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Topic: ALL TIME BEST DRIVER
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Page 2 of 3 of 42 replies
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July 01, 2008 at
03:48:10 PM
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Jan Opperman had an "otherworldly" touch to his driving. I never got to see him drive, yet I have seen a video of his. Without knowing who it was, I could tell whomever it was leading a pack of USAC sprinters like this guy was, needed to be looked into.
Turned out, it was the guy I had been reading about all along, Jan Opperman.
I am a Kinser, Foyt, Hinnershitz fan. I think Wolfgang , Carter, Dickson, Bigelow all had the top end skills. They were all tough, relentless and terribly competitive.
But Opp was a true artist utilizing a Firestone Diamond Dirt as an extension of his body. Not a case of man and machine, he was the machine.
Support our troops. Their hearts still believe in us.
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July 01, 2008 at
04:18:14 PM
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Donny Schatz
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July 01, 2008 at
04:19:55 PM
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Guess I didn't include my own vote in the above post.
Yea, Rick says it's Opp., but I say he's too modest. I'd vote for Rick Ferkel of Tiffin, Ohio, the "Ohio Traveler" & THE ORIGINAL OUTLAW!
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July 01, 2008 at
04:23:23 PM
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Opp, he was a legend in his own time. AJ would be next, also loved Parnelli Jones!!
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July 01, 2008 at
06:27:09 PM
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Shatz is awesome but he doesnt even compare to the drivers being mentioned. Wish i could have seen opp.
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July 01, 2008 at
07:34:18 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: HoldenCaulfield on July 01 2008 at 04:18:14 PM
Donny Schatz
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ALL TIME.....not As of Late!
What are you smokin' over at Pencey Prep Morrisey?
There's so many lined up in front of the aforementioned Travel Gnome, and still need to add Jimmy Sills; Sleepy Tripp; Brent Kaeding; Ron Shuman; Mel Kenyon; Stan Fox....
"As long as I can have a fast boat, a margarita
machine and can light my hair on fire, I'll be just
fine."
Jason Giambi
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July 01, 2008 at
07:50:28 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: a500tt on June 30 2008 at 07:55:15 PM
Lets try something different for fun.
Who is the all time best sprint driver.
Lets forget wins, fast times or yrs of racing.
Just who is the all time best for the sport?
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Jack Hewitt !!!!!!!!!!! But, here is what some others thought.
Special Edition National Sprint Car Poll: "25 Greatest Sprint Car Drivers of the 1900's"
Also receiving First Place Votes: Emil Andres (1), Albert "Buddy" Taylor (1).
Also receiving multiple votes: Bobby Allen, Emil Andres, Mario Andretti, Lloyd Axel, Rollie Beale, Tony Bettenhausen, Dave Blaney, Jerry Blundy, Jimmy Bryan, Steve Butler, Duane "Pappy" Carter (Sr.), Tom Cherry, Joie Chitwood, Jerry "Scratch" Daniels, Bobby Davis (Jr.), Ralph DePalma, Peter DePaolo, Brad Doty, Pete Folse (Sr.), Dick Gaines, Chet Gardner, John Gerber, Ray Lee Goodwin, Al Gordon, Jeff Gordon, Earl Halaquist, Jac Haudenschild, Sig Haugdahl, Allen Heath, Kenny Jacobs, Joe James, Norman "Bubby" Jones, Brent Kaeding, Keith Kauffman, Frankie Kerr, Mark Kinser, Sheldon Kinser, Lee Kunzman, Danny Lasoski, Harold Leep, Gus Linder, Frankie Luptow, George "Doc" MacKenzie, Roger McCluskey, Lealand McSpadden, Louis Meyer, Tommy Milton, Jimmy Murphy, Dennis "Duke" Nalon, Mike Nazaruk, Pat O'Connor, Barney Oldfield, Jimmy Oskie, Johnny Parsons (Sr.), Gary Patterson, Lynn Paxton, Francis Quinn, Fred Rahmer, Jerry Richert (Sr.), Eddie Rickenbacker, Mauri Rose, Johnny Rutherford, Eddie Sachs, Bob Sall, Bryan Saulpaugh, Everett Saylor, Bill Schindler, Sammy Sessions, Wilbur Shaw, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Richard "Mitch" Smith, Steve Smith (Sr.), Larry "Smokey" Snellbaker, Deb Snyder, Joe Sostilio, Robbie Stanley, Tony Stewart, Bob Sweikert, Albert "Buddy" Taylor, Dean Thompson, Johnny Thomson, Ray Tilley, Dick "Toby" Tobias, Ernie Triplett, Al Unser (Sr.), Bobby Unser, Ira Vail, LeRoy Van Conett, Rich Vogler, Frank Wearne, Travis "Spider" Webb, Greg Weld, Johnny White, Jimmy Wilburn, Billy Winn, Gordon Woolley.
