World's best driver ?

[larss]

Too many to chose from in too many disciplines. Even looking at F1, you cannot compare from decade to decade as the machines that they drive change over the years.

Thinking about it, all these sports drivers are likely to be really, really bad drivers when it comes to taking to the public highway.

 

[Rey C.]

Danica Patrick - cuz she looks better in a bikini than her competition does

She's built like a 12 year old boy. You'd have to see her in real life: cute face... 0 figure. The SI and other photos showing her having (any) curves are airbrushed.

Plus, the hottest female driver the IRL had was Milka Duno. She couldn't drive a nail into a wet pine board, but she was smokin' hot (and an extremely nice person).




But Andronicus is right: you can't really compare drivers across disciplines. Rally drivers must have phenomenal car control. But as rallying isn't racing, they may or may not have any sort of "race craft" - they may not have the skill it takes to pass another car on the circuit. I love ALL sorts of racing. But I resist the urge to compare even drivers from different eras, much less different disciplines. It's fun to consider, I guess. But it can't really be done.

 

[gunslingingbird]

The Dukes of Hazard County.

 

[ShikokuKichiguy]

Any Rally driver!

Put a rally driver in an F1 car, shifter cart, NASCAR, Sprint car or Funny car and they will do fine. Put any of the other drivers in a WRC rally car and they will be dreadfully slow or crash on the second corner.

Way back in the 1980's Henri Toivonen lapped his Lancia S4 Delta around the Portuguese G.P. track in a time that would have got him 6th position for that years race... in a rally car!! French housewife and Rally driver Michele Mouton smashed the Pikes Peak hill climb record in an Audi S1.

Bring back Group B!!!!

When Henri tested for the March F1 team he bested their #1 driver by 1 second per lap in the March F1 car!

Jean Ragnotti anyone? Here he is at the 95 Rally du Mont Blanc, driving the tits off a front wheel drive, 2.0 liter, normally aspirated Renualt Clio Maxi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u22Np-GH8Y

Marcus Gronholm? Check out the airborn corner 17 seconds into this vid when he was testing for Peugot in 2002, Finland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIV5vp-ktZA



After Rally driver's I'd say that the biggest talent pool comes from carting and sprint cars.

I was thinking along the same lines...........comparing across disciplines is impossible, but FIA drivers control their cars like no others.

 

[LukeEl]

Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal, because he can drive an armed to the teeth ice cream truck.

 

[Vanilla Bear]

Sebastien Loeb

Ayrton Senna

Them.

Any Rally driver!

Put a rally driver in an F1 car, shifter cart, NASCAR, Sprint car or Funny car and they will do fine. Put any of the other drivers in a WRC rally car and they will be dreadfully slow or crash on the second corner.

This.

 

[i8it]

mario andretti is the best in my opinion, because he won in so many different styles of racing.

 

[STDiva]

brodkill. Because he drives me crazy. bagagagahahahahahahaha get it? He....drives....me crazy? hahahahahahahahahaomghagahahahahahahaha. It's funny because you're asking who the best driver is, but you didn't specify driving car, so I took the word out of it's original context and made a really funny joke.

 

[alexpnz]

Tony Stewart.

Dirt, Modified, IRL, NASCAR, whatever....Tony Is the ultimate wheel man!

 

[Ace Bandage]

Tony Stewart.

Dirt, Modified, IRL, NASCAR, whatever....Tony Is the ultimate wheel man!

Yes, and how many Indy 500s did he win? Oh yeah, that's right, he didn't. And let et me tell you, that eats him up every May. Smoke started out in open wheel, and if there was ever a race he wanted to win, it was Indy.

Give me Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. or Mario Andretti over him any day.

 

[Rey C.]

All time, I'd have to go with Mario Andretti too. He drove at a time when drivers weren't so specialized. But he won championships and races on dirt, pavement, ovals and road courses... including the F1 World Championship. It's hard to argue against a guy who won the Indy 500, the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Daytona, the CART World Championship, Sebring 12 Hours, plus I don't know how many other races. About the only thing missing was a win at Le Mans, and I don't think he ever won Monaco. But even after he retired, he took a two-seater Champ car out and turned a quicker time than Shiggy "The Human Wrecking Ball" Hattori in his qualifying session.

Not to totally dismiss Stewart's accomplishments, but he drove in the IRL when it was at its weakest with regard to competition. He was a good oval racer in formula cars, but he was largely racing against a field of scrubs and rejects from other series. And at that time, I don't think they had any road or street courses on their calendar. So who knows what he would have done there? But I admit that he is one of the best all around racers of this generation. And although I can't stand him as a person, the guy who I would have loved to see get into a formula car (F1 especially) is Kyle Bush. He is a punk, no doubt. But he is a VERY talented punk. His brother Kurt tested a Champ car years ago as a favor to Ford, and he turned some VERY impressive times. I think Kyle is even quicker and more talented than Kurt ever was. So it's too bad that Toyota went belly up in F1 before he could get a test in.

I wish that guys could switch back & forth like they used to. But with all of the big money contracts and manufacturer ties, I doubt that will ever happen again.

 

[Slaughtersun]

Don't forget about Captain Slow!


In all seriousness, I'd say Ayrton Senna and Jochen Rindt would be in the mix.