All-Time Favorite Driver?

[macdaddy]

As a kid, I loved Mario and LoneStar JR. And I always rooted for Sneva and Pancho Carter.

But my favorite was always Rick Mears.

Until one day when I met a rookie who was unknown to me.

I found myself wandering the Belle Isle paddock with a program and a marker in-hand, when I approached a driver with whom I wasn't familiar. I only recognized him as a driver by the firesuit, so I approached him. Embarrassed because I really didn't know who he was, instead of opening my program to the appropriate page, I simply handed him the book and the marker as I introduced myself and asked him for an autograph.

Full of smiles, he took my program and stated that it was his first opportunity to see one. He ruffled through the pages, stopping at a number of drivers and sharing kind words and observations about them. I specifically remember his praise of Greg Moore. He talked to me with undivided attention for almost five minutes. When he finally came to his own picture, which was no more than half a page, he said, "Oh, here I am!" and signed his name.

Only then did I really know who he was. Alessandro Zanardi.

Championships were in his future, as yet unforeseen. And he had yet to demonstrate to the world that he would be (in my opinion) the most-talented driver to ever strap himself into an IndyCar. He became my favorite simply by his down-to-earth, friendly and talkative nature. He became my favorite even before I knew who he was.

Similarly, Parker Johnstone (who had just won pole at Michigan), Adrian Fernandez and Gil deFerran greatly impressed me by their personalities. Parker walked away from a crowd to help my flustered wife pick up her camera which she had dropped onto the paddock pavement, and put it back together for her. Gil gave me an impromptu tour of the Penske garage. Helio is very outgoing and fan-friendly, as are a host of drivers. Most of them, actually. This is what sets motorsport apart from most other professional sports.

While I'm rambling, allow me to tell you about Rick Mears? I ran into him very early on a Friday at Belle Isle, when the park was almost deserted. I told him that he had been my "hero" since I was a kid, and he laughingly thanked me for making him feel old. We chatted for a few minutes, and he invited me into the Penske paddock for a cup of coffee. I'll never forget that.

You see, I've always found myself to be preferential toward the drivers as people, as opposed to their on-track results. Others lost my fandom by being distant or obligatory, Mark Blundell and Jacques Villeneuve come to mind.

So... who's your favourite all-time driver, and why?

[FordCosworthPanoz]

'Mears Gang' and Marlboro jackets a plenty prove my support for Rick Mears and Penske in general. Al Jr then became my favourite due to the Penske Connection (Rusty was always my favourite NASCAR guy). Although the most recent drivers I've really ''supported'' were probably Jacques and Greg, always appreciated their talents and was a huge fan of The Player's Team. After Greg died and Jacques' career in F1 was in self-destruct nobody really replaced them in Champ Car or the IRL.

Although I've always had a lot of time for Justin Wilson, super nice guy in person and one of the most underrated talents in the paddock. However, for a racing driver, Genetics weren't kind to him with his height though...

[Purist]

I'm a bit younger, so I don't have direct memories of many of the greats from the bygone era.

I think my initial favorite may have been Emerson Fittipaldi, in the Marlboro/Patrick Penske; I wonder if Roger ever regretted selling that chassis to Pat for Emmo to drive. Then came Al Unser Jr., who was almost untouchable at Long Beach for a spell, and obliterated the field, along with Emmo and PT, in 1994.

Since the start of the 2000 season, Helio Castroneves has been my pick. I do have to say though, that I don't mind RHR, or Hinch, and I kind of have a soft spot for Simona, who's pretty good behind the wheel when she doesn't have that Lotus lump holding her back.

Of the old guard, I have great admiration for Rutherford, Johncock, and Mario Andretti. I have to say though, having gotten to watch some of those old race recordings, Al Unser Sr. really caught my attention, and there was just something about Danny "on the gas" Ongais. Also, though his Indy Car career was kind of fragmented, Teo Fabi had some real flashes of brilliance, I thought.

Finally, I almost always paid at least a little attention to whoever was driving that yellow Pennzoil car, because it was usually the easiest car to spot out there.

[fieldodreams79]

Bill Elliott....out wait, wrong forum.

AJ Foyt, and no need to explain

I also found myself pulling for Rick Mears.

Great Zanardi story, macdaddy. When he was in CART and doing his thing, he was hard to root against, IMHO. So much fun to watch!

Now? Any American not named Andretti will do.

[Purist]

Zanardi is a great racer, and an upstanding human being.

I've just never been able to root for Ganassi for whatever reason. I am glad though, that Chip made it out alright in the end after that smash-up with Al Unser Jr. in the 1984 Michigan 500.

