Greatest Drivers Ever

[macdaddy]

I want to thank Rambo for posting a thread of the same title on the F1 forum. I found it fascinating, and thought I'd do the same thing for CART. Hope you don't mind my stealing your idea, Rambo!

These numbers are compiled from 1960, and include the last race at Portland, 2002.


STARTS PER WIN (5 wins or more)

1) Juan Montoya - 3.56
2) Dan Gurney - 4.29
3) Alex Zanardi - 4.47
4) Roger Ward - 4.60
5) AJ Foyt - 5.13
6) Nigel Mansell - 6.40
7) Jacques Villeneuve - 6.60
8) *Michael Andretti - 6.88
9) Rick Mears - 7.00
10) Mario Andretti - 8.12
11) Al Unser - 8.45
12) Emerson Fittipaldi - 8.70
13) Al Unser Jr - 8.97
14) Bobby Unser - 9.03
15) *Cristiano da Matta - 9.43
16) *Paul Tracy - 10.18
17) Danny Sullivan - 10.24
18) Parnelli Jones - 11.17
19) Bobby Rahal - 11.21
20) Gordon Johncock - 11.48

[macdaddy]

Here's a similar list, but moving the time-line up abit. Stats from the inception of CART, 1979 - Portland.

STARTS PER WIN (10 starts or more)

1) Juan Montoya - 3.56
2) Alex Zanardi - 4.47
3) Bobby Unser - 5.60
4) Roger McCluskey - 6.00
5) Nigel Mansell - 6.40
6) Jacques Villeneuve - 6.60
7) Rick Mears - 6.84
8) *Michael Andretti - 6.88
9) Emerson Fittipaldi - 8.70
10) Al Unser Jr - 8.97
11) *Cristiano da Matta - 9.43
12) AJ Foyt - 9.73
13) *Paul Tracy - 10.18
14) Danny Sullivan - 10.24
15) Mario Andretti - 11.11
16) Bobby Rahal - 11.21
17) *Kenny Brack - 11.50
18) Tom Sneva - 12.41
19) Helio Castroneves - 13.17
20) *Dario Franchitti - 13.28
21) Johnny Rutherford - 14.01
22) Greg Moore - 14.41
23) Gordon Johncock - 16.75

[Jordi]

Wow, didn't know Gurney had such a great percentage...

[macdaddy]

No, I didn't either. Maybe his "number" should be even lower: 4.00.
He entered 30 events, but only qualified for 28. Of those 28, he won seven times.

[macdaddy]

I love statistics and numbers.

AVERAGE FINISHING POSITION (10 starts or more)
1960-Present

1) Rick Mears - 8.17
2) Dan Gurney - 8.39
3) Tony Bettenhausen - 8.62

10) Alex Zanardi - 9.33

14) Juan Montoya - 9.81

If Zanardi hadn't had his lackluster season last year, he'd have been #1 at 6.88!

[Arneal]

Originally posted by macdaddy

If Zanardi hadn't had his lackluster season last year, he'd have been #1 at 6.88!

Yeah, that is the problem with having a long career, it screws up your "average" statistics. I am sure everybody can figure this out for themselves, but I'll say it anyway, The only reason JPM is number one in starts per win is because he joined a team that had won 3 consecutive titles and he left after only 2 seasons.

I don't much care for AJ Foyts big mouth, but I think the most amazing stat presented is his 5.13 starts per win because that old fossil was around forever. Also, Micheal Andretti surprises me with his eigth spot on both lists.

[Rambo]

Mikey's most surprising sat is his solitary championship despite his huge number of wins.

[R]

Originally posted by macdaddy
AVERAGE FINISHING POSITION

This also includes all the races in which the drivers may have retired due to mechanical failure, accident or for whatever other reason, am I right? Because in CART, all starters are classified.

[racer69]

I thought Rick mears may have been a bit higher.

How about the same stats but seperating Oval and road courses

[macdaddy]

R, I cannot say for sure, but I believe that these stats include every event entered. Such as in Gurney's case, where he qualified for 28 races, but the stat is based on 30 entries.

[macdaddy]

Racer69, your idea of splitting up the stats between oval and road is certainly a good one, but the database that I've been using does not do that, and I haven't the time to compile everybody's numbers myself. Or else I may have noticed some errors in their numbers. Such as Montoya, who started 40 times and won 10 of them. So his "number" should be a cool 4.00.

Did you know that Raul Boesel had 172 starts, and never won a race? Although he led 321 laps in 11 races.

