These Are The Race Car Drivers Our Readers Would Actually Be Friends With

The internet may have torn us apart more than it brought us together, but it also gave us Car YouTube and the opportunity to form parasocial bonds with famous people we’ll never meet. Then again, once celebrities began using social media, we started to see more of who they really were than we did back when you really only learned things about them from officially sanctioned interviews and the occasional tabloid scandal. Media training still exists, and not everyone runs their own social media, but odds are, we have a much better idea of who celebrities really are than we used to. 

Which is why, on Tuesday, we asked you which race car drivers you’d actually want to be friends with. Some drivers are incredibly fast but don’t come across like someone you’d want to share a few beers with, much less invite over for Thanksgiving dinner. Some seem like they’d be cool enough, but your interests are probably too different to stay friends. But I had a feeling at least one or two might have you convinced you’d quickly become buds if someone ever introduced you. 

Personally, I was a little worried everyone would say Jeff Gordon, and I’d have a hard time figuring out how to turn one great answer into an AOTD, but I worried for nothing. We actually got some good variety, not just across racing series but age, as well. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular responses.

Jackie Stewart, hands down. Part of why I loved F1 as a child in the ’70s and ’80s was listening to Jackie Stewart. So many current racing drivers owe their lives and careers to this man. His advocacy for drivers’ safety and his brilliant command of the English language make him an absolutely lovely human.

Suggested by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy

This is a hard question. Professional racing drivers are coached on how to behave when in public. They don’t always heed that advice but I think it’s hard to know who would be cool to hang out with. Other than racing, what would I talk to a racing driver about? Lewis Hamilton is pretty open about having interests in art, music and fashion. He’s probably be interesting to chat with.

Suggested by: Music Teacher 17

Surely has to be Michael Schumacher! I’ll be able to fill him in on all the latest news. Would be great to get his reaction to the latest in F1 and all motorsports.

Suggested by: Nas

AJ Foyt

He got his start literally 5 minutes from where I grew up in Houston. The race track he used as an amateur was abandoned and left rotting for decades. Trees grew all of the property and you could not tell what it was but some urban exploration guys jumped the fence and filmed the lot where you could see parts of track if you looked for it. When he became a star, AJ invested in the community by building a Chevy dealership not too far from the track site.

The track property had a school built on top of it around 2010 so it is completely gone. The Chevy dealer closed in the 80s when the mega dealers by major highways thing took off. A Kroger store was built on that land in the early 90s and still stands today.

More than his racing career, I would like to pick his brain about my old neighborhood. Stories and trivia about how it used to be would be gold. A man that used to live on our block lived there a very long time and once mentioned that you could hear the race cars on Fridays and weekends even though the track was about 2-3 miles from our block.

Suggested by: Tex

If I were still in my 20s and partying like a madman, it would have to be Kimi Räikkönen. That guy partied hard. You only live once.

Suggested by: Rick C.

Tony Stewart. I have a family member who does some work for Eldora Speedway and there’s been some times I’ve gone with him to help and every once in a while, he’s there and we’ve talked. And everyone says the same thing, and I’ve seen it. The rough around the edges, slightly unpolished, emotions on his sleeve racer we all saw is the real Tony. And that’s the kind of guy I’d like to sit across the table from, with a big old plate of wings in the middle and talk about anything, even if it isn’t about racing. One of the biggest problems I have with racing at all levels is the whole “can’t anger anyone” and “must plug sponsors at all times” and everyone sounds like a politically correct robot. Not Tony – and I understand they love him to death in that area.

Suggested by: Xavier96

Charles Leclerc, he seems to be very well balanced (and a lovely wife). And maybe be adopted by him so I can live in Monaco.

Suggested by: Luc Desaulniers (minardi)

For me, it would have to be Carlos Sainz – both Jr, and Sr. 🙂 Their racing pedigree is undeniable, they seem to be genuinely pleasant people and I’m sure Sr. could tell a million stories of the Rally world, which I love.

Suggested by: Singletrack

Jeff Gordon.I really couldn’t stand the guy at first because I was a diehard #3 fan but he kinda grew on me later in his career.I know he’s a gazillionare and 4 time Cup champion but he actually seems down to earth. I met him very early in his NASCAR career at my friend’s body shop for a DuPont meet and greet and he seemed pretty genuine and had a good sense of humor.

Suggested by: Bruno

If I was going to a dodgy bar, Will Power. He’d have your back in a fight. What he lacks in sheer bulk he more than makes up with Concentrated Power of Will.

Suggested by: Ziggy Stardust