The brief was simple. An email to all the journalists on Autocar: pick your favourite racing driver of all time. 

What we didn’t expect was quite the repertoire of answers that came back. Covering most eras and a vast spectrum of the sport - from Formula 1 to club racing - it just goes to show how varied motorsport and its followers are.  For once, there are no wrong answers: it has led to many discussions and a fair amount of incredulity but, in the end, it’s all about personal choice.  

Do you agree with us? Would you go for someone different? Let us know in the comments below. 

Jeff Gordon

My still ongoing fascination with Nascar began in the early 1990s, coinciding with the rapid rise of Jeff Gordon from highly rated rookie to a truly dominant force. So it was perhaps natural that I would be drawn to cheering for Gordon as he racked up an incredible 93 wins and four championships.

But Gordon isn’t just worth celebrating for his on-track achievements. He was pivotal in helping transform America’s leading stock car championship from a sport that was largely regional, infused in the American South, into something that was truly national – or even, as I’m evidence of, international.

To a young Brit, Gordon was something of a gateway drug into Nascar: born in California and raised in Indiana, he was a star of sprint car racing who was initially aiming for Indycar racing. Except that was the period when Indycar racing was growing internationally, and teams were increasingly turning to European and South American single-seater drivers, rather than taking a chance on talented Americans who honed their skills on dirt ovals.

But Nascar teams were prepared to take a chance on a talented sprint car driver, and Gordon impressed enough in his two seasons in the second-tier Nascar Busch Series to attract the attention of Rick Hendrick, the boss of the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsport squad.

Gordon made his top-level Nascar Winston Cup in the final race of 1992, won the Rookie of the Year crown in 1993, took his first race wins in 1994 and his first championship in 1995. By that stage, and aided by ace crew chief Ray Evernham, he was the benchmark driver: he won seven races on his way to his first title, and then took 10 wins the following year - although he missed out on the crown to his ultra-consistent team-mate Terry Labonte.

Further titles followed in 1997, 1998 – a year in which he won 13 of 33 races – and 2001. In a sport known for its competitive balance, it was incredible stuff.