Very tough question. I will echo some of the responses and say David Pearson was the best, with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt not far behind. Too bad people dont remember how good Darrel Waltrip was when he was on top of his game in the 70’s and 80’s.
Had Harry Gant gotten into good winston cup cars at an earlier age, (won first race at 42 years old), I think we would be throwing his name out there among the “great” greats.
Alan Kulwicki…..He built his own cars, he built his own engines, he served as his own crew chief at times, and he drive his car to a championship. Never married, and devoted his entire, short life to racing. He may be the best “pure” driver. Even in 1992, single-car teams weren’t “supposed” to contend for wins consistently and win championships.
I can’t really throw in names of current drivers because they are still racing, and todays stock cars are much easier to drive than the non-power steering cars without air conditioning that current NASCAR legends drove every weekend in their time.
Hi,
The best “pure” driver ever, in my personal opinion, is David Pearson. He’s had half the starts as that of Richard Petty with 105 wins! And he finished in the top 10 in over 75% of his starts! So, in my personal opion, David Pearson is the best “pure” driver to ever compete in NASCAR!
Ryan9- hope I could be of good help
Well really that is a question that cannot be answered. There are so many varibles, that it is hard to come up with just one driver that is best. I tried, and here is my list to prove it:
Past drivers (in no particular order):
Benny Parsons (21), Dale Earnhardt Sr. (86), David Pearson (105), Lee Petty (54), Richard Petty (200), Bobby (43) / Donnie (20)/Davey (19) Allison, Fireball Roberts (33), Alan Kulwicki (5), David Bonnett, Red Farmer (2), Harry Gant (18), Ned (50) / Dale (32) Jarret, Junior Johnson (50), Marvin Panch (17), Ricky Rudd (23), Rusty Wallace (55), Darrell Waltrip(84), Cale Yarborough (83), Neil Bonnett (18), Curtis Turner (17), Sterling Marlin (10).
Current Drivers (again, in no particular order):
Terry (22) / Bobby (21) Labonte, Ken Schrader (4), Mark Martin (35), Tony Stewart (32), Bill Elliot (44), Martt Kenseth (16), Jimmie Johnson (34), Kevin Harvick (11), Jeff Gordon (81), Jeff Burton (20), Greg Biffle (12).
All these drivers in one way or another could be The BEST pure driver ever. Really depends. But there is one thing they ALL have in common, they have had an impact on racing and its fan’s. They are, and will always be, the backbone of racing.
*** I know alot of people will be upset cause I did not include Kyle Busch/Kasey Kahn/Denny Hamlin/Carl Edwards/Clint Bowyer/Martin Truex Jr./David Ragan/Regan Smith. The reason why is because they are all still so new, they have alot more time to change racing. They are NASCAR’S future.
***** The number in brackets are their overall wins
There is a little BS with this question. You had several drivers that died that if they went on to finish a career, many of the TOP names in the sport would be mere drivers today. Fireball Roberts, Davey Allison, Allan Kawiki just to name a few. Davey and Allan would have overlapped Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardts career. Earnhardt didn’t really start winning races to after those drivers died. Davey was just starting to fruit as a driver the 2 years before his death. Allan was comming into his own and already won a championship… Dale Earnhardt really lost all his competitors during the mid 90’s and so did Jeff Gordon…
David Pearson for sure. I can’t see why so many twits are naming Earnhardt, he got half his victories by wrecking other drivers (the Juan Pablo of his day). As someone else pointed out, if Davey Allison, Adam petty, and Alan Kulwicki hadn’t died, and Ernie Irvan hadn’t been injured, Dale sr wouild just have been another mid-pack driver.
In no particular order:
1) David Pearson. Crafty, smart, high winning percentage. Fun to watch him sneak up on wins.
2) Richard Petty. He is only denied that “all-time” best tag because he had so many advantages. Still, the guy dominated the sport in the 60s and 70s.
3) Dale Sr. Not the best on my list by any measure, but ONE of the best. Could win races with great car control and fearlessness while scaring the crap out of other drivers.
4) Jeff Gordon. He’s a combination of the 3 above. He can race, race smart and when he’s on, he’s darn near unbeatable.
5) Curtis Turner. Maybe the best dirt tracker of all time. That skill was huge in the 50s.
If I had to pick one…….Jeff Gordon.
This is really impossible, but always a fun debate.
Pure driver, I’d say Junior Johnson. He never really ran a full schedule but he honed his driving skills running moonshine on dirt roads. He was as pure of a driver as there has ever been and the greatest one to never win a championship, WAY better than Mark Martin. David Pearson would be my 2nd choice and Jeff Gordon 3rd. Dale Sr. had awesome results but a lot of that was from moving people out of the way or intimidating them to where they moved over to avoid getting wrecked. Richard Petty was the king but he had a lot of unfair advantages and raced a lot against very small fields of drivers that did not have the kind of support he did.
