Power, Larson and Hand owned the competition in 2011. (Photos: Marshall Pruett/John Mahoney/John Dagys)
With plenty of amazing performances in IndyCar, USAC and sports cars this year, SPEED.com names its top drivers from the three categories:
INDYCAR (by Marshall Pruett): That one’s easy: Will Power. It might seem like blasphemy to choose anyone other than the series champion as the IndyCar driver of the year, but 2011 wasn't your average, ordinary season.
With his weakness on ovals now solved, there was one driver who scared the hell out of everyone else at all times, and that was Power. Other than Scott Dixon’s dominating performance from start to finish at Motegi, Power was the one puzzle the Ganassi team routinely struggled to solve. Under his own tent, he made his teammates disappear.
Looking ahead, and with even more road and street course racing on the calendar, Power’s poised to deliver a season’s worth of nightmares for his competitors.
USAC (by Robin Miller): Levi Jones joined some exclusive company with his sixth (sprints) and seventh (Silver Crown) championships while Bryan Clauson captured the overall title for the second straight season.
But the driver who really dazzled in USAC was newcomer Kyle Larson. The teenager from northern California left the world of winged sprint cars for the ultra-competitive USAC circuit and put on a performance that even had Tony Stewart slack-jawed. Larson won races in all three divisions, including pavement where he had zero experience, but blew everyone away by sweeping the Four Crown Nationals at Rossburg, Ohio in his debut on the tricky half mile dirt track.
He won the Belleville Nationals in his first start, a 100-mile dirt feature at DuQuoin and beat Clauson in a midget at Lucas Oil Raceway Park. Just for good measure, he also scored his initial World of Outlaw victory at Chico, Calif.
SPORTS CARS (by John Dagys): This one was pretty much a no-brainer: Joey Hand. While others such as Anthony Davidson or Scott Pruett enjoyed dominant seasons, their success came driving for a single team.
Joey got it done with four organizations - Chip Ganassi Racing, BMW Team RLL, BMW Team Schnitzer and Dick Johnson Racing. From his career-defining overall win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona to his GT victory at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and class podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Hand showed his ability to quickly adapt to new environments, further proof by his impressive V8 Supercars debut in the Gold Coast 600.
His ALMS GT championship was rewarded with a test in BMW’s new DTM car, which led to him landing a coveted seat with the Bavarian manufacturer’s new factory program for 2012. After years of being the quiet apprentice, Hand has clearly stepped up to become one of the best all-around sportscar drivers of the decade.
