Best drivers you have ever seen

Boris Said.

Ayrton Senna.

Al McCrispin.

Eric Storhok.

Scott Pruett at the 6 hours of the glen this year. He drove just over 4.5 hours in 90+ degree heat non stop because Memo Rojas "wasn't feeling well".

Carl Edwards is a personal friend...so I'm biased, but that guy can and will drive (or fly) just about anything and he'll do it at 100% (notice I didn't pull some BS "110%" figure). Car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, rollerblades, dirtbike, piston plane, jet, R/C, boat...the list goes on. He'll scare the daylights out of you for fun...until you realize that he knows exactly where the boundaries of the vehicle's physical space are as well as it's limits (in the way of traction and the like). He once told me he was worried we were going to slide into a K-barrier on an overpass one time while driving at speed on the highway on ice. Then he said, "But I knew I couldn't wreck the car...because it belongs to my dad and he'd be really upset." As if his thoughts could control the laws of physics at a whim! We didn't crash though...

Dorsey Shroeder is pretty phenominal, in my experience. Bobby Archer...I was always impressed with him.

Clem

96DXCivic wrote: Sebastian Vettel. Driving his Toro Rosso to victory at Monza over the McLaren's and Ferrari's was incredible.

oh yes, my boy Vettel, i'm rootin for him next season!

Me personally, I dona't have a favorite, but ALL WRC and rally/hillclimb drivers, whether it be pro or grassroots, my people are nuts! I consider all F1, Sports Car, Touring car, CORR, the best.

Rod Millen, Ari Vatenen, Henri Toinoven, Colin Mcrae, Jackie Stewart, Alain De Cadenet, the list goes on for all the above......Those guys know how to drive.....although if you notice most of the guys that are being named are from the best years fo racing

96DXCivic wrote: Sebastian Vettel. Driving his Toro Rosso to victory at Monza over the McLaren's and Ferrari's was incredible.

oh yes, my boy Vettel, i'm rootin for him next season!

Me personally, I dona't have a favorite, but ALL WRC and rally/hillclimb drivers, whether it be pro or grassroots, my people are nuts! I consider all F1, Sports Car, Touring car, CORR, the best.

Rod Millen, Senna, Storhok, Ari Vatenen, Henri Toinoven, Colin Mcrae, Jackie Stewart, Alain De Cadenet, the list goes on for all the above......Those guys know how to drive.....although if you notice most of the guys that are being named are from the best years fo racing

Sportscar Drivers:

Tom Kristensen - Eight 24 Hours of LeMans wins... enough said

Alan McNish - Insane driving skill holding off the Peugeot 908 for the last hour at the 2008 Petit LeMans

I spend most of my time around the short tracks of America. Some of the best I've seen in person are Richie Evans, Freddie Query, and Rich Bickle. There are many other greats ones, but those three stick in my mind. Years ago I remember watching 16 yr old Elton Julian show up in the Skip Barber Race series and just put a hurting on everyone including Skip Barber instructors and test drivers. Some of the greatest drivers I've only watched on tv would be Dale Earnhardt and Ayrton Senna.

My best friend from High School. Its funny, he's one of those driving-glove-wearing, wax-once-a-week, car owners, and his car was an 82 Dodge Charger 2.2.

But I have never seen anyone coax so much from so little. He could autocross with millimeters between him and every cone and never touch one.

Certainly not me.

For me, the best I've seen:

Alan McCrispin, Mark Daddio, Andy Hollis and Bob Tunnell are my four top picks for autocrossers. Of those, Mark is the alien of the bunch...

Per

Per Schroeder wrote: Certainly not me. For me, the best I've seen: Alan McCrispin, Mark Daddio, Andy Hollis and Bob Tunnell are my four top picks for autocrossers. Of those, Mark is the alien of the bunch... Per

Ya'll are going to make it difficult to be around Alan, his head is big enough already! Just kidding, Alan is an awesome driver, I learned more co-driving his old street prepared Trans Am one year than in all my other years of autocrossing combined. He's a great teacher too.

Adding to the autocross list, Steve Brollier (sp?) is about the smoothest driver I've ever seen and very very fast, he just doesn't get much press lately, but he single handedly changed the Neon contingency program after claiming all the money the first year.

For pro drivers, my all time favorite is Mark Donohue. I remember as a kid watching him race the 917-30 at Road Atlanta, and it's still the fast race car I've ever seen in a straight line.

Alex Zanardi. His win at Long Beach in 1998 is the best single drive I've ever witnessed in person. Awesome.

AngryCorvair wrote: Boris Said.

this

Oh, and have to give a nod to Remy Julienne. Not a racer, but Google him and you will see what I mean.

Ayton Senna by a mile

Colin McRae was awesome

Peter Brock dowunder in a sedan

Note all of them are now deceased and two died driving

Mario Andretti - Won EVERYTHING that matters (F1, Indy, LeMans, Sebring, Daytona). Schumi - Far and away the best engineer to ever drive a F1 car! Oh and the 7 world championships. Boris Said - First American to win the 24h of Nuremburgring (with Hans Stuck). Best American Sports car driver, up until he went for cash in Nascrap.

Said is still in sportscars...and he is still good.

unfortunately NASCAR is NASCASH!

also, McNish is my favorite driver ever...such a great guy, he actually offered me the shirt on his back...lol

Paul Mumford, it would have been nice to see what he would have done

Per Schroeder wrote: Certainly not me. For me, the best I've seen: Alan McCrispin, Mark Daddio, Andy Hollis and Bob Tunnell are my four top picks for autocrossers. Of those, Mark is the alien of the bunch... Per

That reminds me of when I worked at the second Mazda Rev It Up finally a few years ago. I got to watch Tom Kendall and Mark Daddio tossing the same cars around. They are both amazing. Daddio's final drive that won him his second Mazda was pretty other worldly. I am not sure I'll ever see a Mazdaspeed Miata go that quick in an auto-x again in my life.

BradLTL wrote: Boris Said - First American to win the 24h of Nuremburgring (with Hans Stuck). Best American Sports car driver, up until he went for cash in Nascrap.

Boris has lost quite a few dollars the past couple of years. His team keeps getting rained out at Watkins Glen.

I saw Steve Kinser last year at a World of Outlaws race at Volusia Speedway. He was running 3rd or 4th for most of the race, pacing the leaders, stalking them. An opening would present itself, and he'd walk right in. He was just toying with them going sideways in dirt at 120mph. Blew my mind.

I also remember seeing Michael Andretti blowing the field away at Indianapolis in 1992. His car control at 230+ was supernatural. He was just ripping through the field, until he lost fuel pressure with less than 20 laps left.

He may not be the best, but...

I was instructing in a Viper at Las Vegas last Fall... My "student" was amazing; immediately smooth & quick, drifting the rear around the lap with smoothness & ease.

I asked what he drove (it was obvious he'd had SOME experience!).

His reply: "Oh, I've driven a bit of everything over the years."

I found out 20 minutes later he was Sandor Van Es, the Dutch touring car champion!