4. Michael Schumacher
> 3. Dale Earnhardt
> 2. Mario Andretti
> 1. A.J. Foyt
>
> I'll admit to being only marginally qualified to comment on this since
> I really have no interest at all in any form of racing other than
> NASCAR, but being a big Petty fan I'd like to see Richard ranked a bit
> better than sixth. I'm also a bit surprised not to see Bobby Allison
> listed.
>
> I know there are folks out there who have a wider scope than I do, so
> what's the verdict? Anybody have any major disagreement with this
> list?

They are all good drivers, but it seems that the list is skewed towards more
of the "modern era" drivers.
I think a case could be made for Dan Gurney, Rodger Ward, Gordon Johncock,
Bill Vukovich and many of the other "old timers"

Mike


>

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

On May 23, 9:48 pm, "Mike Simmons" <mike...@yhti,net > wrote:

> They are all good drivers, but it seems that the list is skewed towards more
> of the "modern era" drivers.
> I think a case could be made for Dan Gurney, Rodger Ward, Gordon Johncock,
> Bill Vukovich and many of the other "old timers"


I noticed that too. Junior Johnson was another name I thought might
make it.

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

Off the top of my head, I notice the absence of Parnelli Jones and find it a
bit surprising....

But yes, it's definitely skewed, and probably unavoidably so: the folks
making up the list have only heard about the old time drivers, don't
remember them.

Who *I* would like to see make such a list would be Chris Economaki. Not
only has he been watching races with a passion since (according to something
he wrote in NSSN this week) 1937, his passion extends across lines to all
forms of racing. So Chris would be rating folks he actually remembers and
saw, not "folks I hear about constantly and watch vs. people I've only heard
about and maybe seen a bit of old tv footage of."

--pig


On 5/23/08 21:48, in article p-ydnR4V1YpX-KrVnZ2dnUVZ_qXinZ2d@posted.yhti,
"Mike Simmons" <mikesim@yhti,net > wrote:

> They are all good drivers, but it seems that the list is skewed towards more
> of the "modern era" drivers.
> I think a case could be made for Dan Gurney, Rodger Ward, Gordon Johncock,
> Bill Vukovich and many of the other "old timers"
>
> Mike

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

On May 24, 6:35 am, Megan Zurawicz <list...@sbcglobal,net > wrote:

> Who *I* would like to see make such a list would be Chris Economaki. Not
> only has he been watching races with a passion since (according to something
> he wrote in NSSN this week) 1937, his passion extends across lines to all
> forms of racing. So Chris would be rating folks he actually remembers and
> saw, not "folks I hear about constantly and watch vs. people I've only heard
> about and maybe seen a bit of old tv footage of."

I couldn't possibly agree more. I learned more about racing in my
youth from CE that any other source. I miss him greatly.

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

DAVe <smalleyster@gmail,com > wrote in
news:4bf3be26-fd97-431c-b554-c693568220ac@x35g2000hsb.googlegroups,com :

> On May 24, 6:35 am, Megan Zurawicz <list...@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
>
>> Who *I* would like to see make such a list would be Chris Economaki.
>> Not only has he been watching races with a passion since (according
>> to something he wrote in NSSN this week) 1937, his passion extends
>> across lines to all forms of racing. So Chris would be rating folks
>> he actually remembers and saw, not "folks I hear about constantly and
>> watch vs. people I've only heard about and maybe seen a bit of old tv
>> footage of."
>
> I couldn't possibly agree more. I learned more about racing in my
> youth from CE that any other source. I miss him greatly.

Y'know, if you'd suggested this even 10 years ago, I'd agree
with you. But Economaki is nearly 90, and while he undoubtably
saw everyone who'd possibly be worthy, I wonder if his memory
is up to a fair ranking at his current age.

BTW, his biography says he saw his first race in 1929, so the
NSSN column seems to have a discrepancy.

John

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

'37 apparently was when he started to seriously hang at tracks, at 17. I'm
assuming '29 was "taken as a kid by a grownup", kind of a different
class....

--pig


On 5/24/08 14:41, in article Xns9AA876E48FD72pogosupernews@216.168.3.30,
"John McCoy" <igopogo@ix,net com,com > wrote:

> BTW, his biography says he saw his first race in 1929, so the
> NSSN column seems to have a discrepancy.

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

He's still around, writing a column in NSSN, although he's dropped back to
editor emeritus status and letting his daughter run the show....

--pig


On 5/24/08 11:36, in article
4bf3be26-fd97-431c-b554-c693568220ac@x35g2000hsb.googlegroups,com , "DAVe"
<smalleyster@gmail,com > wrote:

> I couldn't possibly agree more. I learned more about racing in my
> youth from CE that any other source. I miss him greatly.

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

Megan Zurawicz <listpig@sbcglobal,net > wrote in
news:C45D75AA.60C18%listpig@sbcglobal,net :

> Off the top of my head, I notice the absence of Parnelli Jones and
> find it a bit surprising....

That, I'd say, is a bit of a stretch. Parnelli Jones to me seems
more like a Robby Gordon - talented enough to occasionally dominate
a big race, but mostly successful in secondary series and various
backwaters like off-road racing.

> But yes, it's definitely skewed, and probably unavoidably so: the
> folks making up the list have only heard about the old time drivers,
> don't remember them.

Hmm, the expert panel included Foyt and Petty, so at least some
of them were familiar with the old-time drivers, at least back
to the 40s.

(the panel of 19 voters included 10 drivers,7 journalists and
2 crew chiefs. 7 of the 19 are NASCAR folk (not counting AJ
and JPM, who are mostly associated with Indy and F1).

John

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

Megan Zurawicz <listpig@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
> Off the top of my head, I notice the absence of Parnelli Jones and find it a
> bit surprising....

Stirling Moss would be another one.

Kevin,

Re: 25 greatest drivers of all time

bob.paxton@gmail,com wrote:
> I assume most of you have seen ESPN,com 's list of the 25 all time
> greatest drivers encompassing all types of motorsports. For those who
> may have missed it:
>
> 25. Steve Kinser
> 24. Nigel Mansell
> 23. Don Garlits
> 22. Niki Lauda
> 21. Shirley Muldowney
> 20. Darrell Waltrip
> 19. Emerson Fittipaldi
> 18. Alain Prost
> 17. Bobby Unser
> 16. Tony Stewart
> 15. Al Unser
> 14. Cale Yarborough
> 13. Jackie Stewart
> 12. John Force
> 11. Rick Mears
> 10. Jeff Gordon
> 9. Juan Manuel Fangio
> 8. Jim Clark
> 7. David Pearson
> 6. Richard Petty
> 5. Ayrton Senna
> 4. Michael Schumacher
> 3. Dale Earnhardt
> 2. Mario Andretti
> 1. A.J. Foyt
>
> I'll admit to being only marginally qualified to comment on this since
> I really have no interest at all in any form of racing other than
> NASCAR, but being a big Petty fan I'd like to see Richard ranked a bit
> better than sixth. I'm also a bit surprised not to see Bobby Allison
> listed.
>
> I know there are folks out there who have a wider scope than I do, so
> what's the verdict? Anybody have any major disagreement with this
> list?
>

I know he is not well liked by all..but what about Robby Gordon? The
man has raced competitively in everything from Baja to Indy to
Charlotte. An all around racer is what I believe got A.J. the #1 spot.
Gordon may not have had the success (wins) that A.J. had but is a balls
to the wall competitor!

Also think the #5 vote was a sympathy vote.

Here's to the Veterans this Memorial Day weekend! God Bless.