Tony DiZinno: A great read first off. Thank you for you and your colleagues' mission to salute the tail-enders. Really, that's half the enjoyment in watching IndyCar and part of what got me hooked (much like Minardi in F1). Unfortunately my history of following IndyCar in its various guises of CART, IRL, and Champ Car dates only to the first year of the split, 1996.

But there are a couple nominations I would add:

1. Luiz Garcia Jr.

Although there were a dearth of Brazilians in the CART years in the late '90s, none in my eyes were as hopelessly out of depth as Luiz Garcia Jr. He'd done adequate but nothing more than mid-pack in two years of Indy Lights, one fluke win at Cleveland and a best finish of 12th in points in 1998.

Luckily, he had Tang and Petrobras money bankrolling him to a year-old Reynard chassis in not the second, but THIRD Dale Coyne car in 1999! The partial season in the #71 green and red entry featured seven starts. No starts better than 24th. Three finishes of 18th, 23rd and 14th, at 6, 3 and 3 laps down at Rio, Portland and Cleveland. And then he left the team in disgrace a day before Toronto leaving Dennis Vitolo to take over for that race and then mercifully, the infinitely more gifted Memo Gidley the rest of the season.

But in 2000, Luiz turned up again with the Arciero/Project Racing Group entry at the last minute before Homestead - a joint effort between Frank Arciero after he split from PPI and Andreas Leberle of Project Indy (kind of the mid to late '90s Euromotorsport team.) His first start at Homestead in the year old car was, from looking at the old Autocourse reviews, qualified more than 4 seconds off the pace - on a 1.5-mile oval! Pole was 25.942 secs, 208.434 mph, Garcia was 30.006 secs, 180.204 mph. After the full season, Garcia never qualified better than 22nd out of 25 in 19 starts. He finished a handful of races but 3-8 laps down or more in each.

And in 2001 he was back for an encore with Coyne, albeit only the first two races of the season before the money left the building - the talent never had entered it.

2. Arnd Meier

Two seasons in CART in '97 and '98, the first with Project Indy and the second with Davis Racing. Drove the then unloved Lola chassis in each start, not the best after the constructor's ill-fated F1 entry in '97. Two starts of 24th out of 10 in '97, otherwise 26th-28th. Dropped like a stone when he was left in the lead on debut at Surfers' Paradise.

The classic in 1998 though, was Rio. He stayed in the middle of the track as Zanardi and Moore were coming up to lap him, and Moore made the awesome move into T1 for the lead and the win.

3. Paul Jasper

Nearburg was worse but not much worse than Jasper in the second Coyne car in '97. Four starts, two additional DNQs at Nazareth (too slow) and Gateway (wrecked). Best finish of 18th at Milwaukee was 13 laps down. Another ex-Atlantic pilot who was out of his depth, but a contender to enter the Dale Coyne Wing of the WOAT HOF.

Surprised Miller didn't go with King Hiro on the first ballot.

Sam Tickell: I would think that Luiz Garcia Jr would deserve a nomination. Coming in on the back of Brazilian cigarette money and other private funds he never scored a top 10 despite making 31 starts. I saw him race on the streets of the Gold Coast and after the start and every restart he would be dropping many seconds per lap before getting in the way of the leaders.

Added to that, he never made it anywhere else, racing for a couple seasons in Indy Lights and only scoring one win, not making a top 10 in the Championship and not racing since.

That will me my nomination for the worst Indy driver.

(I worked with Diaz at Hogan Racing, Sam/Tony. You’ll get no argument from me…)

Samuel Frank: Eddie Cheever Jr. Took him 20 years of open wheel racing for his first win. That was compliments of the diluted IRL competition. All the good drivers/teams were in CART at the time. Once they came to the IRL he was a nobody again.

Edward Washington: I don't have any memories to add, just three names to add to the list of worst IndyCar drivers ever. Hiro Matsushita. Dennis Vitolo. George Mack. I can't believe you didn't mention any of those losers. How any of them got licensed to drive an IndyCar is beyond my comprehension.

