Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Greatest by Number: #9-0

Let's get this over with.

#9: Scott Dixon
Dixon joined Chip Ganassi racing in the middle of 2002. He adopted the #9 when the team transitioned from CART to the IRL the following year. Dixon won his first race in the #9 and that set the tone for the last 18 years.  

Dixon won the championship in that first season in the #9 and after a disappointing season with the #1 in 2004, Ganassi and the team vowed to not adopt the #1 again after a championship season. After falling short of a championship in 2007, Dixon opened the 2008 season with a victory at Homestead. He put together an incredible month of May and won the Indianapolis 500. Dixon picked up four more victories and his second championship. 

From 2007 to 2015, Dixon was in the top three of the championship in every season. He picked up his third championship in 2013 after winning three consecutive races in the middle of the season, IndyCar's return to Pocono and a sweep of the Toronto doubleheader. A victory at Houston flipped the championship into Dixon's favor after Hélio Castroneves had a horrible weekend. Two years later, Dixon scored his first Long Beach victory and won at Texas, but he entered the finale 47 points behind Juan Pablo Montoya. From ninth on the grid, Dixon was able to get to the front and with help from his teammate Dixon won at Sonoma and won his fourth championship on tiebreaker. 

Three years later, he won his fifth championship and last year, off the back of opening the season with three consecutive victories, Dixon won his sixth championship. 

He is the all-time leader in Mid-Ohio victories with six. He has the most IndyCar victories at Watkins Glen with four. He has tied A.J. Foyt's record of 18 seasons with a victory and Dixon has the record of 16 consecutive seasons with a victory. With victories at 25 different tracks, Dixon is second behind only Mario Andretti's 26 different tracks with a victory. At Gateway last year, Dixon became the third driver to reach the 50 victories milestone. He is only three victories away from surpassing Mario Andretti for second all-time. One more championship will tie Dixon with Foyt for most championships. 

Dixon has been a marvel over for two decades. At only 40 years old, the expectation is Dixon will continue to add his accomplishments. 

Honorable Mention: 
Bill Elliott (1988 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Elliott won 38 races in the #9 car, including the two Daytona 500s, two Southern 500s and a Brickyard 400). 

#8: Niki Lauda
Lauda's third world championship came in the #8 McLaren in the 1984 season. 

The Austrian had used the number in the two seasons prior and won at Long Beach and Brands Hatch in 1982, his first season after two years out of Formula One, but the 1984 season proved to be Lauda's biggest test in his second stint, as Alain Prost returned to McLaren. Prost opened the season with a victory in Brazil, but Lauda countered with a victory in the second round at Kyalami. 

Lauda would win the French Grand Prix at Dijon and was second at Montreal, but those were his only points finishes through the first half of the season. Prost had won also won at Imola and a rain-shortened, half points race at Monaco.

With seven races to go, Lauda was third in the championship and 11 points off his teammate. The McLaren drivers traded victories over the next six races, but Lauda scored points in the races Prost won, while Prost retired in each of the three races Lauda came out on top. 

Lauda's victory at Monza gave him a 10.5-point lead with two races to go. Prost closed the gap to 3.5 points after the Frenchman won at the Nürburgring. Heading into the Estoril finale, Lauda could clinch the title with a second-place finish. Prost qualified in second while Lauda started 11th. It took nine laps for Prost to take the lead while Lauda slowly progressed into the points. The championship was in Prost's hands until 18 laps to go when Nigel Mansell retired from the race while in second. Mansell's retirement lifted Lauda up to second and Lauda would hold onto the position to win the title by a half-point over his teammate. 

Honorable Mentions:
Joe Weatherly (Weatherly won the 1962 and 1963 NASCAR Cup Series championship and 20 of his 25 Cup victories were in the #8 car). 

Mika Häkkinen (Häkkinen won the 1998 World Drivers' Championship in the #8 McLaren)

Fernando Alonso (Alonso won six grand prix with the #8, including his first career victory at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. He also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice and the 2018-19 World Endurance Drivers' Championship in the #8 Toyota)

Sébastien Buemi/Kazuki Nakajima (Speaking of the #8 Toyota, Buemi and Nakajima were Alonso's co-driver in that 2018-19 season and they have gone on to win three consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans. Buemi also won the 2014 World Endurance Drivers' Championship with Anthony Davidson). 

