Famous American Race Car Drivers

Race-car driver Jimmie Johnson is associated with IndyCar Series. He is a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and is the first and only NASCAR driver with five consecutive championship wins. In 2009, he became the first race-car driver to earn the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year honor.

Apart from being a 16-time Funny Car Champion, drag racer John Force has also scripted more NHRA all-time records. Known as Brute Force in the racing circuit, for his 10 back-to-back NHRA championships, he belongs to The First Family of Drag Racing, with his daughters and son-in-law.

 Italian-born American former racing driver, Mario Andrett,i is the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, and the Formula One World Championship. He is considered one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport.  Over the course of his long career, he has is the only person to be named United States Driver of the Year in three decades (1967, 1978, and 1984). 

One of the most sought-after names in the open-wheel car racing circuit, Michael Andretti is the son of former Formula 1 world champion Mario Andretti. He owns Andretti Green Racing and the Indianapolis-based team Andretti Autosport, which has been represented in series such as IndyCar and Australian V8 Supercars.

An amateur drag racer in his youth, American racing driver Dan Gurney began his professional career in 1959, quickly becoming one of the most popular international racing stars of his era. Also a prominent race car constructor and the founder of All American Racers, he is known as much for his engineering acumen as for his quest for innovative solutions.

Motorsports competitor and stunt artist Travis Pastrana has won several X Games gold medals, in categories such as motocross, supercross, and freestyle motocross. He launched a reality show called Nitro Circus, which later became a media company. He also hosts and extreme sports event and has been part of NASCAR.

The first USA-born race car driver to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, Phil Hill began racing as a mechanic before becoming a professional racer. A disciplined perfectionist in car preparation, he achieved several career victories including two Italian Grand Prix (1960 and 1961) and one Belgium Grand Prix (1961)

Kyle Larson had started racing at the tender age of 7. The NASCAR Cup Series driver, also known in the circuit as Yung Money, was in the news for using a racial slur during a live iRacing telecast, which eventually got him suspended by NASCAR and lose all his sponsorships.

Born in the Netherlands, to 2-time Indianapolis 500 champion Arie Luyendyk, Arie Luyendyk Jr. moved to the US with his family at age 3. He followed in his father’s footsteps to enter the arena of auto racing. He later gained fame with his appearance on The Bachelorette and his romance with Lauren Burnham.

The first woman to get an NHRA license to drive a Top Fuel dragster, Shirley Muldowney is known as The First Lady of Drag Racing. She was also the first woman to win three NHRA Top Fuel championships. She also owns a children’s charity and has had a biopic made on her life.

Part of the Joe Gibbs Racing team of the NASCAR Cup Series, Denny Hamlin boasts of 17 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and two in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. While he began racing go-karts at age 7, he began racing mini stocks by age 16.

Ashley Force Hood is a former Top Fuel Funny Car (TF/FC) drag racer associated with John Force Racing. She is the daughter of  John Force, who is a 16-time NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car national champion. She and her father raced together in April 2007. She became the president of John Force Entertainment in 2012. 

Bobby Rahal former auto racing driver. He won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500, during his driving career. Following his retirement, he held managerial positions with the Jaguar Formula 1 team. At present, he runs the Bobby Rahal Automotive Group. Racecar driver Graham Rahal is his son. 

Born into a reputed family of racers, Al Unser later became a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner. At 48, he also became the oldest racer to emerge victorious at the Indianapolis 500. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee is also known as Big Al and Al Unser Sr.

NASCAR Cup Series racing driver Brad Keselowski, the son of former race driver Bob Keselowski, once also owned Brad Keselowski Racing. His non-profit Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation, which he runs with his wife, funds organization to help with the treatments of war veterans and first responders.

Born into the First Family of American auto racing, Bobby Unser had begun racing at age 15. He, his brother Al, and his nephew Al Jr., made racing history by winning a record nine Indianapolis 500 races together. He was trapped in a blizzard in New Mexico once and was almost killed.

Apart from being the son of NASCAR racer Richard Petty, third-generation Petty family member racer Kyle Petty made his major league debut at age 18. He has also had a brief stint as a country musician. He lost his son, racer Adam Petty, in a race car practice accident.

Also known by monikers such as Captain Nice, Mark Donohue was not just a skilled race-car driver but also a qualified engineer. A major force behind the Penske Racing team during he 1960s and the 1970s, he is remembered for his win at the Indianapolis 500 event.

