The Envelope Please...
Responses to the SI poll of 25 NASCAR drivers yielded some interesting results and some caustic comments. These were the winners (and losers):
Posted: Fri February 6, 1998
ROUGHEST
DRIVER
1. JIMMY SPENCER The hands-down winner. "He doesn't have a whole lot of
patience," says one driver. "There's no give and
take. Just
take."
2. DALE EARNHARDT Has outgrown his "Ironhead" rep, but still has
detractors. Says one, "He's been around so long he thinks
everyone should bow down to
him."
3. DALE JARRETT Finished a very distant third in this balloting. "He
won't run into the back of you," says one opponent,
"but he'll run into the side of
you."
BEST
DRIVER
1. DALE EARNHARDT Gets the most out of his equipment. "A good driver can
take a
12th-place car and finish eighth," says an admirer.
"Dale can take a 12th-place car and finish
fifth."
2. MARK MARTIN His competitors admire his consistency. "He can do it
on every track," says one. "He can take a pretty
good car and make it
better."
3. JEFF GORDON
Other drivers admit that his wins result from more
than
just superb equipment. "Jeff's underrated as a
driver," says one of his peers. "If
he runs five laps and one is good, he'll remember where
that one is. He's like a damn video
machine."
Best Track, Worst Track
ALSO:
The 10 Greatest Races | The 12 Greatest Drivers
By the Numbers | The Envelope Please... | 10 Fearless Predictions
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