HammerDownUSA.com
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July 01, 2008 at
09:52:50 PM
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7 time Jackson Speedway Track Champion
Winner of the 1st Jackson Nationals
Husets Speedway Track Champion
No record of how many feature wins he had But it was ALOT #16 Marv DeWall
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July 01, 2008 at
10:10:41 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: overeasy on July 01 2008 at 01:56:42 PM
The "Eras" do create an issue here. Also your age can become a problem in answering this. With that said I will say That there was and never has been anybody as good at taking an ill handling car and putting it into victory lane as Jan Opperman. I feel sorry for people that are young fans of this sport and never had a chance to see what this man could do with a race car.
Back in his days it was driver and setup that won races and he made up for a lot of setup problems.
Todays cars are motor and setup, It's pretty rare today that you see a driver carry a ill handling car.
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I'm going to agree choice,Jan Opperman was great.but your statment that current drivers can't carry an ill handling car I dissagree with.Last year USAC -CRA champ Tony Jones tumbled his 4 bar destroying the front.His crew scabed a couple of coilovers and a couple of tubes on and Tony drove that evil handling beast to a 2nd in the 'b' followed by a 6th in the main.Cowboys still Live........
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July 01, 2008 at
10:22:39 PM
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This message was edited on
July 01, 2008 at
10:23:19 PM by The_Truth_Detector
Remember when - Daytime USAC races televised from THAT on the Wide World of Sports? That's what made me a Gary Bettenhausen fan.
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July 01, 2008 at
10:47:14 PM
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This message was edited on
July 01, 2008 at
10:50:38 PM by hoosiergal
I know my vote doesn't mean boo poo on here but anyways...
Greatest of all time isn't fair cuz there are too many in my fav sport.
So I've kinda narrowed it down to my era...best recollection anyways
Steve Kinser
Doug Wolfgang
Jack Hewitt
Donny Schatz
Brad Doty
Fast Freddie, been followin him for a while even though from Iowa, ok fire away, don't care
JMO! H-E-L-L-O BTW- Love the previous answers and respect all!!!!!!!
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July 02, 2008 at
05:27:05 AM
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I have no argument with any of the above mentioned drivers. Actually, there is only a few of them that I have ever seen race, but one driver that I think should be at the top of any list is Gary Wright. His records in both the ASCS and the NCRA are amazing.
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July 02, 2008 at
01:24:14 PM
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Gary Wright most defenitly belongs on that list hes even handed it to the outlaws and the all stars more than once.
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July 02, 2008 at
04:31:34 PM
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The best team I ever saw was easily Doug Wolfgang/Bob Weikert. I've seen Steve Kinser run at the Grove at least 30 times and only saw win twice. I'm not knocking Steve 'cause what he's done is amazing, but Wolfgang and Weikert were unstoppable wherever they went for half of '84 and all of '85 and '86.
And my favorite is Keith Kauffman who ran for the Hamilton at the same time. Wolfgang won like 55 races in 1985 while Kauffman won 33. The rest of PA hardly won anything. And Wolfgang won at Knoxville and Eldora.
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July 02, 2008 at
06:05:57 PM
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This message was edited on
July 02, 2008 at
06:06:32 PM by SteveV
All time best and favorites are two different things though, Steve Kinsers record says it all. I'm a huge Wolfgang fan even though I've never seen him race (John Sawyer and Open Wheel Magazine bought his exploits to life month after month for me here in Australia back in the eighties) Hewitt is and always will be my all time favorite, but for tough as nails win win win, wings or not, it's STEVE KINSER.
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July 02, 2008 at
06:07:35 PM
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This message was edited on
July 02, 2008 at
06:12:49 PM by BIGFISH
Reply to:
Posted By: Offie on July 01 2008 at 09:12:01 AM
Jud Larson
Hard chargin', hard livin', hearty laughin' Jud. There was nobody quite like him.
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Bigger than life, Jud Larson. When I was a kid I saw him in the pits at the old Phoenix fairgrounds at the big car Bobby Ball memorial race. He just grinned at me..LOL
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July 02, 2008 at
07:09:24 PM
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ron shuman
bubby jones
steve kinser
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July 02, 2008 at
07:30:53 PM
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Rick Ferkel
Bobby Allen
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July 02, 2008 at
08:02:17 PM
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Nobody...NOBODY...has won more races over a longer period time than the #11,
Steve Kinser, hands down, game - set - match.
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July 03, 2008 at
11:01:09 AM
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devland polkinghorn
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