Mark Gillespie: Marshall: How in the hell could you guys forget about Patrick Bedard???

Car & Driver’s arguably worst columnist had equally poor skills behind the wheel, yet managed to con his way into rides at Indy in the early 80’s with Escort radar detector money. This was back in the days when rookies had to pass a “real” rookie test to get to run at Indy, and somehow, our boy Patrick managed to get through the thing without soiling himself or destroying the car. Didn’t take long, though…I believe he crashed both of the years he tried to run at Indy…and the last crash damn near killed him. Fortunately, he was persuaded to not attempt a comeback.

I understand leaving Marty Roth off this list…he was bad, but not nearly Milka’s equal. Bedard was truly crappy, and not even Salt Walther or the Whittington brothers could reach his Mount Rushmore-like level of crappiness. Basically, Bedard was Milka with a Y chromosome.

Chris Romano: I can't believe no one included Steve Freakin' Barclay. After littering the Indy Lights circuit with wreckage he attempted to run Indy and wound up upside down at barely 140 mph. An unmitigated disaster.

Hope you guys follow up with the worst NASCAR drivers. Indy Car shouldn't get all the blame for rent a riders.

(Chris – I think you crafted a perfect nickname there. I can think of a few W.O.A.T. nominees who deserve the moniker ‘The Unmitigated Disaster.’)

TJ Halsema: I have a couple nominations for the Worst IndyCar driver.

Cory Witherill. Now I understand he probably wasn’t the worst driver to ever run, but Corey did decide that he should just stop in the middle of the track at Atlanta in 2001 because he missed pit road instead of continuing around. Effectively being the driver that killed the Atlanta IRL IndyCar race, track owner Ed Clark didn’t like a tire in his grandstands from the incident and vowed to “never bring IndyCar back”

Ralph Liguori, ok maybe that’s too far back, USAC days.

Tyce Carlson. He was mediocre at best for most of his performances. But had a problem with the walls around the tracks, he couldn’t stay away from them. This of course led to his lengthy recovery from multiple concussions.

Oh and please don’t leave out King Hiro, the story of his incident with Emerson is great enough to get him on at least one ballot.

G.T.A.: I nominate Marty Roth (the Sloth) for his tenacity in his belief that his slowness was everybody’s fault but his.

Marty Roth (the Sloth), running over the competition in pit lane since 1989.

John Harris: I have to say there are several I would put on the ballot, but I want to mention an odd one that stands out for me.

Ray Lipper - I think he owned Center Line Wheels, but I do want to make mention that the car was pretty, and it sounded great. Stock block Chevy in a Gurney Eagle. It was committed to memory because he was sooooo slow that we had a ton of time to get a good look at it. Plus, the company put out a girlie poster. Need I mention that I was 11?

Tony Parsons: Is it possible to have a best and worst driver all in one? If so, I nominate Paul Tracy. For all his talent, on several occasions he has taken “bone head” to new heights. He’s fast, brave and stupid.

BJ Zacharias: Well before she was an Open wheel "Ace".....Mika "man hands" Duno was running ALMS.
I remember during the DC street race she was sharing a car with Andy Lally. She maaaaybe got 25 minutes into the race when she radioed in and said "I don’t want to drive no more...I peet (pit)"

As a finalist in the first running of the Team Green Academy back in 1996 and one of only a handful invited back in 1997.....[I know] auto racing can be a cruel sport....but sometimes all you can do is laugh about it

Robert Vang: Hiro Matsushita. He was more of a back-marker than Milka could ever dream of being! I can remember at Nazareth he was being lapped every other lap by the leaders. He was the original 5th left of an oval track!

(Between Milka's '16th turn' and Hiro's '5th Left,' the awesome nicknames keep piling up.)