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Earnhardt, Jr.'s first 17 NASCAR Cup Series victories were in the #8 Chevrolet, including the 2004 Daytona 500). 

#7: Jeremy McGrath
McGrath dominated in Supercross during the 1990s.
 
In 1991 and 1992, he won the 125cc west championships and won a combined 13 races. From 1993 to 2000, McGrath won seven of eight championships. In all seven of his championship seasons, he was on the podium in at least 75% of the races. 

In 1996, he won 14 of 15 races with a second in the penultimate round being the one blemish on a season where he sported an average finish of 1.06. McGrath lost the 1997 championship to Jeff Emig and in that season he was still on the podium in 60% of the races. 

While he won a combined nine Supercross championships, his only Motocross title was in 1995, however, he lost the title in 1996 to Emig after an injury forced McGrath to miss races late in the season. While he only had the one Motocross title, McGrath finished in the top three of the championship in every full season he contested. 

McGrath remains the all-time leader in Supercross championships with seven and the all-time leader in top class victories with 72. The next closest rider is James "Bubba" Stewart on 50 victories. Between the two classes, McGrath has 85 Supercross victories and he also won 17 Motocross races.

Honorable Mentions:
Barry Sheene (Two-time 500cc world champion, Sheene won 23 grand prix and had 52 podium finishes in 102 starts).

Alain Prost (Prost won seven races in the #7 McLaren in the 1984 season, where he lost the World Drivers' Championship to Niki Lauda by a half-point).

Alan Kulwicki (Kulwicki won the 1992 NASCAR Cup Series championship and all five of his NASCAR Cup Series victories were in the #7 Ford).

#6: Mark Martin
One of the best drivers never to win a NASCAR Cup Series championship, it is stunning how Martin never won a Cup championship. 

In 1990, Martin led the championship for 16 races but lost the lead in the penultimate race at Phoenix. Dale Earnhardt won the race and Martin was tenth. This gave Earnhardt a six-point lead heading into the finale. Martin was sixth at Atlanta, but Earnhardt was third and Earnhardt took the title by 26 points. Martin ended up second to Earnhardt again in 1994, but that was more of late charge up the standings while Earnhardt had the title firmly in his grasp.

Four years later, Martin won seven of 33 races. He was in the top five for two-thirds of the races and he had 26 top ten finishes. It just so happened that Jeff Gordon decided to have the greatest season in NASCAR's modern era and win 13 races. Martin was second in the championship for the final 17 races. He was only 52 points behind Gordon when Martin took over second at Loudon. Gordon's final margin of victory in the championship would be 364 points and Gordon would clinch the title with a race to spare. 

Martin had another close call in 2002. Though far from his greatest season, Martin was in the top two of the championship for the final 21 races. He led after Loudon and Dover in September, only for an engine failure at Kansas to knock him out of the top spot. Entering the finale, he was 89 points behind Tony Stewart. Martin drove up to fourth while Stewart hung on for a 18th-place finish and Stewart took the title by 38 points. 

After the 2006 season, Martin eased into semi-retirement, but after two years of strong results, he was talked back into full-time competition for the 2009 season with Hendrick Motorsports. It looked like the right call as he won four races in the regular season, more than any other driver. He opened the Chase with a victory at Loudon. Everything appeared to be falling into place for Martin to take his first championship at 50 years old. However, despite finishing no worse than seventh in the first four Chase races, Martin dropped to second in the championship as Jimmie Johnson won at Dover and Fontana. Johnson would add two more victories at Charlotte and Phoenix while Martin could not finish better than fourth in any of the final seven races. Johnson took the title by 141 points over Martin. 

Thirty-five of Martin's 40 Cup victories were in the #6 car. The big races eluded him. He won the 1993 Southern 500 and the 2002 Coca-Cola 600 but he never won at Daytona nor Indianapolis. He could win anywhere though. He could reel off consecutive victories at Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol and Darlington. He could win at Watkins Glen and Atlanta, Sonoma and Talladega, Dover and Martinsville. 

On top of the Cup success, Martin also won six Truck races in the #6, including at Daytona. He also holds the record for most IROC victories with 13 and most IROC championships with five. 

