The 25 greatest racers in the world

Here are my picks as the top 25 racers to climb into a cockpit.

Rank, Racer, Country, Years, Total
25. Mario Andretti, United States, 1965-1995, 52.00
* 7th highest Indy racer
* 10th ranked U.S. driver
(One of two drivers to score top 10 tens at Monaco, LeMans, Indy and Daytona. Only driver with Formula One title, Indy 500 and Daytona 500 wins on resume)

24. Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentina, 1950-1957, 52.02
* 7th highest Formula One driver
* No. 1 ranked Argentine
(Five Formula One titles in just eight years, two-time Monaco winner and added two 12 Hours at Sebring wins)

23. Henri Pescarolo, France, 1970-1999, 52.06
* 8th highest endurance driver
* No. 2 ranked French driver
(Four time LeMans winner with a 24 Hours at Daytona win as well)

22. Lou Meyer, United States, 1928-1937, 52.44
* 6th highest Indy driver
* No. 9 U.S. driver
(First three-time Indy 500 winner. Also had three AAA titles to his credit)

21. Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazil, 1971-1994, 53.34
* 5th highest Indy driver
* No. 2 driver from Brazil
(A two-time Formula One champion, he switched to Indy car racing and won two Indy 500s and a CART championship)

20. Olivier Gendebien, Germany, 1955-1962, 53.95
* 7th highest endurance racer
* No. 3 German driver
(Won four LeMans titles in a five-year span to go along with two Sebring wins)

19. Wilbur Shaw, United States, 1927-1940, 54.29
* 4th highest Indy driver.
* No. 8 U.S. driver
(Won three Indy 500s, along with three second place finishes, and added two AAA titles)

18. Bobby Allison, United States, 1968-1988, 54.53
* Third highest NASCAR driver
* No. 7 U.S. driver
(Two Daytona 500 wins and three runner up finishes plus one Winston Cup title)

17. Stirling Moss, United Kingdom, 1953-1961, 56.17
* 6th ranked Formula One driver
* No. 4 from the United Kingdom
(Three time Monaco winner was twice runner up at LeMans. Also finished in top three in Formula One championship -- but never first -- for seven straight years)

16. Rick Mears, United States, 1979-1991, 56.93
* 3rd ranked Indy car driver
* No. 6 U.S. driver
(One of three four-time Indy 500 winners. Also had three CART titles)

15. Emanuele Pirro, Italy, 1991-2007, 57.18
* No. 6 endurance driver
* No. 1 Italian driver
(Five LeMans wins and four third-place finishes in the past nine years. Added a Sebring title in 2007)

14. Frank Biela, Germany, 1999-2007, 58.20
* No. 5 endurance driver
* No. 2 German driver
(Five wins at LeMans to go along with four at Sebring)

13. Jackie Stewart, United Kingdom, 1965-1973, 58.59
* No. 5 Formula One driver
* No. 3 driver from United Kingdom
(Three Monaco wins and three Formula One titles in nine years. Also recorded top 10s at LeMans and Indianapolis)

12. Cale Yarborough, United States, 1965-1987, 60.72
* No. 2 NASCAR driver
* No. 5 driver from U.S.
(Four Daytona 500 wins and three Winston Cup titles. Also one of rare NASCAR drivers to compete outside of NASCAR with one top 10 at Indy to his credit)

11. Al Unser, United States, 1965-1992, 62.05
* No. 2 Indy car driver
* No. 4 driver from U.S.
(Four Indy 500 wins with three CART titles and a win at 24 Hours of Daytona. Also one fourth place finish in Daytona 500)

10. Tom Kristensen, Denmark, 1997-2006, 63.84
* No. 4 endurance racer
* No. 1 driver from Denmark
(All-time leading LeMans winner with seven, including six in a row. Also has four Sebring wins)

9. Phil Hill, United States, 1958-1964, 64.37
* No. 3 endurance racer
* No. 3 driver from U.S.
(Won three LeMans titles, two Sebring races and a 24 Hours at Daytona. Also won a Formula One title and was top three at Monaco three times)

8. Derek Bell, United Kingdom, 1972-1996, 65.14
* No. 2 endurance racer
* No. 2 driver from United Kingdom
(Six time winner at LeMans and a top 10 finisher there 16 times. Also won three 24 Hours at Daytona races)

7. Alain Prost, France, 1982-1993, 67.12
* No. 4 Formula One driver
* No. 1 driver from France
(Won four Monaco titles and four Formula One titles in 12 seasons)

6. Ayrton Senna, Brazil, 1984-1993, 69.98
* No. 3 Formula One driver
* No. 1 driver from Brazil
(Three time Formula One champion. Won six times at Monaco, including his last five before being killed at age 34)

5. Jacky Ickx, Belgium, 1968-1985, 70.78
* No. 1 endurance racer
* No. 1 driver from Belgium
(Six LeMans wins to go along with two at Sebring and one at 24 Hours of Daytona. Also competed in Formula One, finishing in top three at Monaco in 1971 and 1972 and finishing in top three of Formula One championship from 1968 to 1972)

4. Michael Schumacher, Germany, 1992-2006, 77.35
* No. 2 Formula One driver
* No. 1 German driver
(His six Monaco wins and seven Formula One series championships are both records. Perhaps had more wins in him but retired in 2006 at just 37)

3. Richard Petty, United States, 1960-1987, 79.77
* No. 1 NASCAR driver
* No. 2 driver from U.S.
(Most dominant single series driver ever. Won seven Daytona 500s and seven Winston Cups. Finished in top 10 at Daytona 17 times and was in top three of season series 15 times)

2. Graham Hill, United Kingdom, 1958-1974, 81.65
* No. 1 Formula One driver
* No. 1 driver from United Kingdom
(Won five times at Monaco and claimed two Formula One championships. Also won 24 Hours at LeMans and the Indianapolis 500 making him the only driver to win racing's "Triple Crown")

1. A.J. Foyt, United States, 1959-1992, 87.69
* No. 1 Indy car driver
* No. 1 from U.S.
(First four-time Indy 500 winner and only driver to win Indy and Daytona 500s along with 24 Hours at LeMans. Claimed six CART titles from 1960 to 1975 and later in his career tacked on two wins at 24 Hours of Daytona and one at Sebring. In 1967, became the first and still only driver to win two -- Indy and LeMans -- of racing's big four races in same year. He added a CART title that season)