It is a debate that has raged forever among all sports. Who was the best all time in that sport? It is a debate that can never be conclusively answered because athletes compete at different times, teams, circumstances, and rules. Who was a better player Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth? They never played together. The number of teams weren't the same and the style of play was different. Players of different races didn't even play together for the first half of baseball's history. This is the 25th season of IndySlotCar and because of this long history, the debate now takes place among the fans of followers of Indyslotcar (a.k.a. "PPPG," the "FedAFX" Championship, and "HO Champ Car" as it was known in the past).
Tracks have been built and torn down. Drivers have risen to the ranks of being included in this debate, others are mere footnotes. For the first ten years drivers prepared their own cars. The last 15 the drivers choose cars at random. In all that time, who are the top ten drivers?
What criteria should be used? Wins and championships are obvious.
Championships can't be the sole role to look at because of the rules on what cars were used. If that was the case a driver like Phil Cianciola who won championships with their own car (henceforth OC) and a club car (henceforth CC) would be the best ever. Should Ev Kamikawa be penalized because his championships were in the OC era? How about Mike Lack who has only won in the CC era because he didn't race in the OC years?
For Wins the rules on who raced in the final changed after the first ten years. Originally there were two heat races and the top two finishers advanced to the final. The top eight qualifiers made the heat races. Now only the winners and sometimes the highest 2nd place finisher in the heat races advances. Some say this makes it harder to advance. Others say the original rules were harder because qualifying was more important as you raced two minutes in each lane and your total laps was where you sat in the qualifying order making the fields were more competitive, so wins and pole positions can't be completely counted.
I did give heat wins some more weight because winning heats is a stat that hasn't been affected by rules changes to cars and formats.
How about starts and winning percentage? Both good points but where do you draw the line to say how many starts is good and how many just mean a driver is hanging on too long? Jim Chitel has one win in one start. Dan Margetta has 42 wins in 320 starts. John Shea has 15 in 99 starts. Maybe winning percentage for overall wins isn't quite right because it might favor drivers with more starts. Heat winning percentage might be good because in both OC and CC eras drivers earned a premium for winning heat races. Either way these can't be the only criteria too.
There is something else about members of an all time great list. Something intangible. Without this something, or somethings, the debate would be easy because otherwise it would be a list of the best numbers. How about fear? What driver would you definately not want to race? In the early 2000's drivers all said Ev Kamikawa, and picked heat races to NOT race him. These days no one wants to race Mike Lack because they know they will lose...but is anyone scared to race with him?
Race craft has to be an intangible. Who was the driver that you could never count out? Someone who got the best out of the car every time? Cianciola, Shea, Lack would be favorites for many in this category. Mine would be Jim Iverson.
Honesty is one I have to include. Barry Bonds has more home runs than anyone, but everyone knows he used steroids to cheat, that is why my home run king is still Hank Aaron.
Cheaters have prospered in various forms in the history of the league (i.e. the "Bassford Device," front wing magnets, re-numbering chassis, all benefited some drivers. There is pushing the envelope and then there is cheating. Both are part of racing, but both are not part of this list.
By compiling this list I've tried to stay objective and only consider what the fans see.
With those things being said, who is on my top ten list of all-time great Indyslotcar drivers?
(Chad Sorce)
10. Matt Hayek & Chad Sorce
10 wins, 11 poles, 26 heat wins, 137 starts, 2 Indy 500 wins
winning percentage 7%
heat winning percentage 19%
2 Indy 500 wins
Matt has similar numbers to another candidate for this list, Chad Sorce (9 wins, 6 poles,
15 heat wins, 86 starts, winning percentage 10%, heat winning percentage 17%). What puts Matt on this list is his up turn in form over the last two seasons. For his first few seasons Matt was a mid-pack driver, however his race craft has changed and he is now fast, smooth, and relentless on the track. His two 500 wins and being a contender for the championships over the last few seasons land him on this list. Chad is on the list because of his innovative race craft. He once filled up his Sauber so full of fuel that he didn't have to come in for a pitstop and finished second! Seriously, Chad had two great seasons where he was in final races for several races in a row. Unfortunately it coincided with another driver's championship seasons so it gets overlooked. Chad also was the first to bring new teams like Sauber, Williams, and Jaguar to the field. He was also the first of the league, and one of the first in the country, to try Red Bull.