Honorable Mentions:
Kimi Räikkönen (2007 World Drivers' Champion, Räikkönen won six races in the #6 Ferrari, including the season opener from Melbourne and the finale from Interlagos. Räikkönen's first two victories were also in the #6 McLaren at Sepang in 2003 and Spa-Francorchamps in 2004).

Nico Rosberg (2016 World Drivers' Champion, Rosberg won 20 races in the #6 Mercedes, including two Monaco Grand Prix and victories at Spa-Francorchamps, Monza and Suzuka).

#5: Nigel Mansell
Mansell won a World Drivers' Championship and an IndyCar championship in the #5. 

Twenty-seven of Mansell's 31 grand prix victories were in the #5 car. His first victory came at Brands Hatch in 1985. In 1986, Mansell won five of 16 races and entered the finale at Adelaide with a seven-point lead over Alain Prost only for a spectacular tire failure take him out of the race and Prost took the championship with a victory. Mansell bounced back with a six-victory season, but inconsistency gave the championship to his Williams teammate Nelson Piquet. 

After a stint with Ferrari, Mansell returned to Williams and the #5 for 1991. He won at Magny-Cours but arguably Mansell's most famous victory came in the next race at Silverstone where Mansell had a grand slam, leading all 59 laps from pole position with fastest lap to boot and he gave the stranded Ayrton Senna a lift back to the paddock. While Mansell again won five races, Senna took the championship. 

Williams boosted Mansell with the active suspension in the Williams FW14B and he women the season with five consecutive victories. The season opener was a grand slam performance at Kyalami. He had another grand slam at Barcelona. He won at Magny-Cours and had another grand slam at Silverstone before scoring his eighth victory at Hockenheim on his way to taking the world championship. 

At Monza during his championship season, Mansell announced he would be leaving Formula One to join Newman-Haas Racing in IndyCar for the following season. He won on his IndyCar debut at Surfers Paradise. He missed Phoenix after suffering an accident in practice but he was third at Long Beach and Indianapolis, and he won at Milwaukee. After retiring at Toronto, Mansell dropped to second in the championship but then won back-to-back races. He thrashed the field at Michigan and won on his 40th birthday at Loudon. Mansell sealed the championship with a victory at Nazareth. 

Honorable Mentions:
Mario Andretti (Andretti won the 1978 World Drivers' Championship in the #5 Lotus and 11 of his 12 grand prix victories were in the #5. Andretti also won four races in the #5 Lola in IndyCar driving for Newman-Haas Racing).

Nelson Piquet (Two of Piquet's three world championship were in the #5 Brabham and he won nine races in the #5).

Terry Labonte (Labonte won the 1996 NASCAR Cup Series championship in the #5 Chevrolet. Twelve of Labonte's 22 Cup victories were in the #5 and his final victory was the 2003 Southern 500).

#4: Ricky Carmichael
Otherwise known as the greatest of all-time, Carmichael succeeded Jeremy McGrath as the top rider on dirt and Carmiichael was sensational. 

Carmichael won ten consecutive Motocross championships, three in the 125cc class from 1997 to 1999 and seven consecutive in the 250cc/450cc class from 2000 to 2006. Carmichael won all 24 races in the 2002 season. In Motocross, he ranks first all-time in top class victories with 76, while the next closest rider is Ryan Dungey with 39 victories. In the secondary class, Carmichael is second all-time with 26 victories. 

In Supercross, Carmichael has five top class championships with all those titles coming between 2001 and 2006. He missed the 2004 season due to a knee injury. He ranks third all-time in Supercross victories for the top class with 48 while his combined 60 victories is also ranked third. For the 2007 season, Carmichael announced he would run a partial schedule for both Supercross and Motocross. He won two of seven Supercross starts with his worst finish being second and he won every Motocross race he entered. 

Between Supercross and Motocross, he had six seasons where he finished on the podium in every race. His podium percentage was 81% or higher in every season from the 2000 Motocross season onward. 

Honorable Mentions:
Johnny Rutherford (Rutherford won nine IndyCar races in the #4, including the 1980 Indianapolis 500 and he won the 1980 IndyCar championship)

Kevin Harvick (Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, Harvick has won 39 races and was the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion in the #4 car. He has won two Southern 500s and two Brickyard 400s in the #4). 

Rex White (White won the 1960 NASCAR Cup Series championship and 26 Cup races in the #4 Chevrolet).

