In my first post I explained how the yearly point totals worked but not how I add them up for a ranking. I use the same 3, 6, 10 and career system as in my other rankings.
To show how, I'll break down the career of one of the most versatile drivers ever -- Dan Gurney.
Gurney scored points in my system in 11 years from 1959 to 1970.
His best year, in terms of points, was 1967 when he recorded his only win among the four biggest races in the world, the 24 Hours at LeMans with A.J. Foyt. He did not score in any other category.
In 1963, he took fifth in the Daytona 500 (six points) and seventh in the Indianapolis 500 (four points) for 10 points for the year.
His third best year was a tie for 1968 and 1969 when he was runnerup at Indianapolis for nine points each. So his ranking for top 3 years was 20 + 10 + 9 divided by 3 for 13.0 points.
I used those top three years, added 1968's 9 points for Indy and then 1970 when he was third at Indy (8 points) and 1961 when Gurney took fifth at the Grand Prix of Monaco (6 points) and fourth in the Formula One series (1 point).
So his six best years were 20 + 10 + 9 + 9 + 8 + 7 divided by 6 for a score of 10.5 points.
For his best 10 years he had an average of 7.7 and his total career points, which included bonus points for winning the 12 Hours at Sebring and 24 Hours at Daytona I divided by 25 for a score of 3.1. Why 25? A.J. Foyt scored points in an incredible 25 years between 1959 and 1993 so he sets the standard.
Although the system rewards drivers like Gurney who went out and tried to win races outside their comfort zone -- Gurney and Mario Andretti are the only drivers to record top 10 finishes in Monaco, LeMans, Indy and Daytona -- it rewards winning even more. Even though Gurney was a threat at all four events for 12 years, he won just one so he's ranked a somewhat pedestrian 68th.
So now that you know a little bit more, here are the No. 75 through No. 51 greatest racecar drivers ever.
Rank, racer, country, years, points
75. Jack Brabham, Australia, 1957-1970, 33.49
74. Ted Horn, United States, 1936-1948, 33.62
72. Buddy Baker, United States, 1969-1988, 33.71
72. Andy Wallace, United Kingdom, 1988-2006, 33.71
71. Andre Rossignol, France, 1923-1928, 34.09
70. Michael Waltrip, United States, 1990-2003, 34.15
68. Jimmy Bryan, United States, 1952-1958, 34.32
68. Dan Gurney, United States, 1959-1970, 34.32
67. Gerard Larrousse, France, 1969-1974, 34.73
66. Michele Alboreto, Italy, 1981-2001, 34.82
65. Helio Castroneves, Brazil, 2001-2006, 35.04
64. Benny Parsons, United States, 1969-1987, 35.16
63. Gijs van Lennap, Netherlands, 1971-1976, 35.35
62. Bobby Rahal, United States, 1981-1995, 35.49
61. J.J. Lehto, Finland, 1992-2005, 36.85
60. Arie Luyendyk, Netherlands, 1985-1998, 36.97
59. Tommy Milton, United States, 1920-1927, 37.29
58. Sterling Marlin, United States, 1980-2005, 37.91
57. Darrell Waltrip, United States, 1974-1997, 37.95
56. Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombia, 1999-2008, 38.39
55. Woolf Barnato, United Kingdom, 1928-1930, 38.40
54. Tom Sneva, United States, 1976-1984, 38.58
53. David Pearson, United States, 1962-1984, 38.59
52. David Coulthard, United Kingdom, 1995-2006, 39.00
51. Tazio Nuvolari, Italy, 1932-1936, 39.99
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