Every sport has its greatest athletes of all-time, including racing. This is the case for IndyCar. Here are the 10 best drivers in the sport’s history.
Another IndyCar season has officially ended, this one closing with Josef Newgarden winning his first career championship this past season and becoming the sport’s first American champion since Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012.
But the 2018 season is quickly approaching, as it begins on Sunday, March 11th with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. In fact, none of the major racing series, including IndyCar, NASCAR and Formula One, are in action right now, as all are now in the offseason following the 2017 season waiting for the 2018 season to begin.
With everything pretty much at a halt right now and still a solid amount of time until the 2018 seasons begin, this is a perfect time to look back at the history of each of these three racing in terms of their top 10 drivers of all-time.
This article will rank the top 10 drivers in the history of IndyCar.
Note that these rankings involve only information from the IndyCar careers of each of these 10 drivers. Statistics from any other races series, such as Indy Lights, Pro Mazda or USF2000 are not factored into these rankings.
Without further ado, let’s get started with the driver ranked in the #10 spot in the rankings.
#10 – Sebastien Bourdais
Sebastien Bourdais may be seen as overrated given the fact that he made the top 10 in these rankings since much of his success came in the Champ Car days. However, his statistics make it impossible to ignore him as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport.
Bourdais, 38, is still an active full-time driver in IndyCar even after his nasty crash in qualifying for the 2017 Indianapolis 500 that left him with a broken pelvis and right hip. His 36 victories over the course of his 12-year career in the sport thus far rank him in 6th place on the all-time wins list, a list he continues to climb.
Bourdais’ four championships are tied with three other drivers for 2nd place on the all-time titles list. All three of those other drivers are discussed in these rankings, but none of them have been discussed yet, obviously, since Bourdais is leading things off at #10. He trails just one driver on that list, and that driver is also discussed later on in these rankings.
The one knock on Bourdais is the fact that he has never won an Indianapolis 500. In fact, he has only driven in the race six times, and he has never finished higher than 7th place. This could change given the fact that he showed tons of speed at the track in 2017 before his nasty wreck, but there are no guarantees.
#9 – Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti currently owns the Andretti Autosport IndyCar team, which has been one of the most successful teams in the sport in recent years, particularly in the Indianapolis 500. The team have won three of the last four Indy 500 races.
Andretti’s 42 victories over the course of his 19-year career in the sport rank him in 3rd place on the all-time wins list, and they are the main reason why he makes the top 10 in these rankings. While being 3rd on that list might suggest he should be ranked higher, the fact that he doesn’t have much else to rely on keeps him ranked down at #9.
Andretti was only able to win one championship over the course of his entire career in the sport. Of the 10 drivers on this list, everyone except for Andretti has been able to win at least two championships. However, he is still a champion and should be recognized as such.
In terms of Indianapolis 500 victories, Andretti was never able to secure one, falling victim to what has become known as the “Andretti Curse” several times during the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. He is widely considered the best driver who never won the race. He drove in it 16 times.
#8 – Al Unser Jr.
Al Unser Jr.’s 34 victories over the course of his 19-year career in the sport rank him in 8th place on the all-time wins list, which is right where he ended up in these rankings. His other statistics further solidify his spot at #8.
Also over the course of his career in the sport, Unser Jr. was able to win two championships, a total that is tied for 13th place on the all-time titles list. Of the 12 drivers, including Unser Jr., who are tied with two career championships, his victory total ranks in 2nd place, and it trails the victory total of the driver in 1st place, a driver who will be discussed later in these rankings, by just one win.
With two Indianapolis 500 victories to his name, Unser Jr. is tied for 11th place on the all-time Indy 500 wins list with eight other drivers. He is the only one of the nine drivers tied for that spot who is discussed in these rankings.
Among drivers in the top 10 in career IndyCar victories, four of them have also won two or more championships and two or more Indianapolis 500 races. Unser Jr. is one of those four drivers. The other three drivers are all ranked in the top 7 in these rankings.
#7 – Bobby Unser
Bobby Unser’s 35 victories over the course of his 21-year career in the sport rank him in 7th place on the all-time wins list, which is right where he ended up in these rankings. His other statistics further solidify his spot at #7.
Also over the course of his career in the sport, Unser. was able to win two championships, a total that is tied for 13th place on the all-time titles list. Of the 12 drivers, including Unser, who are tied with two career championships, his victory total ranks at the top of the list. In fact, his victory total ranks higher than the victory totals of seven of the 12 drivers who have won three or more titles.
With three Indianapolis 500 victories to his name, Unser is tied for 4th on the all-time Indy 500 wins list with six other drivers, and he trails just the three four-time winners on that list. All three of those four-time winners are also in these rankings, but none of them have been discussed yet.
Among drivers in the top 10 in career IndyCar victories, only three of them have also won two or more championships and three or more Indianapolis 500 races. Unser Jr. is one of those three drivers, and the other two have not yet been discussed in these rankings.
#6 – Rick Mears
Of the 10 drivers in these rankings, Rick Mears has the smallest career victory total. However, his many other notable statistics make him one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport.
Mears’ 29 victories over the course of his 17-year career in the sport don’t rank him particularly high on the all-time wins list. In fact, his win mark does not even rank in the top 10. It sits in 13th place, which is still definitely nothing to scoff at. However, his other career statistics do a lot of the talking when it comes to justifying him being ranked all the way up at #6 in these rankings.
Mears’ three career championships put him in a 6th place tie on the all-time titles list behind just five other drivers, four of whom are four-time champions. One of those five drivers has already been discussed in these rankings, while the other four are ranked in the top 5.
