4 of the Most Anticipated Wins in Auto Racing History (Our 100th post!)

 

4 of the Most Anticipated Wins in Auto Racing History

By Brian Cotnoir

Lewis Hamilton is one win away from tying F1 legend Michael Schumacher’s record for most career wins in Formula One.  No doubt that the next two race victories in Hamilton’s career will be the most anticipated wins in racing history.  That got me thinking what were some of the other most anticipated wins in racing history?  I’ve compiled a list of 4 other anticipated race victories (in chronological order)

1.) Ayrton Senna wins the Brazilian Grand Prix

Ayrton Senna had won just about everything in Formula 1 by the start of the 1991 season.  He was coming off his 2nd career drivers’ championship and a race win at the opening round on the Phoenix Street Circuit before heading to his home race in Brazil.  In his seven prior attempts Senna had never won his home race in front of his adoring home crowd.


1991 seemed like it might be his year; Senna started on his pole he was leading by a commanding lead when his car suffered a catastrophic gearbox failure.  Senna had to run the last few laps in 6th gear losing tons of ground with each passing lap.  Senna managed to keep his car running through the last several laps to win by 2.9 seconds over Riccardo Patrese.  An elated and elastic Senna was so physically exhausted that he needed to be helped from his car. 



Senna’s home win 1991 is one of the most legendary racing performances to date, and Senna was able to win again in Brazil just 2 years later. 

2.) Dale Earnhardt Sr wins the Daytona 500

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Sr. found every possible way to lose the Daytona 500.   Every year Earnhardt was a contender and heavily favored to win and had come within a quarter of a lap of winning the race in 1990, but just couldn’t get it done.  Howe after “20 years of trying [and] 20 years of frustration” Dale Earnhardt Sr. finally won the Daytona 500.  Tragically Dale Sr. would lose his life 3 years later on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500




3.) Danica Patrick’s 1st IndyCar win

Danica Patrick became a household name when she finished 4th place as a Rookie at the 2005 Indianapolis 500.  For the first time in the History of Open Wheel Racing in America a woman competitor showed great potential of winning.  In 2007 while driving for Andretti Green Racing Danica finished on the podium 3 times, including a 2nd place to her teammate Tony Kanaan at the penultimate race in Detroit. 

In early 2008 Danica Patrick finally silenced all the doubters when she won her first IndyCar race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.  That day in Japan Danica Patrick became the first—and so far only—woman to win a race in IndyCar.  Although Danica would never win again in her final 3 full-time seasons in IndyCar, she would finish on the podium 3 more times, including a 3rd place at the 2009 Indianapolis 500.   

4.)  Max Verstappen first Formula 1 win

Max Verstappen made his F1 debut at a remarkable 17-years-old, so it was highly anticipated when the young future superstar would get his 1st win.   After great rookie season with Red Bull’s sister team, Toro Rosso, where he scored 49 points, Verstappen was promoted to the Red Bull F1 team for the 5th round of the 2016 F1 season.  In his debut with Red Bull at the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen shocked the world by winning his first Formula 1 race.

 


Since joining the main Red Bull team, Verstappen has won 8 more races (as of 10/6/2020) and is one of the best drivers on the grid.  Many believe that with the right team and car, Verstappen could go on to be the next great Formula 1 World Champion (once Lewis Hamilton retires of course).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Top 10 Most Iconic Paint Schemes in NASCAR Cup History

Image
The Top 10 Most Iconic Paint Schemes in NASCAR Cup History An Article by Brian Cotnoir I’ve talked about the Best Paint Schemes in Cup History, I’ve talked about the Best Paint Schemes in Xfinity History, and now today I’d like to present you the 10 Most Iconic Paint Schemes in NASCAR Cup History. 10.) Citgo, Wood Brothers Racing The Wood Brothers are one of the oldest teams in NASCAR, and in the late 80’s early 90’s they left quite the impression on NASCAR fans with the Citgo Paint Scheme which was piloted by drivers Dale Jarret, Morgan Shepherd, and Michael Waltrip.   Citgo eventually left the wood brothers and sponsored Jeff Burton at Roush Racing, but it was a truly iconic sponsor with that famous number twenty-one 9.)    Skoal Bandit, Harry Gant Harry Gant earned the nickname “Mr. September” when he won 4 straight Winston Cup Races (and two Busch Series) races in September of 1991, and he did it all behind the wheel of the Iconic Skoal Ban...
Read more

Top 10 Ugliest Paint Schemes in NASCAR History

Image
Top 10 Ugliest Paint Schemes in NASCAR History By: Brian Cotnoir I’ve talked about the Best Paint Schemes in NASCAR, and now I’m here to talk about the Ugliest.   Sometimes a paint scheme looks bad because of whose sponsoring the car, and other times it’s a real bad color combination, but whatever the reason these are some of the most hideous Paint Schemes to have ever graced a NASCAR track. 10.)   Dave Marcis, Prodigy paint scheme This one is so ugly, that it’s kind of cool.   For me the big issue is the combination of Purple & Green, and the Neon Orange numbers make it a little better, but this car is still looks like a disaster. 9.)     Joey Logano, AAA Insurance paint scheme Joey Logano has had a number of awesome paint schemes while driving for Roger Penske, however this red, white, and blue monstrosity is not one of them.    I think Logano and Penske should call AAA Insurance and see if they can use their policy to...
Read more

Top 10 NASCAR drivers who never won a Cup Series Championship

Image
Top 10 NASCAR drivers who never won a Cup Series championship By: Brian Cotnoir           NASCAR has been around for over 70 Years now and over those seven decades we’ve had many fantastic drivers.    Petty, Earnhardt, Waltrip, Yarborough, Gordon, and Johnson are all great drivers and all have won multiple championships in their illustrious careers,   Just between Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon they have won more than 1/3 of all NASCAR Cup Series Championships, but there are dozens of NASCAR drivers who came close to scoring that illusive title, but just couldn’t pull it off.   These are the Top 10 NASCAR drivers who never won a Cup Series Championship. 10.)   Ernie Irvan Ernie “Swirvin” Irvan was my first favorite driver in NASCAR.   He was one of the best drivers of the early 1990’s driving for top tier teams like Morgan-McClure and Robert Yates Racing.  ...
Read more