Greatest driver, Then and Now

[9dodge]

Thought this might be a good topic. Give your thoughts on the greatest drivers of all time. Give one current and one past, from any division, any era and why.

My choice for past would be Ayrton Senna.
The guy won everything in some of the fastest cars ever. Watching him drive, the guy was smooth, never skipped a beat.

Best driver now Dale Earnhardt, but he will be fading from the top spot soon. I'm not an Earnhardt fan. Heres a guy who can take crap for a car and turn it into a 5th place finish, his ability to hold onto an out of shape car is fantastic. His style has changed over the years, not so much bumping, but his determination to win is still there.

[speedway]

without a doubt, an argument,or the facts, it's A.J. Foyt Jr. First man to win Indy four times, in both a roadster and a rear engined car. Dominated the sprint car wars, the midget ranks and the dirt car series for years. Also won the Daytona 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Set several closed course speed records for oldsmobile with the Quad four. Milwaukee 1966 Foyt blows the engine in his rear engined car, Qualifies his front engined dirt car, and while all the competition were running the newest lotus Rear engined cars, Foyt finnishes SECOND!
I just don't think there will be another that will match his accomplishments. Great Post.

[AVENGER29]

about the one that could have been, jacque villeneuve had his life cut short,after one world f1 championship, only to have his son follow in his foot steps and win a f1 championship, if luck hold with him who know's what he may accomplish. richard petty without a doubt has done more for stock car racing that anyone has or will ever do,however has much has i dislike him jeff gordon has brought legions of young fans to the forefront of nascar racing.
one simply has to look in the room of my 8 year old to realized who her favourite driver his, with her collection of barbies,she also has a large collection of nascar racer's cars and other racing memorabilia....
thanks great posting

[340king]

I am hesitant to limit my choice to just one driver. I have always lived by simple rules and one of those is "No matter how good you are at something, someone, somewhere is better." It helps keep the ego in check.

As for Formula one, Ayrton Senna cannot be overlooked. He also had his career cut short due to a racing death. BTW Jacques father's name was Gille Villenueve.

In NASCAR, Tim Richmond was the original boy wonder before Gordon. He was barely scratching the surface of his talent before his untimely death. Add to the list Alan Kulwiki, Davey Allison, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin and others that did not get to shine as brightly as they had potential to.

I have only been in awe of the talent that other drivers have shown a few times. Usually it was the first time I went to a certain series or class event. The first time I saw the World of Outlaws at Black Hills Speedway running the 2550' track in under 17 seconds per lap I was amazed. I completely lost track of who was leading. They ran the entire 30 lap feature from flag to flag. I think there were only 10 cars left on the lead lap that night.

I remember the best WOO feature that I have ever seen. It was a driving exhibition by Doug Wolfgang. It was March of 1990 at the Oklahoma State Fair Speedway, operated by the late Bud Carson. Wolfy came out last for qualifying, 48th I believe, and set fast time on a badly drying track. He went on to win his heat and started up front for the main. Steve Kinser was right behind him. They raced side by side for most of the race, Wolfy running the low line in 1&2 snd the high line in 3&4. Kinser was running the opposite on both ends. As the laps ran down it was really wild. They hit each other several times as they criss-crossed each other on the straights to swap lines and the lead. In fact Kinser lost the left front tire on the last lap when he colided with Wolfy going the top of 2 to the bottom of 3. At the end it was Wolfy by less than 6". Like a true champion he saluted Steve Kinser for his great battle. They both went to victory lane not knowing who had won. He also saluted the crowd for staying at the track through the bad weather, it was really cold and windy. He said he was glad that true race fans got to see this race. I saw Wolfy last summer and reminded him of that race. His eyes lit up and he had real big smile.

Now you can see why I hesitated. Put in a quarter and watch the keyboard smoke.

I don't think I could ever choose just one driver. I have been inspired by too many. Most of which none of you would know. I have been going to the track since I was in diapers and probably won't quit till I assume room temperature.

[roodypoo]

how bout the winningest drive in short track racing history, Dick Trickle and he way past his prime still can stand up on the wheel with the best, imagine if he woulda be 20 years old and got the shot to go winston cup. i think one of the best all around drivers would have to be tony stewart, the guy can drive anything and drive the wheels off of it, i think curt busch is going to be good, can't leave out little e or atwood, and i think ryan newman is going to be good to. johny benson has been doing great job this year and i look for him to win a race real soon. and last but certainley not least the king richard petty. if we go strictly sprint cars then i am leaning towards doug wolfgang i agree some of the best sprint racing i have ever seen was done by the wolf, also give props to donny mack, a local nd racer from the 60's and early 70's who did it all with a dodge and won the little indy, even though i never have seen him race i have heard my stories of him and the howell plymouth. people to watch in the near future for the Woo, i would say Donny Shatz and Joey Saldan to great young drivers who have already made their mark on the series. if we look at drag racing several names pop up but i think i would lean towards force, he is to drag racing what jordan was to basketball, people watch just to see what he is going to pull next. i don't follow f1 or cart to closely by i think mario andreti signifies all that is great in either of those. gilles villenue jac's dad, was a great driver even though i have only seen replays, my dad used race snowmobiles against him before his untimely f1 accident that cost him his life. now for dirt latemodels i have to go with the home state boy rick aukland, that or billy moyer, as far as dirt mods i am going to have to choose ron jones. i could go on with any dirt class forever with lists of great drivers.

[roodypoo]

you meant gilles correct? jac villenue is still alive and is his son, the other jac villenue is the gilles brother and races snowmobiles, he raced cart in the early 90's and won a race on a road course but i can't remember where.

Originally posted by AVENGER29:
about the one that could have been, jacque villeneuve had his life cut short,after one world f1 championship, only to have his son follow in his foot steps and win a f1 championship, if luck hold with him who know's what he may accomplish. richard petty without a doubt has done more for stock car racing that anyone has or will ever do,however has much has i dislike him jeff gordon has brought legions of young fans to the forefront of nascar racing.
one simply has to look in the room of my 8 year old to realized who her favourite driver his, with her collection of barbies,she also has a large collection of nascar racer's cars and other racing memorabilia....
thanks great posting