Mike Grove: You really need to expand the definition of "worst" driver to include drivers who exhibit competitive speed but no racecraft and less judgment. They are at least as much of a danger as the rolling chicanes like "...King Hiro" (BTW why isn't he on the ballot) or Milka. Of the current crop of drivers, the most obvious candidate is Mario Moraes who has destroyed more of his own and other peoples' cars than anyone except perhaps his teammate EJ Viso, who at least shows some signs of brain activity.

(I have a feeling that if we do another Worst in 10 or 20 years, Mike, E.J. “The Hitman” Viso will be a popular choice for inclusion in the Hall. My guess is that the most votes would not come from IndyCar fans, but from his fellow drivers. Viso, AKA “Dallara’s BFF,” has made the Italian firm rich beyond their wildest dreams, thanks to his season-long crashfest.)

Trevor Bohay: But what about Sperifico? Any one of them, pick one, they all sucked!

Ross Robbins: First, thanks for one of the funniest reads I have ever enjoyed. In this season of stinking decisions and bad sportsmanship from F1 to WOO it is nice to have a fun few minutes.

And, second, just as the NASCAR HoF inducted officials of the sport, shouldn't the WOAT include them? If my logic is as unassailable as I believe it is, then I nominate Brian Barnhart for immediate first ballot consideration. We cannot allow his ineptitude to go unappreciated and recognized by sliding all the way to the second or third ballot. I am confident that his accomplishments will resonate with the Hall's writers to certify him with several colorful, witty and disingenuous memories of his dismal stewardship of IndyCar.

(I wondered how long it would take for someone to nominate TGBB. My only question is how he can be ‘The Great Brian Barnhart’ and ‘The Worst Brian Barnhart’ at the same time? Is that like an evil alter ego?)

Brian Anthony: As I'm reading your column on the worst Indycar driver's of all time I see that Oreo has included a who's who of Dale Coyne drivers including Ross Bentley. Then I got to thinking isn't Ross responsible for the "Speed Secrets" line of books and driver development series? As I read through his alumni lists I begin to think this is a list of nobodies that have spent a ton of money for what?

Mark Starr: Somewhere on the race replay on ABC/ESPN, perhaps the last third of the race, during the 1997 US 500 from Brooklyn Hills, Michigan…Bobby Rahal crashed because of slower traffic in front of him…specifically, Dennis Vitolo.

If you can find the pit interview with Gary Gerould or Jan Beekhuis you can see a frustrated Bobby wax poetic about Vitolo by saying; “well, some people are just out there for a Sunday drive”….classic stuff…

Great list of a lot of drivers who should have just been happy by just hanging around the pits…

Honorable mention to Gualter Salles and Arnd Meier…cool names with not so cool driving techniques….

Mark Sanchez: Great idea and very much needed today. Can't wait to not buy my ticket to the induction ceremony.

But wait!!!! .... No Whittingtons from the 1980s among the nominees???? Just don't seem right without them. Forget about having a bronze plaque made ... you could just use their mug shots.

And BTW: Can you do a special wing of the Hall of Fame dedicated to those who deserve special recognition for memorable moments... guys like Kevin Cogan -- the 1982 500 start and forgetting to hit the gas on the restart in 1986 were great ...but my favorite was that day at Michigan many years ago (I believe it was the fall race in 1982) where A.J., being the gentleman that he is, tried to assist Cogan out of the car.

(Thanks, Mark, and good luck this year. You guys are my pick to win the AFC East. Go Jets!)

Mark Schneider: I can't believe you missed this gem! My nomination for worst IndyCar driver is Scott Mayer. He is a little known, little remembered "driver" who tried to make it in the IRL and the Indianapolis 500 in 2003 and 2005. Here are two interesting stats that should put him high on the list:

He is 0 for 3, in every measurable way, in finishing IRL races he started in 2003.
Homestead - Last of 21, Accident on lap 2.
Phoenix - 19th of 22, Accident on lap 44.
Motegi - Last of 24, Accident on lap 8.
He crashed out of all three races, in single car accidents as well, and completed 54 of 600 (9%) possible laps.