3 STR8 N 08!!!
Overall - Richard Petty (won at all surfaces/track types)
1950s - Tim Flock
1960s - Fireball Roberts
1970s - Mario Andretti (midgets, NASCAR, F1 in one decade)
1980s - Dale Earnhardt
1990s - Jeff Gordon (from midgets to stock cars)
2000s - Tony Stewart (any type of car on any surface)
From what I’ve heard, David Pearson was probably the most talented driver ever. He didn’t have the best career because he only ran a few full seasons in his career. If I remember correctly, he won the championship 3 times in 4 full seasons.
dale earnhardt sr… or richard petty no matter what happens they are the once who have made NASCAR what it is they are the ones who have gotten all of the fans and then as they went the fans found new driver to cheer for, there will never be another like earnhardt or another like petty
Right now - there is no doubt Kyle Busch. Come on, in his last 8 wins, he’s won short track, super speedway, road course, mile, mile & a half, & Darlington.
Past, - Cale Yarborough - no contest. Why not Dale Sr? Well, Dale Sr. caught the series when the best drivers when either past their prime or hadn’t reached their prime. I’m telling you if Davey Allison had not died when he did, we probably wouldn’t be making such a big deal out of Dale Sr. Davey had his number.
ME! no i can only say dale sr because i wasnt around in richards time to watch but im pretty sure it was just as competitve back then the way it is now, actually i would have to say Jeff Gordon, to win 4 titles is harder now and he might add a 5th before he retires
I liked ryan and marks answers. The ole silver fox was surely the man to beat and if we put ANY current driver in the seat of his ole car they couldn’t make it half a race without crying out in pain.
Let us never forget our history or our roots…
I agree, right now it is Kyle Bush and I’m not a fan of his. Dale Sr was the best and was my favorite. Now it is J Johnson who isn’t doing very well this year. But he is still my guy. Jr is my second guy.
i do agree with most of you saying earnhardt but gordon for sure. nobody likes kyle busch but a few people and me. just wait hes won 11 races and only 3 years in sprint cup. he may pass everybody.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Tim Richmond.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Very tough question. I will echo some of the responses and say David Pearson was the best, with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt not far behind. Too bad people dont remember how good Darrel Waltrip was when he was on top of his game in the 70’s and 80’s.
Had Harry Gant gotten into good winston cup cars at an earlier age, (won first race at 42 years old), I think we would be throwing his name out there among the “great” greats.
Alan Kulwicki…..He built his own cars, he built his own engines, he served as his own crew chief at times, and he drive his car to a championship. Never married, and devoted his entire, short life to racing. He may be the best “pure” driver. Even in 1992, single-car teams weren’t “supposed” to contend for wins consistently and win championships.
I can’t really throw in names of current drivers because they are still racing, and todays stock cars are much easier to drive than the non-power steering cars without air conditioning that current NASCAR legends drove every weekend in their time.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Hi,
The best “pure” driver ever, in my personal opinion, is David Pearson. He’s had half the starts as that of Richard Petty with 105 wins! And he finished in the top 10 in over 75% of his starts! So, in my personal opion, David Pearson is the best “pure” driver to ever compete in NASCAR!
Ryan9- hope I could be of good help
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Well really that is a question that cannot be answered. There are so many varibles, that it is hard to come up with just one driver that is best. I tried, and here is my list to prove it:
Past drivers (in no particular order):
Benny Parsons (21), Dale Earnhardt Sr. (86), David Pearson (105), Lee Petty (54), Richard Petty (200), Bobby (43) / Donnie (20)/Davey (19) Allison, Fireball Roberts (33), Alan Kulwicki (5), David Bonnett, Red Farmer (2), Harry Gant (18), Ned (50) / Dale (32) Jarret, Junior Johnson (50), Marvin Panch (17), Ricky Rudd (23), Rusty Wallace (55), Darrell Waltrip(84), Cale Yarborough (83), Neil Bonnett (18), Curtis Turner (17), Sterling Marlin (10).
Current Drivers (again, in no particular order):
Terry (22) / Bobby (21) Labonte, Ken Schrader (4), Mark Martin (35), Tony Stewart (32), Bill Elliot (44), Martt Kenseth (16), Jimmie Johnson (34), Kevin Harvick (11), Jeff Gordon (81), Jeff Burton (20), Greg Biffle (12).
All these drivers in one way or another could be The BEST pure driver ever. Really depends. But there is one thing they ALL have in common, they have had an impact on racing and its fan’s. They are, and will always be, the backbone of racing.
*** I know alot of people will be upset cause I did not include Kyle Busch/Kasey Kahn/Denny Hamlin/Carl Edwards/Clint Bowyer/Martin Truex Jr./David Ragan/Regan Smith. The reason why is because they are all still so new, they have alot more time to change racing. They are NASCAR’S future.