#3: Dale Earnhardt
This was a no-brainer. While the #3 did not become Earnhardt's main number until the 1984 season, five years after his first championship, Earnhardt is forever associated with the #3. 

His first victory in the #3 Chevrolet was at Talladega in the summer of 1984, his second of ten victories at the track. He would go on to win at Atlanta later that season and furnaces in 1985. Earnhardt's 1986 season saw him win five races, including his first World 600 victory and he took his second championship. He backed it up with 11 victories in 1987, which included a stretch of four consecutive victories in the spring and three consecutive victories at the end of summer with his first Southern 500 success smashed in the middle. He took the championship by 489 points over Bill Elliott. 

The trademark black GM Goodwrench scheme was introduced for the 1988. He only won three races that season and he won five races in 1989, including his second Southern 500, but his championship finishes would be third and second in those respective seasons. 

Earnhardt would go back-to-back in championships again in 1990 and 1991. He won nine races in 1990, including his third Southern 500 victory, and he won four races in 1991. After dropping to 12th in the championship in 1992 with his only victory being the Coca-Cola 600, he rebounded in 1993 with six victories, which included another Coca-Cola 600 victory. He was never lower than second in the championship in 1993 and he held off Rusty Wallace by 80 points for the championship. 

He only won four races in 1994, but he had 20 top five finishes and 25 top ten finishes. Earnhardt's victory at Rockingham clinched him his record-tying seventh championship with two races to go. 

While winning seven championships, Earnhardt was the master of NASCAR's most famous track. He won 34 races at Daytona International Speedway. He won a Daytona 500 qualifying race in every year of the 1990s. Add two victories from the 1980s and his 12 victories are an all-time event record. Cale Yarborough is second with only six victories. He and Tony Stewart are tied for most victories in the February Grand National Series race with seven. Earnhardt still holds the record for most Clash victories with six and he won six IROC races at Daytona. The only other drivers with multiple IROC victories at Daytona are Bill Elliott and Mark Martin, each with two.

When it came to championship events, Earnhardt won the 400-mile race twice and he is as known for his heartbreaking failures in the Daytona 500 as anything else in his career. From blown pit stops to hit seagulls, Earnhardt had the Daytona 500 slip through his hands every way imaginable. It took 20 attempts for him to get his first Daytona 500 victory in 1998. 

There are not many numbers I think are permanently fixed to one driver. This is one of them. 

Honorable Mentions:
Hélio Castroneves (Castroneves won 29 IndyCar races in the #3 car, including the 2002 and 2009 Indianapolis 500s).

Mario Andretti (Andretti's 1984 IndyCar championship was in the #3 Lola for Newman-Haas Racing. He won at Long Beach, the Meadowlands, twice at Michigan, Road America and Mid-Ohio).

#2: Mario Andretti
Andretti's most famous victory came with the #2. 

Before that glorious day in 1969, Andretti won four races in the #2 car in the 1968 season on his way to second in the championship. 

For 1969, Andretti won at Hanford, leading all 134 laps. He suffered burns in a practice accident for Indianapolis and the team had to switch to a year-old Brawner Hawk for qualifying. Andretti put the car second on the grid. In the race, he led 116 of 200 laps, thoroughly defeating Dan Gurney, Bobby Unser and Mel Kenyon for the victory. 

His Day-Glo orange STP Brawner Hawk is burned into everyone's memory. We can all picture that car flashing pass the checkered flag with nearly 300,000 spectators shout for joy. 

While Indianapolis is what everyone remembers, Andretti did more that season. He won nine races in 1969, his most victories in a single IndyCar season. He won at Nazareth, Springfield, Riverside and Trenton twice. It was Andretti's third championship in five seasons.  

Honorable Mentions:
Allan McNish/Tom Kristensen/Rinaldo Capello (Some form of this combination combined to win an American Le Mans Series championship, two 24 Hours of Le Mans, three 12 Hours of Sebring and a World Endurance Drivers' Championship. Some of this they all did together. In some cases it was just McNish and Capello, in others it was McNish and Kristensen with another driver. I couldn't break these three up though. They were such a force for Audi).

Al Unser (Unser won 14 IndyCar races in the #2 car, including ten races in the 1970 season, where he won his first Indianapolis 500 and his first championship. He also won the 1978 Indianapolis 500 in car #2).

