HARRISBURG, N.C. — While visiting family and friends during the holidays, one of those friends — knowing my long tenure in the motorsports industry — asked, “Who is the best NASCAR driver.”
That’s actually a tough question because of all the variables involved, and the individual was quite surprised when we responded, “The most-talented driver in NASCAR is Kyle Larson.”
We had to remind him we qualified our answer by adding “most talented,” and we also pointed out that in today’s racing world the best driver is not necessarily with the best team. Chip Ganassi Racing, the team for which Larson drives, is definitely capable of winning races, but at the current time it’s not capable of going wheel to wheel with Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing or Penske Racing in a championship dogfight.
My friend’s original question followed a discussion about the 100 greatest players in the NFL and all of the variables involved as to how that sport has changed through the years. Racing is much the same, but the car and the team play a significant role.
This started us thinking about the 10 most-talented drivers we’ve watched wheel a race car during our nearly 60 years on this planet.
Here’s our list:
1. Steve Kinser. In our mind, Kinser is the most-talented dirt-track driver to ever climb in a race car. His ability to slice through traffic on bullrings like Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway in his hometown would literally take your breath.
2. Tim Richmond. Watching Richmond storm through the esses at California’s Riverside Int’l Raceway must have been what it was like to watch Rembrandt paint. It was a true work of art. He had amazing car control.
3. Richie Evans. Even though asphalt modified racing has never been our forte, we were fortunate to see Evans win a handful of races during our years in the Northeast. He had an uncanny ability to make pass after pass when no one else could.
4. Mario Andretti. We only saw Andretti race an Indy car, but he will forever be in the racing history books among the most-talented drivers, no matter the type of car.
5. A.J. Foyt. Like Andretti, we saw Foyt race during the twilight of his career, but the tough Texan set a standard for racing excellence that ranged from midgets to Le Mans.
6. Dale Earnhardt. No list based on racing talent would be complete without “The Intimidator.” Earnhardt was a true blue-collar racer who used his raw driving talent to take him to the top of the racing world.
7. David Pearson. He fell far short of the stats put up by rival Richard Petty, but we believe “The Silver Fox” was the most-talented driver of the era that put NASCAR in the national spotlight.
8. Rich Vogler. Not always the most popular driver in the pit area, Vogler could drive anything and he was just getting his feet wet in stock car racing when he was killed at Indiana’s Salem Speedway.
9. Dick Gaines. This southern Indiana legend was big, tough and fun to watch. He was a winning sprint car driver during an era when raw talent was the primary contributor, not horsepower or a big checkbook.
10. Kyle Larson. Just entering the prime of his stock car career, Larson will do great things during the coming years if he is able to join one of the elite teams. In addition, he certainly hasn’t forgotten how to wheel a midget or a sprint car. Heck, he might even claim a World of Outlaws championship when he steps away from stock car racing.
You probably don’t agree with many of the drivers on our list, but that’s why we put it together. It’s cold outside and there’s not a whole lot of racing on the calendar. Take some time, use my list as guide and come with your own roster of the 10 most-talented drivers you’ve been fortunate to see race in person. It was actually kind of fun.