5 Greatest Drivers in Auto Racing

5 Greatest Drivers in Auto Racing History

A List by Brian Cotnoir

I love all forms of Auto Racing.   I started out with NASCAR and CART/ IndyCar and over the years I’ve gotten into USAC, Formula 1, Le Mans, MotoGP, NHRA, just every form of Auto Racing.   I love talking about the best and worst drivers in racing history and debating with my friends.   I thought this would be an easy list to compile, but it turned out to be more difficult than I ever could have imagined.  Just thinking about the best drivers in each form of racing and only limiting it down to 5 drivers; I must have switched my Top 5 around at least a half-dozen times, but now I am here to present my Top 5.  These are without a doubt the 7 Best drivers in Auto Racing History

*Honorable Mentions*

Here are my honorable mentions that just missed the list:

Richard Petty (NASCAR’s Winningest Drivers), Gilles Villeneuve (F1 legend), Sebastien Loeb (9-Time World Rally Champion), John Force (NHRA’s winningest Funny Car driver), Michael Schumacher & Lewis Hamilton (Top 2 winningest drivers in F1 History), Steve Kinser (690 Career World of Outlaws Wins), Graham Hill (Only driver to have Won the “Triple Crown of Auto Racing”).  Wow, look at all that talent and all those champions.  I didn’t include some of the winningest drivers in History on my List, but I had my reasons.  On to the Top 5 Now…

5.)  A.J. Foyt

AJ Foyt is IndyCar’s winningest driver to date with 67 career wins, but he didn’t just make his mark in IndyCar.  AJ Foyt won the Biggest Races Around the World.  He is a 4-time Winner of the Indy 500, He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, and 12 Hours of Sebring road races.  He won seven NASCAR races including 1972 Daytona 500.   He was a 6-time USAC National Champion, and a two time IROC Champion.  He very well could have been number one on this list…but he failed to win a single race in his final 11 years running IndyCar, but he was more than deserving of a spot on this list

4.)  Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Some of you may be wondering why I put Dale Sr. on this list instead of Richard Petty, and I have a good reason: Because he’s the Intimidator.   Richard Petty was born into a Racing Dynasty.   His father Lee was NASCAR’s winningest driver when he retired, and Richard would go on to break all of his father’s records.  Not to mention Richard Petty had factory support in his career from both Plymouth and Ford!   Now let’s look at Dale Sr.   He was born poor, he was the son of a short track legend, and he had to earn his way into a top Cup Series ride.   Like Richard Petty he would go on to be a 7-Time NASCAR champion.  He won 76 Cup Series races and 21 Busch (now Xfinity) Series Races.   Dale Sr. worked on his own cars, he was a wheelman, and he could see the air.    But what really sets Dale Sr. apart from Richard Petty was that Earnhardt was always dominant.   Richard Petty, despite winning 200 career races (and 1 Convertible race), only won 5 races in the final 10 years of his career.  Dale Sr. won at least 1 race in 19-out-of-21 seasons run in the Cup Series.  That’s why I think Dale Sr. is a better driver than Richard Petty.

3.)  Valentino Rossi

I only recently got into MotoGP, but even before I started following it there was one name I knew; Valentino Rossi.  Rossi is the second winningest rider in MotoGP History.  He’s won races and championships in all forms of Motorcycle Racing.  He has a combined 115 wins and 9 Championships!  It’s true as of late, he’s hit a bit of a rut in his career, but I still believe Rossi is probably the best rider to ever race a motorcycle.

2.)  Mario Andretti

Like AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti was a fixture in IndyCar racing for decades, and dominated in other forms of racing too.   Andretti has 52 IndyCar wins (2^nd All-Time), He has won the Indy 500 & the Daytona 500.  He is the winningest American Formula 1 driver (12 wins) and, as of this publication of the article, he was the last American Formula 1 winner & Champion (1978).  He dominated throughout his career.  He won his final IndyCar race the year before he retired.  He has never lost the need for speed.  The only race he has not won in his career is a 24 Hours of Le Mans (his best finish was a 2^nd place).   There’s no doubt about it, Andretti was one of the most successful and versatile racers ever!

1.) Ayrton Senna

It was tough picking who to put at #1, but when I really got down and thought about it; the choice was obvious.     Ayrton Senna only ran Formula 1 for a little over 9 seasons, but is still regarded by many as the best driver ever.  Senna won 41 Grand Prix’s (5^th All-Time), he scored and impressive 65 career poles (a record that he held for years), and won 25% of the races he entered.  He was a 3-time Formula 1 World Drivers Champion, and had it not been for his tragic death, he could have won more races and championships.  What sets him apart from Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton is those two drivers had factory backing and achieved some wins due to team orders.   Senna not only wanted to lead every lap, but he wanted to dominate every lap.  He won races by impressive margins and won races with cars that had should have been competing for wins.  Senna did two things really well: put his foot down on the accelerator and turn that wheel!