9. Mike Fitzlaff
12 wins, 12 poles, 61 heat wins, 179 starts
winning percentage 7%
heat winning percentage 34%
1 Indy 500 win
"Fitz" as he is known, is probably better known as being a dominating ISF Sportscar driver, however in his Indyslotcar career he is known as being super fast. Get him in a fast car and he laps and laps the field. Put him in a car that can't win, and he will race it wisely to a top finish. There are more wins in his future. You can never count him out of contention and drivers use him as a yardstick to see how they are doing. He is one of the best technical minds in the pits.
8. John Wiedemann
19 wins, 15 poles, 46 heat wins, 143 starts
winning percentage 13%
heat winning percentage 32%
1 Indy 500 win
The first few seasons of his Indyslotcar career, like most drivers, were spent learning the cars and tracks and how to race. Now over the last three seasons, JW he has won more races than anyone except his teammate Mike Lack. He is dominating and will go further up this list as his career continues and his first championship follows.
I had to pause this list by pointing out that there have been a number of great teams over the years: Marlboro Penske (Phil Cianciola, Jim Kaehny), Team Kool Guys (Kaehny and Dave Austin), Miller Lite (Dan Margetta, Chad Sorce), Team Lotus (Wiedemann, Mike Lack, Fitzlaff); however the best of all time was Team Ferrari (Ev Kamikawa, John Shea).
140 starts between the two drivers. 29 wins, 30 pole positions, 45 heat race wins,
80 final fours, adoration among viewers, two Indy 500 wins, two championships.
Dominating and intimidating are the two words that belie their team slogan
"Team Ferrari = We are the Competition!"
7. Jim Kaehny
23 wins, 26 poles, 53 heat wins, 156 starts
winning percentage 15%
heat winning percentage 34%
2 championships
1 Indy 500 win
In the early days new drivers looked toward beating the senior drivers as progress up the ladder. Usually the first person they would measure themselves against was
"Gentleman Jim." Always someone who raced fair and fast, Jim was a driver you knew would be in the fight for the win. His two championships were very popular among drivers and fans.
6. Dan Margetta
42 wins
45 poles
120 heat wins
320 starts
winning percentage 13%
heat winning percentage 38%
Indyslotcar's driver with the most career wins, heat wins, starts, and leader in many other categories, has never been known as a dominant driver in the terms like a Mike Lack or
Larry Rotter. Sometimes he admits to not taking things as seriously as he could. What he is though is consistent. He has won a race in 18 straight seasons, He has had more second place finishes in the championship than any other driver. He is also known as being an intimidator on the track as he isn't afraid to use the "chrome horn" to get drivers out of the way by crashing into them. That uncertainty makes it interesting for other drivers to try and pass him because they pause just a bit not knowing if he will let them go or crash into them. His race craft is more serious than he gets credit for, he always knows the situation of the other drivers and can plan a strategy to beat them.
5. John Shea
15 wins, 11 poles, 36 heat wins, 99 starts
1 Indy 500 win
winning percentage 15%
heat winning percentage 36%
At first glance it may seem odd to include John Shea in the top 10 drivers because he has less than 100 starts compared to others that have 150 or more. He doesn't have any championships, and only 15 wins. That being said there is no one in the history of the league (although Mike Fitzlaff and Jim Iverson are close) that have more technical knowledge and can set up these cars better than Shea. I mentioned how younger drivers looked to beat the older drivers and used each as a yard stick on their progress. When Shea raced in the first 10 years of the league the older drivers were scared to race him! They measured their progress against him! There were many classic duels between Shea and Phil Cianciola that often resulted in a Shea victory and Cianciola frustration. Twice he was leading the championship with one race to go only to purposely skip the last race and lose the championship in once case to Phil Cianciola and once to Jim Kaehny. Easily one of the fastest drivers over one lap in league history, how can he NOT be included on this list?
4. Phil Cianciola
36 wins, 48 poles, 79 heat wins, 173 starts
5 championships
2 Indy 500 wins
winning percentage 21%
heat winning percentage 46%
Phil always raced clean and his race craft was such to put the car in a position to win at every race. He wouldn't give up in a dogfight until it was clear he couldn't beat the other driver, but then would be smart and bring the car home to the best finish he could. He was the benefactor of the "Bassford Device" cheating scandal for one of his wins.
The ultimate points racer he always had his eyes set on the championship.
Five championships. Four in the OC era and one in the CC era.
A winning percentage over 20%, and 36 wins sets the standard for any driver after him to reach to prove their greatness...enough said.