Johnny Rutherford (Rutherford won nine races in the #2 car, including the 1976 Indianapolis 500).

Alain Prost (Prost won 16 grand prix in the #2 car, but even more incredible is three of Prost's four World Drivers' Championships were won in the #2 car, twice with McLaren and once with Williams).

Brad Keselowski (Thirty-three of Keselowski's 34 NASCAR Cup Series victories have come in the #2 Ford for Team Penske. He won the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series championship in the #2. Notable victories in the Southern 500, Brickyard 400 and the Coca-Cola 600).

#1: Michael Schumacher & Giacomo Agostini
I could not separate these two. There is no way I could justify picking one over the other. 

Schumacher won 49 times in the #1 car. He would still rank fourth all-time in Formula One victories if we just included the races he won in the #1. Not only was he the first to seven World Drivers' Championship, he won five consecutive championships from 2000 to 2004. Schumacher had at least nine victories in four of the six seasons he got to use the #1.

He completely re-wrote the record book with 17 podium finishes in 17 races in 2002. In that same 2002 season, he clinched the championship with a record six races remaining. His 13 victories in a season remains the all-time record. He has the most second-place finishes with 43. From the 2001 United States Grand Prix through the 2002 Japanese Grand Prix, he had 19 consecutive podium finishes. Schumacher's 77 fastest laps are 24 more than Lewis Hamilton in second. 

While Schumacher was the grand champion on four wheels, Agostini is unapproachable on two wheels. The Italian won 122 of his 223 grand prix starts. He won every race he started in the 350cc class and the 500cc class from the start of the 1968 season though 1971 Isle of Man TT 350cc race. He had three consecutive perfect seasons in two classes. Agostini swept the 350cc and 500cc championships for five consecutive seasons from 1968 to 1972. 

With 15 total championships, Agostini still holds the all-time record. Eight of those were in the 500cc championship, which is still the premier class record. His 68 victories in the premier class is second only to Valentino Rossi. Agostini won at least ten races in a season four times in his 500cc career. The only other riders to do it multiple times were Rossi on three occasions and Casey Stoner twice. 

I cannot pick one over the other. In series where the #1 is reserved for the past champion, these men made it theirs. They had to earn the #1. They didn't choose it. It wasn't some quirky number from their past that they adopted for competition. They got it by being the best in their respective categories. It is impossible to put one over the other. They get to share it.

Honorable Mentions:
A.J. Foyt (Foyt had 26 IndyCar victories in the #1 car, the most in series history. Two of his four Indianapolis 500 victories came in the #1 car and he twice won the championship with the #1, meaning on two separate occasions Foyt won back-to-back titles. Foyt's famous 1964 season where he won the first seven races and ten of 13 races came in the #1 car).

Sébastien Bourdais (Behind Foyt's 26 victories with the #1 is Bourdais, who won 21 races with the #1, as Bourdais won four consecutive Champ Car championships from 2004 to 2007. He won at Long Beach in all three of his seasons with the #1. His record two victories at Surfers Paradise both came in the #1).

Sebastian Vettel (Similar to Bourdais, Vettel won four consecutive World Drivers' Championships and 32 of Vettel's 53 victories came in the #1. His 11-victory and 13-victory seasons were with the #1. The 2013 season ended with Vettel setting a record for nine consecutive victories).

Jonathan Rea (Rea has used the #1 since the 2015 World Superbike season as he has won six consecutive championships. Eighty-four of his 99 victories have come on the #1 Kawasaki). 

#0: Damon Hill
Not many people take on the #0, but Hill did for two seasons.

In 1993, after Nigel Mansell left for IndyCar, Williams did not use the #1 as the reigning World Drivers' Champion was not on the grid. Though Williams won the constructors' championship, it decided to put Damon Hill in the #0 and Alain Prost in the #2. While Prost took the world championship, Hill picked up three victories at Hungary, Belgium and Italy. 

When Prost decided to retire after the 1993 season, Williams found itself in the same position for the 1994 season. The World Drivers' Champion was absent, so the #1 did not appear on the grid. Hill stayed in the #0 while Ayrton Senna took over the #2. 