[Jordi]

Poor Raul, 500 more feet at Portland 97 and he would have won that one...

[Rambo]

Montoya - you could, I suppose, factor in his Indy 500 appearance, too. I went to look on Motorsport.com and they only have him down for 12 starts/entires in 2000... don't get that at all...

[f1manoz]

Greatest CART driver?

Zanardi. Took him less than one season to win, and then he dominated the next two. Class act and also one of the best characters the sport has ever witnessed.

[macdaddy]

You're right, Rambo. That was where I got the numbers up-to and including 2000, then I factored in the last two seasons. That's why my numbers may not be correct, it seems Motorsport.com isn't 100% accurate.

[mac]

It was the way Zanardi won that made him great. He gets my vote.

[Arneal]

Originally posted by f1manoz
Greatest CART driver?

Zanardi. Took him less than one season to win, and then he dominated the next two. Class act and also one of the best characters the sport has ever witnessed.

Maybe. Zanardi was great and I was a big fan of his, but the fact that others driving the same car won the championship both the year before him and the year after him make ya think the car itself was largely responsible for the success.

In retrospect we know that during that era you had to drive a Reynard-Honda to have a legitimate shot at the title and that means Zanardi was only beating about 5 other drivers. Without the Reynard-Honda you could win races, but not the championship.

[mac]

I don't know about that Arneal. Zanardi won those championships so convincingly. In 1997 the Mercs were extremely strong (Moore, Blundell and Gugelmin) and 1998 saw the Hondas and Fords quite close. The fact that in 1998 Zanardi did not record one pole position, I think indicates the fact that it was not just the dominance of his car package that saw him on top.

As I mentioned previously, no one has ever seen anyone win in the manner Alex did. This is what I feel makes him great.

[Arneal]

I agree Zanardi won convincingly. I'm not sure what you mean by the "manner" that Alex won, but I suspect that I would agree with that as well. He took control of races and would not be stopped. Still, I think the Reynard-Honda package meant he was really only competing with 5 other drivers for the championship.

In 1997 the merc engine was certainly a strong one, indeed it won the manufacturers title, but it was not the engine to have if you wanted to win the season championship. As I recall, the merc would either win the race for you or it would explode and leave you on the side of the track with zero points for the weekend. Over the course of the season all those DNFs killed a drivers chance to come out on top. This is supported by the fact that Reynard-Honda's finished first, second, and third in the championship despite there only being 6 of them.

In 1998 it is true that Zanardi did not win a pole, but that can't be blamed on his car because Reynard-Honda's in the hands of other drivers won 7 poles. Regarding wins in 1998, Zanardi won 7 times and other Reynard-Honda's won 6 races out of 19 total.

I think to dominate like AZ did in 1998 really requires a combination of man and machine. Both were the best and the result was 285 points.

[Jordi]

In 1997 the Mercedes were quite good, I think it was way worse in 1998-99. But if you look at drivers: Greg always had a bad second part, mixed with failures and crashes, Dario was very good in the 2nd part of 1998... Jimmy was a bit up'n'down...

Also, Gil de Ferran had a Honda engine but suffered 4 engine failures I think, in 1998, which left him 12th in the championship... Plus, Andretti had his usual bad luck, as per different factors he could have won like 5 races and he didn't...

It's just a lot of factors that made the Reynard-Honda so dominant, it could have been different, or at least with different drivers.

[O'Schumacher]

The best ever was Mario Andretti. Why? Just look at his versatility. Champion in Midgets, F1, Indycars, and winner of both the Sebring and Daytona Enduros (Even if the Daytona 24 was cut to 6 hours the year he won).

[jcclausen]

In 1967 Mario also outran the rednecks who continually run in circles for 500 miles at Daytona .

[macdaddy]

No argument from me. The numbers speak for themselves.
Races: 407 (1st all-time)
Poles: 66 (1st all-time)
Laps Led: 7587 (1st all-time)
Victories: 52 (2nd only to Foyt)
Championships: 4 (2nd all-time)

Set the world closed-course speed record in 1993 at MIS.
Won races over 5 decades, four of them in IndyCar.
Indy500 champion, Daytona500 champion.
"Driver of the Year" three times. (67,78,84)
"Driver of the Quarter Century"

Basically, Mario has won everything worthwhile with the notable exception of LeMans.

However, I still feel that Zanardi was the most gifted. His career just didn't last 31 years. Or else some of those records may have fallen.