***** The number in brackets are their overall wins
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
There is a little BS with this question. You had several drivers that died that if they went on to finish a career, many of the TOP names in the sport would be mere drivers today. Fireball Roberts, Davey Allison, Allan Kawiki just to name a few. Davey and Allan would have overlapped Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardts career. Earnhardt didn’t really start winning races to after those drivers died. Davey was just starting to fruit as a driver the 2 years before his death. Allan was comming into his own and already won a championship… Dale Earnhardt really lost all his competitors during the mid 90’s and so did Jeff Gordon…
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
David Pearson for sure. I can’t see why so many twits are naming Earnhardt, he got half his victories by wrecking other drivers (the Juan Pablo of his day). As someone else pointed out, if Davey Allison, Adam petty, and Alan Kulwicki hadn’t died, and Ernie Irvan hadn’t been injured, Dale sr wouild just have been another mid-pack driver.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
In no particular order:
1) David Pearson. Crafty, smart, high winning percentage. Fun to watch him sneak up on wins.
2) Richard Petty. He is only denied that “all-time” best tag because he had so many advantages. Still, the guy dominated the sport in the 60s and 70s.
3) Dale Sr. Not the best on my list by any measure, but ONE of the best. Could win races with great car control and fearlessness while scaring the crap out of other drivers.
4) Jeff Gordon. He’s a combination of the 3 above. He can race, race smart and when he’s on, he’s darn near unbeatable.
5) Curtis Turner. Maybe the best dirt tracker of all time. That skill was huge in the 50s.
If I had to pick one…….Jeff Gordon.
This is really impossible, but always a fun debate.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Pure driver, I’d say Junior Johnson. He never really ran a full schedule but he honed his driving skills running moonshine on dirt roads. He was as pure of a driver as there has ever been and the greatest one to never win a championship, WAY better than Mark Martin. David Pearson would be my 2nd choice and Jeff Gordon 3rd. Dale Sr. had awesome results but a lot of that was from moving people out of the way or intimidating them to where they moved over to avoid getting wrecked. Richard Petty was the king but he had a lot of unfair advantages and raced a lot against very small fields of drivers that did not have the kind of support he did.
3 STR8 N 08!!!
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Overall - Richard Petty (won at all surfaces/track types)
1950s - Tim Flock
1960s - Fireball Roberts
1970s - Mario Andretti (midgets, NASCAR, F1 in one decade)
1980s - Dale Earnhardt
1990s - Jeff Gordon (from midgets to stock cars)
2000s - Tony Stewart (any type of car on any surface)
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
From what I’ve heard, David Pearson was probably the most talented driver ever. He didn’t have the best career because he only ran a few full seasons in his career. If I remember correctly, he won the championship 3 times in 4 full seasons.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
dale earnhardt sr… or richard petty no matter what happens they are the once who have made NASCAR what it is they are the ones who have gotten all of the fans and then as they went the fans found new driver to cheer for, there will never be another like earnhardt or another like petty
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Right now - there is no doubt Kyle Busch. Come on, in his last 8 wins, he’s won short track, super speedway, road course, mile, mile & a half, & Darlington.
Past, - Cale Yarborough - no contest. Why not Dale Sr? Well, Dale Sr. caught the series when the best drivers when either past their prime or hadn’t reached their prime. I’m telling you if Davey Allison had not died when he did, we probably wouldn’t be making such a big deal out of Dale Sr. Davey had his number.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
ME! no i can only say dale sr because i wasnt around in richards time to watch but im pretty sure it was just as competitve back then the way it is now, actually i would have to say Jeff Gordon, to win 4 titles is harder now and he might add a 5th before he retires
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I liked ryan and marks answers. The ole silver fox was surely the man to beat and if we put ANY current driver in the seat of his ole car they couldn’t make it half a race without crying out in pain.
Let us never forget our history or our roots…
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I agree, right now it is Kyle Bush and I’m not a fan of his. Dale Sr was the best and was my favorite. Now it is J Johnson who isn’t doing very well this year. But he is still my guy. Jr is my second guy.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
i do agree with most of you saying earnhardt but gordon for sure. nobody likes kyle busch but a few people and me. just wait hes won 11 races and only 3 years in sprint cup. he may pass everybody.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Dale Earnhart Sr or Kyle Petty are the king’s of Nascar. My favorite Nascar driver is Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowes.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
J. Gordon…by far..(excluding Earnhadt)
everyone says Kyle, but if you take what Gordon did when he was Kyles age…..BUSCH wouldn’t stand a chance.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Theres only one, THE INTIMIDATOR.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
David Pearson.
Buddy Baker was always good if he was able to finish the race without his engine blowing.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Hard to say really…most people say the King..but it was a different era…I would say Jeff Gordon..He can win on any track
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
WITHOUT QUESTION-DALE EARNHARDT!
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Juan Pablo Montoya
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
#43 R Petty he was the king #3 Dale Sr well if your kyle busch you better watch out if you get in his way
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
David Pearson
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Kasey!!!!!!!!!!!
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I gotta go with David Pearson on this one !!
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Dale Earnhardt. Jeff Gordon’s good, but he’s been in the deal for 16 years. King Petty was in it for a while too.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
dale earnhardt, david pearson, allen kwuicki (not sure how to spell that) and the great benny parsons.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I would have to say David Pearson Tony Stewart Carl Edwards Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch
June 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Dale Earnhardt . I liked his attitude in racing.