The first American racing driver to exceed 400 mph, Mickey Thompson was also an important auto racing builder and promoter, known for forming sanctioning bodies like SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group. A hot rodder from the very beginning, he won many track and dragster championships, later establishing Mickey Thompson Equipment Co. to manufacture high performance equipment for racers.

Apart from winning 18 NASCAR Cup Series titles, Kasey Kahne also owns a racing team and is associated with significant charity work, too. He once granted a wish to a 12-year-old fan with Noonan syndrome. A health enthusiast, too, he has often been featured on health magazines.

Janet Guthrie created history when she became the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 races. An adventure lover from the very beginning, she was interested in planes and parachutes since her teens. She also excelled in physics and worked as an aerospace R&D engineer.

One of the pioneering Black drivers of NASCAR, Wendell Scott rose to be a NASCAR Cup Series winner. He has been named to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, too. Initially an auto mechanic, he also owned his own auto repair shop. He had also been a cab driver.

The eldest son of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, race car driver Kerry Earnhardt had begun his career driving street stocks against his half-brother, Dale Jr. A high-school drop-out, he initially also took up multiple odd jobs to tend to his family, including that of a Pizza Hut worker.

The first racing driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times, A.J Foytm appeared in the event for 35 consecutive years, winning the race in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977. Inheriting his love for racing from his auto mechanic father, he dropped out of  school to become professional racing driver, eventually founding a successful racing team, A. J. Foyt Enterprises.

The son of IndyCar champion Michael Andretti, Marco Andretti too followed in his father’s footsteps and stepped into the racing arena. He has been winning races even before passing high school and scored his first SRX Series victory in 2021. He has also raced in Formula One and the American Le Mans series.

An automobile designer known for his involvement with the AC Shelby Cobra and Ford Mustang, Carroll Shelby was also a well-known racing driver, and a successful entrepreneur, who established Shelby American after a heart ailment put an end to his racing career.  Meanwhile, he also ran a a high-performance driving school and published a memoir entitled The Carroll Shelby Story.

Alexander Rossi is an American racing driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 2016 as a rookie. The following year, he registered another win at Watkins Glen International. Alexander Rossi currently competes in the IndyCar Series, representing the popular racing team Andretti Autosport.

Retired race car driver, Sarah Fisher competed mainly in the Indy Racing League and Indianapolis 500. Born into a family with an interest in racing; she developed an aptitude for the sport, winning several awards before beginning her professional career in 1999. Cofounder of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, she was forced to retire in 2010 due to sponsorship problem.

Jamie McMurray is a former professional stock car racing driver. He is currently an analyst for Fox NASCAR. Beginning his career in the late 1990s, he raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018. He won the 2010 Daytona 500 for Chip Ganassi Racing. He has an active interest in running and cycling. 

Willy T. Ribbs is a retired race car driver and racing owner. He is known for being the first African-American man to have tested a Formula One car. Throughout his career, he competed in many forms of auto racing, including the Trans-Am Series, IMSA, IndyCar, Champ Car, and the NASCAR Cup Series. He has been featured in a Netflix documentary. 

Enzo Fittipaldi is a Brazilian-American racing driver. He is the grandson of two-time Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi. He currently drives for Charouz Racing System in the FIA Formula 2 Championship and was previously associated with FIA Formula 3 Championship. He was one of the five drivers invited to join the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016. 

Danny Sullivan is a former racer who competed in F1, CART PPG Indy Car series, and NASCAR. He is known for his achievements in the CART Indy Car World Series where he earned 17 wins. He also scored a victory at the 1988 CART Championship. In 2012, Sullivan was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Scott Speed is a race car driver who made his debut at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix for Scuderia Toro Rosso. He has competed in open-wheel, stock car, and rallycross racing. He has driven for Team Red Bull, Whitney Motorsports, and Leavine Family Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. He is currently associated with the Subaru Rally Team USA. 

A prominent stock car racing driver Erik Jones began racing at the age of seven, competing in several races before being picked up by Kyle Busch Motorsports to compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Winner of several awards, he currently competes full time in the NASCAR Cup Series and part time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Born to Rick Hendrick, the founder of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports, Ricky Hendrick had begun racing at age 15. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winner died in a horrific plane crash that killed all 10 people aboard the plane at the tender age of 24.