25 years have brought battles between lots of drivers as rivals: Shea & Cianciola,
Mike Lack & John Wiedemann, Dean Strom & Dan Margetta, Ev Kamikawa & Tony Perkins, however the best is Jim Iverson and Larry Rotter.
I don't have all the stats from Indyslotcar history, however I have them all from the ISF. Combined times they raced against each other in finals, Jim won 22 times and Larry won 21 times. In heat races Larry won 65 times and Jim won 64 times.
It was not only battles of speed, but race craft. These two drivers when racing traded the lead among each other like lovers exchanging spit while French kissing.
It wasn't uncommon for other drivers to stop and watch these two fight it out because it was that entertaining.
When they each retired, both said they missed racing each other best of all.
Drivers and fans who saw them race agree.
Back to the list of all time greatest Indyslotcar drivers...
3. Jim Iverson
17 wins, 11 poles, 60 heat wins, 111 starts
2 championships
1 Indy 500 win
winning percentage 15%
heat winning percentage 54%
"The Grey Fox" was the first Indyslotcar driver to have a previous career racing slotcars. He was smooth right out of the box from the first race on. Not always the fastest car on track, he was always one of the most unflappable. You could never count him out even if he had a bad car. His back-to-back championships were two seasons of dominance, not in a loud brash way but rather in the understated way of his racing hero Jim Clark or Artyon Senna in that he was always in the mix and the other drivers could not escape his car in their mirrors. A brilliant technical mind who knew all the ins and outs of the cars, he knew where the limits of the car was and always drove within them.
1 or 2. Mike Lack
27 wins, 25 poles, 69 heat wins, 135 starts
winning percentage 20%
heat winning percentage 51%
1 Indy 500 win
"I think Mike Lack will be really good. You guys are going to be surprised how good he is going to be," said John Wiedemann when Mike Lack made his debut. Lack has lived up to that prediction finishing second in his first race. His nickname is "the machine," as he can race fast and faster and nothing seems to phase him. He rarely shows emotion when racing and nothing seems to get under his skin. Race strategy is a consistent theme of stay calm and race and to be in the hunt for the win at the end. If he is racing with his teammate then he makes sure to leave the other drivers behind before battling with his teammate. No one is scared to race Mike. Previous drivers were intimidating to other drivers. Mike Lack is the first to cause a feeling of fatalism in drivers, as all the other drivers just take it for granted that they are going to lose to him when racing against him.
1 or 2. Larry Rotter
26 wins, 26 poles, 70 heat wins, 203 starts
3 championships
1 Indy 500 win
winning percentage 13%
heat winning percentage 34%
Larry Rotter was always fast from the start. His speed was never in question. His problem during the first several seasons of his career was he kept running into the juggernaut of Shea, Cianciola, Margetta, Sorce, Kaehny, Kamikawa, and others. Under the old format of the OC era where eight drivers made the heats based on total laps in qualifying and then only four made the final, Larry was usually blocked out of the final by four cars that happened to be faster on that night. Once the league switched to Club Cars though, Larry flew to the top winning the championship in the first year of the CC era in a thrilling duel with Margetta. He then won again the following year and then two years later. His natual fast pace was allowed to shine under the new qualifying format and he no longer was buried in the field. The league even had a song they sung to the tune of the Doors "Riders On the Storm" singing "Rotter's on the pole..." He won heat race after heat race and then final
after final. No one was close to catching him as his victories were by several laps over the competitors as they never had a chance. All champions have an era which they are dominant, but Rotter's was something else as he raised it to a new level. A very popular champion who had to cut back on racing due to health reasons (he also said he missed racing Jim as one of his motivations) and sadly shuffled off this mortal coil too early. The first member of the Indyslotcar Hall-of-Fame and deservedly so.
You'll notice next to Lack and Rotter's names I wrote "1 or 2."
It really is a tough decision on who I would pick.
When ESPN did their 50 greatest athletes of all time, they showed Michael Jordan's film first and Babe Ruth's second. The host then announced Jordan first and Ruth second on air.
So who to pick best all time and who to pick second best all time? You really can't pick wrong either way. In the end I used stats as the final deciding factor.
In the end I'll pick Larry Rotter 2nd and Mike Lack 1st. Larry edges Mike on the intimidation factor during his prime, however Mike's wins and championships and the fact he is still adding to those stats trump all other drivers.
"The Machine" is King.
When you have a great group of drivers to hang around like the drivers mentioned above...it's easy being in the pits!
Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett
