He returned with a vengeance in 2003 and for nine consecutive years, he won every WRC he participated in smashing and creating new records in the process. If versatility is the most important metric in your book to measure a driver’s greatness, then Foyt comes on top almost every time. Foyt Jr. learned the art of not just racing but also building cars. The only driver to rival Foyt as the most successfully versatile racer in the history of motorsport, Mario wasn’t born into racing royalty like Foyt (later on he and brother Aldo started the Andretti dynasty). Nickname: El Maestro | Nationality: Argentine | Racing Discipline: F1 | Active Years: 1950-1951, 1953-1958 | Major Achievements: FIVE (5) F1 World Championships.

He participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans thrice and was in the top 3 twice. In addition to open-wheel and sports car racing, he also competed in rallying, touring car, and stock car racing. However, all it took to ignite a passion for racing was a family holiday. It may have been a problem in day-to-day living, but when he got behind the wheel at age four, his genius was unlocked as the awkwardness disappeared. He went hard, weather and competitors be damned. In fact, he built the Coyotes he drove to win the 1967 and 1977 Indianapolis 500.

He narrowly escaped a fourth but has continued to deal with the long-term health implications of these injuries long after retirement.

Sure, F1 cars are the most technologically advanced cars in motorsport and deceleration force when braking can be as high as 8G. Nickname: The Intimidator | Nationality: American | Racing Discipline: Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) | Active Years: 1975-2001 | Major Achievements: SEVEN (7) NASCAR Winston (Sprint) Cup Championships, Indianapolis 500, FOUR (4) IROC Championships. Earnhardt’s position on this list could arguably be taken by either Richard “The King” Petty (statistically, the most successful racer ever in motorsport) or Jimmie “Superman” Johnson (the genius who can’t help but shatter records for the sake of it). In a nutshell, a ranking of the best car drivers of all time that’d be universally accepted is a pipe dream. What he did on the racetrack; the fearlessness; the determination: it’s difficult to describe in words. Steve Kinser started out in sports as a wrestler and later became a professional mixed martial artist. A young Schumacher-older Senna matchup reminiscent of the young Senna-older Prost rivalry did not play out for as long as any of us would have liked (Imola happened); but when the Red Baron did come into his own in his era, he gave goosebumps. Over a 40-year professional career, Foyt broke records for fun and raced as though his life depended on it. And still holds the record for the most percentage wins and percentage pole positions. Nickname: The King | Nationality: American | Racing Discipline: Sprint | Active Years: 1987-2016 | Major Achievements: TWENTY (20) World of Outlaws Sprint Car Championships (record), TWELVE (12) Knoxville Nationals (record), 690 World of Outlaws Career Wins (record). A universally acceptable top 10 list is improbable. As a no-holds-barred driver, his aggressive style scared competing drivers but elicited feverish excitement amongst NASCAR fans. The Master needed only 7 years to win his FIVE (5) F1 championships, only eclipsed by Michael Schumacher who needed 14 years to win SEVEN (7). Unfortunately, like Senna—his racing spirit animal—Earnhardt died on the tracks. It was Super Tex’s first and only attempt, he only got 10 laps of pre-race practice, and he completed almost 18 hours of the 24-hour race. Drivers Teams. Jim Clark is better known for his Formula One achievements, such as his two F1 championships which could easily have been more if his cars were more reliable, most grand slams by any F1 driver, and amongst the best percentage wins in F1 history. open-wheel racing (flagship competitions are Formula One and IndyCar Series). Bottom line is: pitting categories against each other is often akin to comparing apples to oranges.

Only a year later, he marginally lost the title by a single point. Astonishingly, they beat the track record by the largest margin in Le Mans history.

However, his ferocious driving paid dividends as he equaled Petty’s 7 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships record as well as win the Indianapolis 500 in his 20th attempt after several close calls. However, he always made his presence known in any discipline he dabbled in. Because Clark wasn’t a F1 specialist like Senna, Fangio, Prost, or Schumacher; he could race any car in any genre in any weather with any setup. Motorsport & Racing, Special Lists /.

However, his achievements on the course were mired by his feud with another all-time great Ayrton Senna—the bitterest and highest-profile rivalry in F1 history—as well as serial controversies with his teams. He is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, and 12 Hours of Sebring. Mario also won the 1969 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (the favorite competition of the Unser clan). F1 is popular in Europe.