Following my off season filling “Favourite Race Cars” list, I thought I might try “Favourite Drivers”. So as they say on the talent shows… in no particular order…
Mario Andretti
Mario won in F1, IndyCar, sportscars, NASCAR, midgets, sprint cars and drag racing. Four time IndyCar Champion. The only driver to win the Daytona 500 (1967), Indy 500 (1969), and the Formula 1 World Championship (1978). 'Nuff said!!
Dale Earnhardt
"The Intimidator, 3, The Man In Black." Dale won seventy six NASCAR Cup series races, seven Winston Cup Championships and one Daytona 500. The day Earnhardt won the 500 was a great day! I watched the race from the comfort of a youth hostel in LA, and my over-riding memory was of not being able to sit or stand still for excitement! One of the greats! RIP.
Andy Rouse
BTCC Champion in 1975, '83, '84 and '85. Has sixty race wins. He also won BTCC Class A, driving his RS500, in 1988 and 1989. Watch this clip to see the master at work...
Tony Stewart / Juan Pablo MontoyaMy favourite active NASCAR drivers!
Tony Stewart, "Smoke"; won the Indy 500 in 1996, and the NASCAR Cup title in 2002 and again in 2005! One of the best in anything with a USAC sticker on it (sprint cars, midgets, Silver Crown), he now runs his own team (NASCAR and World of Outlaws among others) and owns or co-owns various tracks including Eldora dirt track. A racers racer!
JPM won the CART title in 1999, as a rookie! He has won the Indy 500 (2000), the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Monaco Grand Prix. He was NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 2007, and won NASCAR Cup series road races in 2007 at Sonoma and in 2010 at Watkins Glen! Good car number!
Al Unser Jr
"Little Al" was the youngest ever IROC Champion, winning in 1986, and again in 1988. He lost the 1985 CART title by 1 point, to his father. He was CART Champion in 1990 and won the 1992 Indy 500 by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish ever. He won the Indy 500, and the CART title again in 1994. Two time Daytona 24 hours winner. The only driver I have ever known to paint his helmet the same colour as his car!
John Cleland
Cleland was the overall 1989 BTCC Champion in a Vauxhall Astra, beating the RS500's to the title! One of the early 2 litre era stars, winning the Championship again in '95 driving a Cavalier. I have never forgiven Steve Soper for the Silverstone crash in '92!!
Bill Elliott
"Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill" won the Winston Million in 1985 by winning the Daytona, Winston and Southern 500's , hence the nickname. He won The Winston in '86, and the Daytona 500 again in '87. In 1988 he finally won the Winston Cup. He set the NASCAR qualifying average speed record of 210.364mph at Daytona, and 212.809mph at Talladega, with them NASCAR introduced the restrictor plate, ensuring the records stand to this day! He also won NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award sixteen times; '84 to '88, '91 to 2000 and lastly in 2002, the year in which he won the Brickyard 400. The driver who taught me to understand the southern drawl!!
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