Racing drivers, whether they compete in Formula 1, IndyCar, Nascar or any other kind of motorsport, are pretty much always remembered for their on-track success.
Sometimes, however, we remember them for other reasons. One of those reasons might well be because of their name.
Below is a list of 33 real racing drivers who have the most perfect names for competing in motorsport. There’s also a few random funny (and unfortunate) names in the list as well.
1 – Chris van der Drift: The racing driver from New Zealand who’s a multiple Porsche Carrera Cup champion. Remember Chris, drifting might be fun, but it isn’t fast.
2 – Phil Silverstone: Is there a more appropriate name for a British racing driver than one which includes the first ever Formula 1 circuit? Mr Silverstone raced in the British F3 championship in the 1970s and ‘80s, but unfortunately he never took a win at his ‘home’ circuit.
3 – Scott Speed: Surely this is one of the most perfect names for a racing driver ever? Unfortunately, as far as his short-lived and lackluster F1 career went, it was a bit of a misnomer. Scott finally lived up to his name, however, when he started competing (and winning) in Global Rallycross from 2015 onwards.
4 – Lawless Alan: An American driver currently competing in the NASCAR Craftsmen truck series. With a name like that he’s not someone you’d want to mess with on the track.
5 – Swede Savage: An American open-wheeled racer who unfortunately lost his life due to complications in recovery from an accident at the 1973 Indy 500.
6 – Piers Courage: What a perfect name for an English public schoolboy who attended Eton college, was the air to a brewing dynasty and became a racing driver. He competed in 29 Formula 1 races and his courage saw him take 2 podium finishes. Unfortunately he lost his life in an accident at Zandvoort in 1970.
7 – Gary Fast: An American sprintcar racer who has lived up to his name on a couple of occasions, with a couple of wins in the ASCS Sprints on Dirt series.
8 – Stefano Monaco: Oh how well this rolls off the tongue. And to share a name with the most prestigious Formula 1 circuit on the calendar too, splendid.
9 – Pierluigi Martini: Imagine being a Formula 1 driver with the surname Martini and not driving for the Martini-sponsored Williams team. Well that’s exactly what happened to this Italian driver who eventually went on to become a Le Mans 24 hour winner.
10 – Mark Skidmore: An Australian driver who has competed in the sprint car series. Judging by his lack of wins I think Mark needs to actually skid less and grip more.
11 – Sting Ray Robb: A current IndyCar driver with one of the coolest names going. Ok it might not be related to motorsport but I don’t really care when it sounds that cool.
12 – Race Johnson: An American driver who competed in Formula BMW USA in the early 2000s. Looking at Race’s racing record it looks like Race never won a race.
13 – Tiziano Monza: A young go-kart racer with the same name as the fastest circuit on the Formula 1 calendar is surely a driver destined for good things.
14 – Jamie Passmore: Passmore is a surprisingly common name amongst racing drivers. Jamie Passmore is an American sprint car racer with a number of wins under his belt. When you’re at the front, how can you pass any more?
15 – Marino Spinozzi: A young Italian go kart racer with one of the most poetic names going. Let’s hope Marino does more Winozzi than Spinozzi.
16 – Will Power: The Australian driver is a two time IndyCar champion, and has almost the perfect name. For a racing driver any name with ‘Power’ in it is going to be good. But to string together a title-winning season in one of the most competitive race series in the world you need a lot of will power, and that’s exactly why his name is so perfect.
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17 – Scott Dragon: A racing driver with the surname Dragon is definitely one not to be messed with.
18 – Hans Stuck: A German Formula 1 driver born in 1900 who eventually had a son Hans-Joachim Stuck and grandson Johannes Stuck, all of whom also became racing drivers. Getting stuck whilst racing is far from ideal. Getting Johannes Stuck means you won’t be able to turn the wheel. And getting your HANS Stuck (HANS is the neck restraint racers have to wear nowadays) isn’t good news at all. Oh how it works on so many levels.
19 – Sterling Moss: With a quintessentially British racing driver comes a truly British name. If you think of well-to-do English racing drivers of eras gone by then you’ll probably be thinking of this man. A legend, and arguably the best F1 driver ever to not win the championship.
20 – Sterling Marlin: Ok, maybe the name would be slightly more appropriate for a fisherman but it’s still a super cool sounding name for this American stock car racer whose parents undoubtedly took some naming inspiration from Mr Moss above.
There’s also a handful of slightly funny (and unfortunate) racing driver names.
21 – Ricardo Londoño-Bridge: A Columbian racing driver who became the first from his country to ever compete in a Formula 1 race. I can’t find any record of him spending much time in England, but if he did I do hope that he walked across the London Bridge.
22 – Bertrand Baguette: I was just as disappointed as you’re about to be when I found out Mr Baguette wasn’t from France, but instead he came from Belgium. If it’s any consolation he has competed in a number of Formula Renault races.
23 – Wolfgang von Trips: Full name Wolfgang Alexander Albert Eduard Maximilian Reichsgraf Berghe von Trips was a German two-time Formula 1 winner with a pretty bad ass name.
24 – Pete Lovely: Mr Lovely was an American racing driver who competed in F1 in the 1960s and 70s, mainly for his self-named and slightly hilarious team Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc.
25 – Luke Wankmüller: This German touring car driver’s name fortunately needs no explanation.
26 – Jack Goff: You won’t forgive me for pointing out this one is in a similar vein to the previous driver. Goff is a British racer who competed in the British Touring Car Championship for a number of years. As if it couldn’t get any better, Goff raced for ‘WIX racing’ in the BTCC. And Wix (Wichs / Wichsen) is German for jerking off…
27 – Zsolt Baumgartner: A Hungarian racing driver with a pretty cool name and the status of being the only Hungaria driver ever to score a point in F1. Baumgartner means ‘tree gardener’, nothing to do with bums.
28 – Manfed Winklehock: Manfred was a German racing driver who competed in 56 Formula 1 Grand Prix. He is also brother of Joachim and father of Manfred Winklehock who still competes today. Winklehock means ‘shop counter’, but always sounds funny to a naïve non-German speaker like myself.
29 – Dick Johnson: The legendary Aussie racing driver is a 5-time Australian Touring Car Champion and 3-time winner of the gruelling Bathurst 1000 race. His name is also as iconic as the man himself.
30 – Dick Trickle: No I’m not joking. Dick Trickle was an American driver competed in hundreds of NASCAR races from the 1970s to the early 2000s and had a lot of success in series such as the American Speed Association and NASCAR’s ‘Elite’ devision.
31 – Dick Seaman: Again, not joking. Seaman was an English driver who graduated from Cambridge University and eventually competed in a few Grand Prix races in the 1930s, before it became the official Formula 1 championship. He won the 1938 German Grand Prix and was apparently one of Adolf Hitler’s favourite drivers. Not what you want.
32 – Dick Passwater: And let’s finish off on another dick. Passwater was an American who competed in NASCAR in the 1950s and ‘60s, winning the 1953 race at Charlotte Speedway.
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