Actually there are a small few out there that can drive about anything and even in a bad car be a winner.
Anyone recall the race where Gilles Villeneuve in the race where he lost the front wing on his F1 Ferrari and still finished the race in 3rd place? He was just a guy named Joe from Canada that had been racing snowmobiles till he got a chance.
These drivers are all around us and many never had the chance to show what they could do.
We have seen this in a few drivers over the years. Foyt. Stewart, Earnhardt, Pearson, Gurney Unser, ETC. These drivers can be a real factor in not just being fast but also making up for what a car may lack. I have seen people get into cars that Earnhardt and Pearson drove and they wonder how they ever got the car around the track as they were so loose.
Today we see too few of these drivers as they are not permitted to drive more than one type of car and often they lack the face and the skill of marketing that brings the funding.
If we has a Foyt come along today he would be rejected because he raised hell. Tony stopped driving as racing was not a major part of the job anymore.
We should braise Rick Hendrick for embracing and letting his drivers do racing outside NASCAR. Larson is very long on skill and Chase Elliot learned to take care of his car from his dad but he wants to learn more an just one car. I would love to see Hendrick field a GT3 Corvette at Daytona for his crew.
For what funding drives racing. Nearly anyone can make fast laps with enough practice but few can really race when it comes to race day. To know when and how to make the right moves and to know how to carry a poor handling car when they happen. Funding often is not included with these kind of drivers as too often they are people never given a chance today to race.