With four career Indianapolis 500 wins, no driver has won the race more times than Mears did. Only two other drivers in the history of the sport have won the race as many times as Mears did. Both of them are discussed in these rankings, but neither one of them has been discussed yet. Mears pulled off the historic feat in the shortest amount of time, as he raced in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” just 15 times. He won it for the fourth time in his 14th attempt.
#5 – Dario Franchitti
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been five seasons since Dario Franchitti was involved in a career-ending crash at Houston toward the end of the 2013 season, but it has. However, he is still one of the greatest IndyCar drivers in the history of the sport.
Franchitti’s 31 victories in his 16-year career in the sport don’t rank him particularly high on the all-time wins list. In fact, his win mark is tied for 10th place on that list, which is still very impressive. However, his other career statistics do a lot to justify him being ranked all the way up at #5 in these rankings.
Franchitti’s four championships are tied with three other drivers for 2nd place on the all-time titles list. One of those other three drivers has already been discussed in these rankings, and the other two are coming up. He trails just one driver on that list, and that driver has also not yet been discussed in these rankings.
With three Indianapolis 500 victories to his name, including one in 2012 that would end up being his 31st and final IndyCar win, Franchitti is tied for 4th place on the all-time Indy 500 wins list with six other drivers, and he trails just the three four-time winners on that list. All three of those four-time winners are also in these rankings, with one of the three having already been discussed.
#4 – Al Unser Sr.
When it comes to having a resume loaded in terms of career race wins, championships and Indianapolis 500 victories, it is impossible to ignore Al Unser Sr., who ranks toward the top on each and every one of the all-time lists in these categories.
Unser’s 39 victories over the course of his 29-year career in the sport rank him in 5th place on the all-time wins list. He won as many as 10 races in a single season, which he pulled off in the 18-race 1970 season, which was the season in which he won his first career championship.
Over the course of his career, Unser was able to win three championships, which puts him in a 6th place tie on the all-time titles list behind just five other drivers. Of those five other drivers, Unser won more races than two of them. However, one of those two drivers is still driving.
With four career Indianapolis 500 wins, no driver has won the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” more times than Unser did. Only two other drivers in the history of the sport have won the race as many times as Unser did. Both of them are discussed in these rankings, with one of them already having been discussed.
#3 – Scott Dixon
Scott Dixon, 37, is still an active full-time driver in IndyCar. So while it will take a lot, he still has a chance to move up these rankings to #2, although #1 may be a bit out of reach. Dixon is the best driver of the current generation, and he is one of the best drivers in the history of the sport.
With 41 victories so far over the course of his 17-year career in the sport, Dixon sits in 4th place on the all-time wins list. He trails Michael Andretti, who was already discussed in these rankings, by just one win for 3rd on that list. Given that he has won at least one race in each of the last 13 seasons, he is poised to take 3rd on that list as early as this season.
Dixon’s four career championships are tied with three other drivers for 2nd place on the all-time titles list. Two of those other three drivers have already been discussed in these rankings, while the other one is coming up. He trails just one driver on that list, and that driver is another one who has not yet been discussed in these rankings.
While one Indianapolis 500 win in 2008 doesn’t particularly allow Dixon to stand out among all-time greats, the fact that he won it at all is extremely important and impressive, and his other numbers allow him to stand out, nevertheless.
#2 – Mario Andretti
If this were an all-time ranking of the best race car drivers in the history of racing across all different series, Mario Andretti would top the rankings by far given how good he was at pretty much everything he drove. But while it only includes IndyCar, he is still deserving of one of the top spots, and he comes in at #2.
Andretti’s 52 victories over the course of his 31-year career in the sport put him in 2nd place on the all-time wins list, and his four championships put him in a 2nd place tie on the all-time titles list with three other drivers. He won as many as nine races in a season, which he pulled off in the 24-race 1969 season.
Andretti trails just one driver on both the all-time wins list and the all-time championships list, and that driver is the same driver. That driver has not yet been discussed in these rankings.
While he only won the Indianapolis 500 once, the fact that Andretti’s win and championship totals put him in 2nd place on both of those all-time lists make it hard to keep him from being toward the top of these rankings. Plus, it’s not like he didn’t win the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at all. He won it in 1969, so he can still say that he is an Indianapolis 500 champion.
#1 – A.J. Foyt
When it comes to the greatest driver in the history of IndyCar, A.J. Foyt takes the #1 spot, and it really isn’t even close. While his many records are certainly somewhat within reach and aren’t completely unbreakable, the fact that he sits atop the sport in so many ways makes him the undisputed top driver at this moment.
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Foyt’s 67 victories over the course of his 37-year career in the sport put him in 1st place on the all-time wins list, and that total of 67 is a total that is greater than 2nd on the list by 15 victories. In fact, only seven other drivers in the history of the sport even have half as many wins as Foyt does. He won as many as 10 races in a season, which he pulled off in the 13-race 1964 season.
Foyt’s Indianapolis 500 record also stands out. He won the race four times in 35 attempts, and those four victories allow him to be one of just three drivers in the four-time winners club of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. The other two were already discussed in these rankings.
Foyt’s championship record is perhaps the most impressive. While he sits atop the all-time titles list having won seven championships, no other driver in the history of the sport has ever even won more than four. There are only four four-time champions, meaning only four drivers in the sport’s history have won even half the amount of titles that Foyt won.
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Do you agree with the top 10 drivers in these all-time IndyCar rankings? Who do you think is deserving of a higher spot, and who do you think should be ranked lower? Are there any drivers not in the top 10 who you believe should be?