With Senna's death in the San Marino Grand Prix, a leadership role was thrusted upon Hill. The Briton would go on to win seven races in 1994, including a victory at Silverstone. His victory at Suzuka forced the championship to the final race at Adelaide. When Michael Schumacher when off the road and hit a barrier, it appeared the world championship was going to fall to Hill, but when Schumacher rejoined the circuit and collected Hill at the next corner, both cars were out of the race and Schumacher held on for his first title. 

Of course, Hill would get his championship two years later with eight victories.

Amazingly, the #0 has only been used in 34 Formula One races, the 32 Hill drove it between 1993 and 1994 and Jody Scheckter used it twice in 1973 driving for McLaren in Canada and the United States. It is such a pristine history. 

Honorable Mention:
Hiro Matsushita (I bet you didn't think you were going to see Hiro Matsushita on this list. Well, surprise! Matsushita is who we are ending with because he won five Formula Atlantic races between the 1988 and 1989 seasons and he won the 1989 Formula Atlantic Pacific Division championship, which included a victory at Long Beach).

And there you have it! We are finished! 

I will admit this was one of the crazier things I have tackled. It was not as fun at the end as it was when I came up with the idea late last year. But we are done, and you can disagree or agree as much as you want. 

Here are the racers recognized for each number:

#99: Jorge Lorenzo
#98: Parnelli Jones
#97: Shane van Gisbergen
#96: Dan Gurney
#95: Jim Pace
#94: Ken Roczen 
#93: Marc Márquez
#92: Herb Thomas
#91: Tim Flock
#90: Paul Tracy
#89: Johnny O'Connell
#88: Jamie Whincup
#87: Buck Baker
#86: Bob Wollek
#85: Emanuel Zervakis
#84: Maximilian Buhk
#83: Geoff Brabham 
#82: Jim Clark
#81: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 
#80: Larry Dickson
#79: Tom Sneva
#78: Martin Truex, Jr.
#77: Valtteri Bottas
#76: Jörg Bergmeister
#75: Larry Phillips
#74: Daijiro Kato
#73: Johnny Beauchamps
#72: Benny Parsons
#71: Bobby Isaac
#70: Graham Hill
#69: Nicky Hayden
#68: Hélio Castroneves
#67: Josef Newgarden
#66: Mark Donohue
#65: Jonathan Rea
#64: Jan Magnussen/Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin
#63: Johnny O'Connell/Ron Fellows
#62: Jim Richards 
#61: Richie Evans
#60: Carl Edwards
#59: Peter Gregg/Hurley Haywood
#58: Marco Simoncelli
#57: Robin Liddell
#56: Stirling Moss/Bill Lloyd
#55: Junior Johnson
#54: Kenan Sofuoglu
#53: Alexander Rossi
#52: James Toseland
#51: Kyle Busch
#50: Juan Manuel Fangio
#49: Brad Sweet
#48: Jimmie Johnson
#47: Jack Smith
#46: Valentino Rossi
#45: Greg Hancock
#44: Lewis Hamilton
#43: Richard Petty
#42: Lee Petty
#41: Curtis Turner
#40: Adrián Fernández
#39: Bryan Clauson
#38: Mike Hawthorn
#37: José María López
#36: André Lotterer
#35: Jimmy Murphy
#34: Kevin Schwantz
#33: Max Verstappen
#32: Ray Harroun
#31: Al Unser, Jr.
#30: Takuma Sato
#29: Kevin Harvick
#28: Ryan Hunter-Reay
#27: Gilles Villeneuve 
#26: Jacky Ickx
#25: Jean-Éric Vergne
#24: Jeff Gordon
#23: Satoshi Motoyama
#22: Chad Reed
#21: David Pearson
#20: Tony Stewart
#19: Freddie Spencer
#18: Kyle Busch
#17: Dick Johnson
#16: James Weaver
#15: Alain Prost
#14: A.J. Foyt
#13: Johnny Rutherford
#12: Ayron Senna
#11: Steve Kinser
#10: Dario Franchitti
#9: Scott Dixon
#8: Niki Lauda
#7: Jeremy McGrath
#6: Mark Martin
#5: Nigel Mansell
#4: Ricky Carmichael
#3: Dale Earnhardt
#2: Mario Andretti
#1: Michael Schumacher & Giacomo Agostini
#0: Damon Hill

One hundred numbers and 106 names and the only repeated names are Johnny O'Connell and Kyle Busch. Who would have seen that coming?