In case you haven’t figured it out, we’re pretty big motorsport fans here at GTChannel. Heck, the name of the site is a motorsport reference.

There is nothing that quite excites us like race cars at their limits being piloted by drivers who are at the top of their game.

We’re not alone in our love of motorsports either. There are millions of motorsport fans all around the world and it’s been like that for a very long time.

During the hundred-plus year history of motorsport there have been many individuals who have made huge contributions during their career by breaking barriers and/or making innovations in racing.

In this article we’re going to list who we think are the 10 most influential people in motorsports within recent history. This list is purely subjective and we know your own list will look a lot different than ours. Though, that’s the fun part about it. We would love to discuss your personal top 10 list and compare it with ours so reach out to us on Instagram or Twitter at @GTChannel!

With that said, here is our list of the 10 most influential people in motorsports.

10. Ken Block

As the co-founder of the massively popular and successful DC Shoe company, Ken Block was already a long-time figure head in skateboard culture before he ventured to motorsports. So, when Block took an interest in rally racing, he brought a whole new audience to the sport. He then took it even further when he used his marketing mastery and driving talent to create one of the first truly viral motorsport videos with his first “Gymkhana Practice” short film. Millions of views later, Gymkhana is part of the American lexicon and rally racing became part of the X Games thanks in large part to Ken Block.

9. Keiichi Tsuchiya

There was no way we were not going to include the “Drift King” himself Keiichi Tsuchiya on this list. There are plenty of influential people within the drift culture today like Jim Liaw & Ryan Sage of Formula Drift, Team Orange, or the original Drift Alliance crew. However, the real nexus of why Drifting is as popular as it is today all over the world leads back to Keiichi Tsuchiya. His drifting videos are what captured the interest of audiences all over the world but when he co-founded the D1GP, that is what truly elevated drifting to a legitimate motorsport.

8. Lyn St. James

Lyn St. James is one of the first true Journey-woman racers in motorsports. St. James raced in several series and drove hard in each one. She’s raced for Ford, Ferrari and Porsche in various racing classes. She has a GTO class victory at Sebring, raced the C1 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and has 16 total starts in the IndyCar series. She has raced in the Indy 500 nine times which is more than any other female driver in history and she was the first woman to ever win the Indy 500 rookie of the year award.

7. Janet Guthrie

You probably have not heard the name Janet Guthrie, but she broke some major barriers in racing and made history. Janet was the first woman in history to qualify and race in the Indianapolis 500. Long before the days of Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick or Lyn St. James, Janet was the one who proved that Women can compete in the world’s biggest race. If that weren’t enough Guthrie was also the first woman to qualify and compete in the NASCAR Daytona 500 in the same year she ran the Indy 500! She’s an absolute legend.

6. Takuma Sato

Takuma Sato is one of only a small handful of Japanese drivers to compete in both Formula 1 and the IndyCar series. However, he stands above his colleagues in a few major ways. First, Sato-san was the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar series race when he finished first at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2013. He followed that up by becoming the first Japanese driver to win the Indy 500 in 2017 and he did it in a car with a Japanese engine (Honda). Proving it wasn’t a fluke, Sato-san won the Indy 500 again in 2020. By racing at the highest level of open wheel racing in both Europe and America, then making history twice in IndyCar, Takuma Sato has earned a spot on this list.

5. Dan Gurney

Dan Gurney was not only an American racing hero, he was also one of the biggest innovators in motorsports history. Gurney was the first race car driver in history to wear a full-face racing helmet, leading to sweeping safety changes in all of racing. Additionally, Dan made a massive leap in aerodynamics by inventing an angled extension that attaches to the leading edge of a rear wing. Called the “Gurney flap” it is still used in motorsports today. He is also the first driver to ever spray Champaign during a podium celebration. The thing that seems so commonplace today was started by Dan when he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Though, one of his biggest accomplishments is that he was the first and only American driver to win an F1 race in a car that he manufactured. If all that weren’t enough, he even invented a special motorcycle with a super low seat position called the "Alligator". He was basically the "Tony Stark" of motorsports.

4. Soichiro Honda

Not only is Honda one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world, the brand is also responsible for getting Japan involved in motorsports on a global scale. Honda was the first Japanese manufacturer in Formula 1 and that is thanks to the company’s founder Soichiro Honda’s love of motorsports. Honda-san saw the value in racing before his competitors and made the push to make Honda recognized all over the world by leading his company to compete in the pinnacle of racing. That racing heritage made its way back into the cars Honda sells which is why we got to enjoy legendary vehicles like the Integra Type R and the NSX.

3. Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace achieved something that we thought we would never see in our lifetime: he brought meaningful social change to NASCAR. While NASCAR is the biggest motorsport in America, it also has a reputation for racism and cultural insensitivity within its ranks and fan base. After the Black Lives Matter movement Wallace, currently the series only driver of African American descent, called out NASCAR for allowing the confederate flag to be prominently displayed by fans at races. Long considered a racist symbol, Wallace argued that the confederate flag has no place in a series that is supposed to be making efforts towards social responsibility and inclusivity. To the shock of many, NASCAR listened to Wallace and banned the display of the confederate flag at all NASCAR-sanctioned events. That one change is huge considering the history of NASCAR and will be a positive ripple effect for generations to come within the sport.

2. Lewis Hamilton

If you have to ask why Lewis Hamilton is on this list then you haven’t been paying attention to F1 for the last 14 years. While Hamilton isn’t the first black person to ever drive a Formula 1 car, he is the first and only to not only win an F1 race but win a championship. In fact, he’s won the F1 world championship seven times, equaling Michael Schumacher. While Lewis could have sat back and enjoyed his success, he used his platform to promote social change and equality for black people and disenfranchised groups all over the world. Many other drivers, teams, and even the sport of F1 joined Lewis to lend a voice to important social issues. This is something that hasn’t been seen in Formula 1 since the days of Ayrton Senna standing up for the poor and disadvantaged people of his native Brazil.

1. Mario Andretti

There is perhaps no single human being on the planet Earth whose name is more synonymous with motorsports than Mario Andretti. Born in Italy but raised in America, Andretti became an icon of racing by becoming successful in just about every motorsport he touched throughout his storied career. He’s won championships in F1 and IndyCar. He’s won the 24 Hours of LeMans and even the Daytona 500 in NASCAR. He is one of the most successful race car drivers in the history of all of motorsports and became the bar that all who came after him wanted to reach. He played a huge part in making motorsports part of American culture. You can stop someone in any major city all over the world and even if they don’t know anything about racing, it’s almost certain they’ll know the name Mario Andretti. It’s hard to think of anyone in motorsports who is more influential than that.

There you have it, our list for the most influential people in motorsport from recent history. We know many of you will disagree with some of or all of our choices. We’re cool with that. In fact, like we stated earlier, we welcome you to discuss it with us! Who is on your list? Let us know!

Top 10 Most Influential People In Motorsports