ESPN Ranks Top 25 Drivers of All-Time

25. Steve Kinser
24. Nigel Mansell
23. Don Garlits
22. Niki Lauda
21. Shirley Muldowney
20. Darrell Waltrip
19. Emerson Fittipaldi
18. Alain Prost
17. Bobby Unser
16. Tony Stewart

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/columns/story?columnist=blount_terry&id=3400774
http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/columns/story?columnist=blount_terry&id=3403707

They started on Monday and they come out with 5 new ones each day.

Obviously there is an American biased. Also they asked many current drivers who the best is, most said Dale Sr., some said AJ Foyt. However Danica said Schumacher and Senna, she isn't so bad after all.

 

Boy, no sh*t. To have Prost languishing back in 18th behind Unser and Stewart is a joke. You could argue he’s not top ten but, he certainly would be just outside of it.

 

Cha-Cha ranked in front of Bid Daddy?...Please

 

Its from ESPN. consider the source. I'm suprised they even know who Alain Prost is.

 

I remember a few years ago ESPN was doing top 25 lists for their 25th birthday. They put Schumi at 11 and didn't even include Senna.

 

This should get more interesting each day, a driver that makes a living only turning one direction (with the exception of a couple of times a year) better than a 4 time Formula 1 World Champion? I can't wait to see the top 10, I would not be surprised to see old #3 ahead of the likes of Clark, Fangio, Schumacher and Senna, let alone Andretti. Time for some popcorn and beer to watch the rest of this one, it ain't gonna be pretty.

 

ESPN are idiots. They'll probably have Jim Douglas in the top 5....

 

This is crap aimed at guess what audience?
If the top 10 does not include Nuvolari, Fangio, Clark, Andretti, Schumacher and Senna, well....
While extremely difficult (and a bit silly) to compare across decades and even types of motorsport, my top would be Nuvolari, Fangio and Clark.

 

Wow i'm impressed by danica's comments. The rest is total garbage. ESPN = worst racing coverage ever I'm surprised they even listed a single F1 driver. The only Nascar driver I'd put anywhere near that list is Jeff Gordon.

 

Sheer genius IMVHO.

BTW Muldowney (sp?) and many other drivers (NASCAR) couldn't compete with any F1 WDC, not one.

 

Why are drag racers on there at all? They don't turn AT ALL!
OK maybe Garlits.

 

That list makes me want to vomit. Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell behind Tony ****ing Stewart? Ridiculous on so many levels. However, good on Danica for the sensible comment.

 

After seeing where Prost is rated, I don't have to guess that Gilles won't be on the list. Danica not buying into it and stating the obvious is nice. Hope she does well this weekend.

ESPN. The source for racing info.

 

If Stewart lost some extra ballast it's said he might be quick in a single seater.

 

Here I go again, but most of you have probably not heard of Curtiss Turner. This guy's car control would make Michael Schumacher or Senna seem like a geriatric Sunday drivers. Just because a driver choses to race in NASCAR, or USAC, SCCA, IMSA, or anything other than F1, does not make them second rate. Car control is just as important, maybe more so, in high speed oval racing as it is in road racing. Being a WDC does not make one the best race driver on earth, just lucky. As we have discovered, coming from F1 does not make one an instant success in NASCAR or IRL. And I would rank AJ, Mario, and Dale Sr right up there for excellent car control at speed. Dale Sr, was incredible to watch. But Darrel Waltrip? Bobby Unser? What is with the straight liners?

I have to give credit to Tony Stewart. He and Jeff Gordan both drove and won in sprint cars. You can not comment about a race driver's skills until you have watched a few sprint car races. That takes great skill and very large balls. Either one of them, after losing a few pounds, could probably do well in F1. As for Gilles Isabelle, let me make the unpopular but honest comment, he was fast, fun to watch, but absolutely wreckless, and he killed a few spectators and finally himself. Somehow, I do not see the glory in that. Nor the skill. Skill requires that you stay alive.

At the end of the day, this ESPN list is biased and useless.

 

ESPN wrong by a long shot...

http://www.raceofchampions.com/#/21_roc_wembley_highlights/

If I remember the best in NASCAR were used to wipe the floor by Schumi and a few others......

 

But does that really make them a subpar driver? Let the F1 drivers try Nascar. Oh, that's right, they have.

 

I have a lot of respect and admiration for Nigel Mansell.... but sorry - not top 25.
Top 100 - yes-maybe - which in itself is a great feat when you consider ALL drivers from ALL types of motorsports - but not top 25.

As far as Tony Stewart vs. Nigel Mansell goes -
I'll take Tony.
Tony stirs up s***, whereas Nigel just insults people.

PS - let the nascar drivers try F1 - I'd love to see Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, Kyle Busch, Tony and a whole bunch of others in F1 - it might just make F1 EXCITING again, dontcha think ??

Tifosiron - we are beating our heads against the wall, sir. (PSS - you left out Paul Goldsmith, along with Turner)
Most folks here simply cannot understand open wheel vs. 'stock' car are two totally different animals.

I always love hearing the comments from young racers that say Moss, Von Tripps, Fangio, Nuvolari et al were 'the best' - never mind the
persons making those comments NEVER saw them race in-person OR on film.

 

Exactly!!!

 

+1

According to Williams, Gordon actually did surprisingly well when he drove the 2003 Williams F1 car at Indy.

 

Prove it. Either you show some proof, or you're biased, trying to defend the stock car guys- oddly enough because nobody here is insulting them.

 

Gordon is a cut above the other NASCAR drivers.

 

Bottom line, this is a Bull**** survey. You cannot compare drivers from different series. You could only compare how they dominated their competition. Although I agree that F1 drivers have the most talent, nobody would ever know how any driver would do on any circuit. And the fact they have not tried it does not mean they couldn't win. Would Kimi dominate on Nascar, would Gordon dominate in F1? Who knows, and who cares, they never tried. ESPN is a bull**** network that doesn't even cover racing. Let them stick to baseball and hockey...

 

Mansell and Lauda got beaten by chic! Prost, a 4 time WDC could only manage 18th. This list is a joke

 

Well, take a look at what happens at ROC every year? The American drivers(team usa) gets beaten BAAD by Schmumi and the likes every year.

EDIT:
I have respect for all kind of Msports, be it rallying, nascar, drag, F1 or whatever. But F1 seems to be the top of the pop, where the most money are, and the hardest car and circuits to master. That is the place where its most difficult to get in, even get close to driving these cars to their limits. Only a very few people master it, and those should really be the top drivers of all time. That's why I would say that the F1 drivers should dominate that list from those criterias.