[formerf1champ]

Bloke has a cup of coffee with Rick Mears? That's not a bad day, I reckon. A similar experience would freak me out, I would not know what to do with myself.


Only being able to follow Indycars at arms length til Mansell came along. I picked up pretty early that Penske were the big, bad superteam. So I automatically supported the Andretti's/Newman-Haas for a couple of years before Mansell came along. Being a Mansell fan, joining Newman-Haas affirmed my suppoert for the team. I'm not sure Mansell counts as my favourite Indycar driver, despite winning a title. Forced to choose, it's be him.


I tended to jump on bandwagons during the 90s, or have a few favourites hoping they'd have some success or success at particular times. When he was in When he was in the Simon/Duracell car, I was really hoping Raul Boesel could pull for a win. I was almost as shatttered as he was when the the engine blew at Michigan. Then, sometime during his year at Team Green, I realised he just wasn't good enough.


Having watched the end of the 92 Indy 500, I had a soft spot for Scott Goodyear. I was disappointed for him with the end of the 95 Indy 500. Having said that, had Villeneuve not gotten the penalty, Goodyear would not have gotten anywhere near as close.


I was happy for Vasser to win in 96. I was aware of him battling away at Hayhoe for a couple of years, without much fanfare. So it was good that he had some major success at a big team. Disappointed he couldn't pull his weight once Zanardi got going and when Montoya came along.


Franchtti in the KOOL/Green car was another bandwagon. When he was in DTM, I never saw a race, but I used to buy Autosport semi-regularly, so I was aware of him before he joined Hogan. His second half of 98 added a lot to the season and he was threatening Zanardi (who was almost unstoppable), add the fact the Green's were Australian, I was pulling for him. The one good season Patrick Carpentier had the last bandwagon I jumped on, I don't know why, I just did.


Of the older drivers, I once bought a copy of MotorSport magazine (which is a very expensive magazine) only because it had a Johnny Rutherford feature. The only other time I've done that since was when there was a massive Williams feature. Tom Sneva is a driver that also intrigues me. I get an impression he could've had a much more successful career than what he had.

[Paradise City]

I was always rooted for Geoff Brabham to get his first win. Favourite would be Fittipaldi and AJ Foyt. I supported Danny Sullivan as well. AJ Foyt was a great driver but his post-career as a 'political force' in the sport I do not hold in high esteem.

[Down F0rce]

Hello macdaddy, not seen you around here in a while. Hope all is well!

When I first got into this style of racing in the mid 90's, I liked Dario Franchitti mainly because he as Scottish. I got the chance to meet him last year, and he's a really cool guy in person. He signed a picture I took of him on his victory lap from Indy this year. Other message forums will tell you he's a bit stand offish with fans, but I have no idea where that came from. Lots of other people had cool stories about him that day as well.

I tend not to really have a favourite driver anymore. Quite happy to sit back and watch the fireworks. I'm drawn to the underdogs though.

[Yannick]

Well, when my childhood favourite Nigel Mansell made the move to IndyCars, that's when I first became aware of the series. My local hero driver Christian Danner (who is now in the commentary booth for German TV broadcasts of F1 races) driving in that series during the early 90s also helped with that for sure, even though he was running near the back fairly regularly.

I've been watching the career of Dario Franchitti ever since he was on the same team as Bernd Schneider back in his DTM days and only lost interest in the early 00s when he moved to the IRL (I was siding with CART then, but lost interest in that, too, at around the same time). Only when Dario won his first Indy 500 did my interest in IndyCar racing return. It took a while to get into the rather close world of the IRL which was then dominated by the Big 3 teams.

Luckily, not soon after, the reunion occurred, and more favourite teams began racing against not so many not so favourite teams. Then, some favourite and non-favourite teams disappeared. But there are still some new and old favourites on the grid today to get me interested in IndyCar races.

I can't name one all-time favourite driver, though. Maybe several, but not just one.

[chunterer]

In terms of CART, for me there was Greg Moore, JPM, Zanardi and Mears.

[The Happy Track Fan]

Paul Tracy 100 percent. Other favourites were Emerson Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve, Mario Andretti, Teo Fabi and Greg Moore.

There are many, many drivers I really liked. Huge respect for Zanardi too. I could not cheer for Chip Ganassi though. Got to meet him at Cleveland in the late 90's and he was a complete A**hole. No time for the man.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Originally Posted by The Happy Track Fan

Paul Tracy 100 percent. Other favourites were Emerson Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve, Mario Andretti, Teo Fabi and Greg Moore.

