Best cross format driver of all time?

I would say Andretti or Foyt, because of all their dirt track experience too.

 

I think there are some amazing 'all-rounders' out there, but I certainly think Mario Andretti would be near the top. Jim Clark used to drive three different type racing venues in a weekend, and I think the fact Surtees took the whole enchilada on two and four wheels is amazing. You could also make a case for Sir Stirling Moss as well, but I will go with M. Andretti, Jim Clark and J. Surtees.

 

Stirling Moss or Jimmy Clark

 

Probably, because today, 'most' drivers won't try ALL the different circuits.
Jeff Gordon drove an F1 car in a test a few years ago, wasn't too slow, said
he loved it, and you can bet if he wanted to he would do it, but for whatever
reason(s) he doesn't.

I guess the difference is back then you raced for money, and didn't have anywhere
near the complicated contracts, now you do. Today you can't drop in and race a
car unless it has your sponsors on it, and if it has the competition's sponsors, you
can't drive it.
A few years ago a nascar guy that was sponsored by a cell phone company in Cup
racing was all set to race a Trans-Am car or something like that, he showed up to
race, and couldn't because the TA car was sponsored by their main competitor...
This happened as he was getting ready to get in the car...

Graham Hill won Indy, and LeMans, but you cannot totally discount those that raced
those circuits but did not win.

 

Brabham has to get a mention if they do. Won in midgets speedway where he started, F1, F2 and built the cars to do it with at the same time.
We had an F1 off season series where many of the F1 cars and drivers came to australia and NZ to race against the locals. Guys like Clark and Amon etc. Interestingly many of the cars would sell and stay in Oz
There's a couple of obscure guys like Gardiner that've slipped under the radar I rate highly. Not well known now though. F1, GT40 at Le Mans, Touring car champ multiple times winning in the UK, NZ and Australia.

Is someone like Surtees who excelled at two disciplines with the best gear ranked higher than someone with lesser equipment who did well at four disciplines?
I don't bother trying to compare across time and disciplines. Its too desceptive for guys that should just have their achievements admired.
Seb Loeb isn't a better rally driver than Paddy Hopkins.

 

The Surtees thing intrigues me. Certainly it takes a lot of adaptability and mechanical understanding to go from one discipline to another. However....lets say Rossi goes to F1 and wins a WDC, or Ricky Carmichael wins the Sprint Cup....will that automatically put them in that class?

 

Rossi is pretty handy in a car. He might go to the WRC when he's finished on bikes. He has competed in a few wrc rounds already.

 

Andretti, hands down.

Interestingly, I was just having this discussion with my wife on the way home from dinner last night. She was talking about some of the drivers she had met, Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Joe Amato (drag racer) and others.

She said that Fittipaldi had been very kind to her, discussed his rivalry with Andretti, but that Andretti was by far the more accomplished driver.

I'd have to agree.

DM

 

Tossup in my book: Surtees and Mario.

 

Current drivers, Robbie Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya are the most versatile. Everyone else is a niche player.

 

Mario definitely, AJ probably, Clark for sure, and Surtees, he won in CanAm, F1,2 and 3 as well as bikes, plus built his own car/team. After the 70s drivers only stick to their main disciplines (read money) so you can reason someone like Rossi could be coming to the list, and I wouldn't argue too hard against T Stewart personally....

 

Surtees (the challenge of 2 wheels against 4 - as MS is now finding out) closely followed by Moss (Mille Miglia anyone ?)

 

For the record, Mario Andretti never won the 24 Hours of Daytona. It was a shortened 6-hour sprint race.

Montoya has won in Formula One, CART, IRL, NASCAR, the true Daytona 24 Hours. To put that in perspective: only Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney have also won in F1, CART/CHAMPCAR, NASCAR, and Sports Car Racing

 

Andretti.

 

I go for Mario as well.

 

Mario

 

Can't believe anyone hasn't mentioned Dan Gurney - he won in Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, Trans-Am and F1 (in his OWN car). Allegedly, Jim Clark thought of Dan as his closest competitor in terms of skill.

My list (in no order, but Mario and AJ are tops in my book):

Mario Andretti
AJ Foyt
Dan Gurney
Mark Donohue (F1, Indy, Can Am, NASCAR)
George Follmer
Peter Revson
Mike Hailwood (Motorcycles, F1)
John Andretti (CART, IRL, NASCAR, NHRA - amazing, he almost won a Top Fuel event!!)

There are probably others, but clearly, Mario, AJ and Dan are my choices.

 

Mario Andretti by far, A.J. Foyt in second.

Mark Donohue would have been up there if it were not for his accident. Mansell kept winning but only with open wheeled cars in F1 and IRL/CART. Don't recall if he won in sedans. I would think that a true cross over would have to include road and oval track racing, cars and/or bikes.

Except for the bikes, Andretti won more in the most different categories.

What made a great driver in the 1960's - 1980's is much different than the skills required to be great today. Today, with few exceptions it is more specialized. If Jeff Gordan wanted to, he could win in most any other series, his dirt track experience gives him car control knowledge few others have. If Tony Stewart lost about 100 pounds of weight, he also would excel in road racing. But I do not see even a Michael Schumacher able to win at Indianapolis or NASCAR.

As for other cross overs, did anyone mention J Mike Hawthorne (F1 and LeMans winner)?

 

Another vote for Mario.

One other to consider but never gets a mention;
Johnny Rutherford

 

pre-war Nuvolari comes to mind....

Jimmy Clark in the 1960s...

 

I'd have to go with Mario. I think that had he tried motorcycles, he would have won there as well. I mean, how many stock-car novices go to the Daytona 500 and win in their first try?

Gurney is also a worthy candidate. He seemed to have bad luck a lot, but people often remember his F1 and Indycar drives and forget about all the sports-car racing he did, as well as his dominance of NASCAR's Riverside event.

And on another tangent entirely, back in the 1950s a fellow named Bill Cantrell was successful in both Indy cars and Unlimited hydroplanes! And Mira Slovak was successful in both Unlimited hydros and in Unlimited air racing! Talk about crossing over.....

 

I would add Boris Said on the list. He's competed and won on cycles (so he told me) and a variety of cars including Grand Am, Trans Am, ALMs, etc. I am pretty sure that I have never seen him comppete in an open wheel vehicle though. It has been said that Boris would race anything and after meeting him seveasl times, I'd beleive it. He does have a away to go before he can compete with the aforementioned legends, however.

 

Mario. Supreme in all disciplines...

 

The answer to the question is Mario Andretti.