What is a good way to compare drivers of different eras?

Question

I'm tired of seeing people use invalid measuring criteria. You can't use wins, as Richard Petty competed in seasons that had many more races. You also can't use championships, as the scoring system is different than it was when Petty and Earndhardt won their 7 Cup titles. Not to mention the competition is much stiffer today than it was in the past.

I can't think of a valid measuring system, and I'm curious to see what ideas you guys come up with!

Frank M: While I agree with what you say about the cars....consider this. A half a pound difference in the old cars wouldn't even have been noticed, where as today it does make a noticeable difference. The cars are more technical, which makes even the most minor differences noticeable.

Ed P:

I'm not disrespecting the old timers you mentioned at all. But the 8 drivers you mentioned weren't all on the track at the same time when Petty was winning.

Today you have at least 15 drivers who are a threat to win EVERY race.

Gordon, Johnson, Stewart, Hamlin, Busch, Busch, Newman, Kahne, Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, Burton, Harvick, Truex, Earndhard Jr., are 15 easy ones....and I'm leaving several out. And if you let your guard down, you have guys like Bobby LaBonte and Dale Jarrett who will swoop right in and take the victory.

Sorry, but the competition is much stiffer today.

Smoke 20: Grow up and quit polluting this board with nonsense.

Answer 1

My Goodness!!! I wont answer this question as a whole But Stiffer Competition todaY?????? It is a Crying Shame the lack of respect the guys who initially started making Nascar what it is today Gets. Cale Yarlborough 3 straight Championships--David Pearson -105 wins and Champion--Darrell Waltrip 83 wins and Champion!!!--Bobby & Donnie Allison--AJ Foyt--Ned Jarrett-Fireball Roberts just to name several--THESE GUYS ARENT THE RODNEY DANGERFIELDS OF NASCAR THEY DESERVE RESPECT!!!! And Petty had to slug it out with these guys every Race to Earn his 7 Championships!!!! Yes Im a Life Long Petty Fan and dont need to stick up for him---Im trying to stick up for the other Mentioned Retired Superstars!!!!!

Answer 2

I don't think you can compare today's drivers with the ones who raced before teams had computer generated information and top engineers doing testing. I really don't think today's drivers have the grit that the old school drivers had. They drove stock cars with home made roll cages and most built their own engines. I mean who in their right mind would drive at speeds over 180 on bias ply tires? Competition may be more even today but not any stiffer. Petty and Earnhardt did not win because they didn't have competition they won because they were tough competitors. How many drivers today really compete with out good sponsorships and lots of money? None. How about in the early era? Wendell Scott raced from 1961 to the early 70's and had 147 top ten finishes with out sponsorships or lots of money. The old school drivers buy far were tougher competitors. They worked on their cars, hauled their cars, raced their cars.

Answer 3

For me it,s the cars...The cars now a days are really technical.....Tire pressure to a tenth oif a pound...Four wheel disc brakes....Power steering and so on...In the old days they didn,t have all of these...They didn,t have laptops to tell them when your out of fuel...A pit stop wasn,t under 14 seconds....It took real drivers to drive these stock cars!!!They couldn,t come in for a trac bar adjustment...You drove what you had...If the track went sour the driver had to make up for it ...Not the crew...To days car has to be alot easier to drive than in the 60s or 70s...You have to remember that some of the speeds today are not new...They ran 200 plus miles an hour in 69 and 70...Driving alot less of a car than they drive today!!!By comparing the cars they drove you can also compare the skill of the driver!!!!.
Tell,em ED!!!!!!!!
Bizz!!!
Today they have different cars for different tracks...They have different tires for different tracks...Hell they even got different drivers for road tracks..Back then you had bias tires and if your lucky 2 or 3 cars for the whole season..It used to be buy it on saturday,race it on sunday and sell it on monday!!!You cannot compare a spec car driver to a real stock car driver!!!
That is what a so called nascar is today...A spec car...Not a stock car!!Would you rather do 180 mph in a hemi belvedere or 180 in a 2007 hendricks car?Answer this and you have your answer...Just think about it before you answer...

Answer 4

Comparing is impossible. It's like comparing Cy Young and Roger Clemens.
How the game is played and what it's played with are very different.
It's real simple: The King, The Silver Fox, Earnhardt, Yarborough, DW, Bobby Allison, Gordon, Johnson, Stewart, and Roberts are great drivers. Period.

Answer 5

i guess the only logical thing that i could think of is if you switched drivers into each others cars would they be more or less sucessful? if you gave earnhardt petty's dodge mopar magic in the 60's and 70's would there be different results? could sr. have more than petty"s 200 wins? im not sure that the buddy bakers and richard petty's of the world could makt in todays nascar. i really feel like the only driver that could from the old school is cale yarbourough

Answer 6

I dont think you could compare them. The cars were different then, the points system is different. They dont race near the races they did back in the 50's, 60's, 70's. They would race thre or four times in one weekend. Im sorry I really cant think of anything that you could use to compare the two.

Answer 7

There is no way to compare. All we can do is pick the 10 or so great drivers. Maybe there will be race in heaven some day and we will know.

Answer 8

I would seperate into two different groups: Johnsons and Smokes. In Johnsons you have guys like Gordon and Johnson other words, the gays. In Smokes you have guys like Stewart and pretty much all the other drivers.