There are many, many drivers I really liked. Huge respect for Zanardi too. I could not cheer for Chip Ganassi though. Got to meet him at Cleveland in the late 90's and he was a complete A**hole. No time for the man.

I say this to everybody about Chip but everyone says I'm just being mean and a jerk, amazing the difference what people who have actually met the guy like you and me say about him versus others who haven't. The guy is a first class... ...well... ...what you said.

[NaBUru38]

Gonchi RodrÃ*guez, of course, and Hélio Castroneves. When Hélio retires, I might choose Hinchcliffe or De Silvestro.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Difficult choice, Emo pre-split and definitely Zanardi post split and since unification Will Power; I just wish he could conquer those ovals.

[sublimao]

Presplit there is only one driver and is AJ Foyt, his carisma was well above all even if sometimes could be misinterpreted, but with Andretti, Mears, Unser, Rutherford was a hell of fun.
Emmo, Mansell, Zanardi, Vasser, Castroneves were great but within another period less magic.

[gomick]

I liked Bobby Rahal when he went to Hogan Racing - back in the day he was consistent & Michael Andretti was damn fast, Senna like in CART & I wanted him to go to F1... Was never a fan of Al Jnr & when he dominated at Penske that bored me - always liked Emo & PT back then.
Was a fan of Vasser's once Rahal became slow & was happy he won in 96, then Zanardi came in & raced hard - Montoya was quick too... Must mention Gil de Ferran, he was exciting in the Pennzoil Car & solid at Penske - then the big teams went to IRL

Would've loved to have been a fan in the 80's, but to young & we never got CART on Oz tv...

[JohnSSC]

For me, it always has been Oswald Stumpledinck. The raw speed of Geoff Boss. The savvy of Milka Duno, the car control of Patrick Bedard and the clean, All-American devotion to living life the right way exemplified by John Paul, Sr.

Yes, Oswald had it all...

[JohnSSC]

...And I second the emotion regarding Floyd Ganassi. I knew Floyd way back when he was running Formula Ford nad he was proving to be world-class in the anal orifice category while still in college and racing on daddy's checkbook...

[Paradise City]

John you are being a horrible grump this weather.

Floyd Ganassi sounds like a gangster. He should he insist people call him that and wear an Al Capone suit.

[ptclaus98]

Krosnoff.

[Razzzor]

Dixon of course.

I've gone through periods of liking certain drivers but then going off them. I didn't start watching Indycars till around 1994 so I missed a lot of legends. I was big fan of Bobby Rahal, then Gil De Ferran although I lost interest in him in the 2000s when it became clear Helio was faster. I was always a massive fan of Greg Moore, from his very first race he was so fast, just a shame he was struggling for a results a bit before his death. But the Penske would have changed that.

For a while I liked Kanaan, Brack, Tony Stewart was awesome in IRL's early years, Franchitti too until he started beating Dixon (not to say I dislike him would be a big understatement!). Never a big fan of Zanardi or Montoya, they both seemed a bit arrogant but you can't deny their talent. Never cared much for the Unsers or Andretti's either.

I do like Bourdais as well, he's exceptional.

[JohnSSC]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

John you are being a horrible grump this weather.

Floyd Ganassi sounds like a gangster. He should he insist people call him that and wear an Al Capone suit.

He doesn't quite have the personality that one would associate with a moniker such as "Chip," that is for sure...

[JohnSSC]

A little love for Howdy Holmes is in order...

But in all seriousness, for sheer blazing speed in Indy (or any car) I give you two words:

Danny Ongais

Just absolutely ridiculous. And could he peddle!

[macdaddy]

I began this thread with a little story of why I love Zanardi... not because of his success but rather because of the man... I neglected to mention that Unser Jr. also holds a place in my heart. In fact, my coffeetable is his RF tire from Michigan with a glass top. It centerpieces my livingroom and has for a long while now.

Not to promote how we went off-topic for awhile, but in his own defence I should state that every time that I met Floyd Ganassi, he was great. By "off-topic", I mean that the intention of this thread was to discuss the drivers we love and why, not to bash those whom we don't.

JohnSSC...
(Hello, my old friend!)
Oswald Stumpledinck. Didn't see that one coming.
Are you being tongue-in-cheek?

[JohnSSC]

Of course I was not being facetious about Oswald Stumpledinck, macdaddy!!! He was Almost a Legend!!

I was not bashing Floyd. My experience has been that he is an orifice. He is a wealthy orifice, but an orifice nonetheless. If your experience has been good then that is awesome. I was simply stating what my encounters have been with him.