Who, in your opinion, is the best NASCAR driver of all times?

 

I never liked Earnhardt and Petty did win 200 races, but he drove over 1,200 races, so my vote goes to David Pearson.

 

i got to meet Richard petty friday night. i went out to eat and here he came..all 6'6 of him lol. i shook his hand and boy..he about broke my hand. He had the cowboy hat on. when he left i went out and watched him. he DROVE the church van home. he argued with some woman i think..about who was going too drive! haha i wish i could drive 1/2 as good as he can.

 

Back in Richard Petty's era they ran something like 60 races a year. Many of them were what we would now consider local events that only would have a few of the top NASCAR drivers in the race. Petty ran more of those micro track races than the other big stars of the day.

The key to many of Petty's wins was more car setup than driving skill. His team (mostly cousin Maruice) figured out moving weight around the car was the key to going fast on the short tracks. Eventually other teams figured it out too and Petty lost his edge.

Lost in Petty's history is that he won one of his last races (around #198 or #199) with a grossly oversized engine ~400 CID (in the 358 CID era). His crew cheif was fined and suspended but Petty was allowed to keep the win.

 

awesome bill!

 

True, true, and he also drove Chrysler when Chrysler was most dominating company in the NASCAR.
I really don't mind Petty, but I believe that Pearson was better. During 1970ih Pearson only drove most popular races. For example, in 1974 Pearson drove only 19 races (everyone else drove 30) and he finished 3rd in final standings with 7 wins, 15 top 5, 15 top 10 and 11 poles. Or year before that, he had 11 wins in 19 races. That's impressive.

 

and dont forget whne petty also had the superbird...with the 2ft wing. that really gave him an advantage

 

He only drove Superbird in 1970 and although he did win 18 races that year, Bobby Isaac and '69 Dodge Daytona won the championship.

 

Nice thread, tough decision. I think an argument can be made for a number of drivers you have listed. The ones that stand out for me are . .

Petty
Earnhardt
Pearson
Gordon

Not taking anything away from the other drivers you have posted.

As mentioned above it is also hard to compare since NASCAR used to not be a spec series and the cars were as much of the show as the drivers.

Stick'em all in the same car during their prime and I'd have to say I'd might hedge my bet and place my money on the four driver's I mentioned above.

 

It's really hard to pick the best of all time because NASCAR has changed so much during it's history. There have been a lot of great drivers who never got into the best cars of their era, it takes both the best car and the best driver to dominate.

Pearson was the best in his era on the super speedways, but he played a waiting game that would never work in today's era. I also don't think he did anything on a road course and not all that much at the top level on short tracks.

 

I pretty much agree, the other drivers on the list don't stack up. It's also hard to compare Jr Johnson because he really goes back to an earlier era. Not listed are the great drivers of the early era like Tim Flock.

I think Curtis Turner would have been the best ever if Bill France Sr hadn't banished him from NASCAR.

But on your list I rule out Petty, because he had such a mechanical advantage. Pearson goes because he only showed his greatness on super speedways. At his peak I believe Ernhardt had the best equipment and benefited greatly from rules bending by NASCAR to build him into a Richard Petty replacement.

That leaves Gordon, I know most of you guys hate him for whatever reason. I'll never forgive him for abandoning Ford, but if he had stayed with Ford he would have been lucky to win one championship and 40 races, so I understand why he bolted to Chevy. Gordon is an incredible natural talent who has shown greatness on road courses, short tracks and super speedways. He also can drive midgets and sprint cars with the best. I'll even venture to say that given the right drive in his younger years he could have held his own in F1. Given the competitive level in NASCAR today, winning 81 races is an incredible feat.

 

Sorry, I could only put 10 names. I wanted to put Flock, and Turner, and Marvin Panch, and Fireball Roberts, and Fred Lorenzen, and Tiny Lund, and Benny Parsons, and Tim Richmond, and Ned Jarrett, and Terry Labonte, and Herb Thomas, and Alan Kulwicki and even Jimmie Johnson. Basically, NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers.

One thing I don't get is why so many people like Dale Earnhardt. Only way he won is by bumping into a wall everyone who was faster than him.

 

...now yer talkin' my language!

Elliott!

 

Given the question of best overall race car driver from the list above I'd select Gordon in a heartbeat, and after thinking about this specific topic some more I think Gordon and Earnhardt are my top two.

I think it is a misnomer that Earnhardt shoved everyone out of his way to win. The man could drive. Plain and simple. Was he rough, yes sometimes, but he had tremendous car control. And he too was well versed on road courses, short tracks, super speedways, and the now popular cookie cutter tracks.

 

Darrell Waltrip was just like that. And people hated him.

 

Gordon follows Earnhardt, pushing people out of his way. I can't stand that idiot, but I cant stand all of NASCAR anymore. It's all marketing, and the teams that have the most money win. Petty and Pearson were probably the best. But also include: Curtis Turner, Bill Elliot, Davey Allison, and one of my favorties, Alan Kulwicki, noone else had or will ever be an owner, and win the championship. Both he and Allison were taken too quickly, they would have changed the sport for the better, in my mind.

 

Petty

 

Great Poll!
I believe Tim Richmond would have been another great driver. He did more his first year than almost any other driver. Rookie of the Year at Indy too. Days of Thunder was written with him in mind. The "Special Tires on Your Car" incident really happened at Pocono to him and he won the race. It's Sad that drugs took this racer away from us.

 

LOL...Ya think!??