AND... He failed to pass Rookie Orientation for the '500'... twice. In 2003 he couldn't muster enough speed for Beck and in '05 the same thing happened driving for Foyt. Remember that Roth, Duno, Dr. Jack, and others passed rookie orientation and made the "500".

My vote, for worst IndyCar driver of recent history goes to the 'great' Scott Mayer!

Bob McCormack: Can't forget Randy Lewis. While bringing Toshiba into CART he managed to get more TV coverage than anyone else due to the number of times he was lapped. He must be in the top ten when it comes to holding up faster cars when being lapped, especially on the ovals, as well as taking out the leader. A triumph of marketing savvy over ability.

Richard Welty: Geez, nobody remembers Randy Lewis. what has become of our memory of bad drivers of the past?

(For those who were too young to follow CART in the 1980s, Lewis handed the Worst baton to Hiro when when retired from the sport.)

Ray Hando: Claude Bourbonnais- He finished second in the 1993 Atlantic standings. He won 7 races and 4 pole positions. And let’s not forget that he finished higher in the points then future CART champ, Indy 500 winner and F1 champion, fellow Canadian Jacques Villeneuve. In 1994 he started five races finishing 26th, 24th, 24th, 21st and 30th. He didn't race again until the 1997 Indianapolis 500. He started 32nd, ran 9 laps and finished his only 500 in 30th. In 1998 Bourbonnais failed to qualify for Indy and that was the end of his American Open-Wheel racing career.

Carlos Guerrero- Best career finish was an 11th in his first start. Best career start was 19th, twice. 19th was his average career finish. He wreck in turn one, lap one of his only career start in the Indianapolis 500.

Vinicio Salmi- Failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1991 but ran five races in 1992. Average career starting position was 24th. Average career finishing position was 19th. Most laps complete in a race was 84 in Portland. Ran 40 in Toronto, 48 at Road America, 50 in Vancouver and 34 at Laguna Seca.

Ross Cheever- Eddie's younger brother. Maybe the worst hire AJ Foyt ever made. Best finish was in his first start. An 11th at Portland in 1992. After that it was a 20th at Milwaukee and two 25th place finishes at Cleveland and Road America. He wrecked in practice for the race in Vancouver and missed the race. Didn't get another chance to race until 2000 when brother Eddie gave him a shot to make the Indianapolis 500. He failed to qualify.

Phil Caliva- Had a career best finish of 8th at Michigan in 1981 but after that finish in his ninth start he went on to have seven straight DNS/DNQ's. He made one more start after Michigan. A 23rd place finish at Riverside in 1983. He had two more DNS/DNQ's in 1984 and that was it for Caliva. He never qualified for the Indianapolis 500 after trying to five times. Average start- 25th. Average finish- 17th.

Alex: I really think the only reason that Milka is at the top at the moment is that she's fresh in everyone's minds. Dennis Vitolo was as big of a no-talent-assclown that I can think of to ever slide his rump into a carbon tub as anyone. Running over Nigel was ridiculous in the least. He had a decent car that day to potentially make it difficult for the all powerful Penske's.

One driver I was surprised not to see on the list was Hiro Matsushita. He did quite well coming up through the ranks but hit a virtual brick wall when it came to showing any real pace in Champ Cars. He always seemed to be a mobile road cone never giving way to lead drivers when he was being (frequently) lapped. I also remember him or his PR personnel switching the pronunciation of his name a few times finally giving Derek Daly an on-air headache complaining "MAT-sushita, Matshushita, Panisonic!" after Hiro had held up the leader trying to lap him.

Just my $0.02

Race Fan: Marty Roth doesn’t make the list?

Brian Carroccio: Good stuff on W.O.A.T. in IndyCar. I was surprised to see no mention of Mad Dog Marty Roth. Randy Lewis who ran i think in the late 1980s in the Toshiba car was really lousy. He took out Rick Mears a couple of times I believe.

Milka is the absolute worst ever though. Ryan Hunter-Reay calling her Turn 16 is one of the great nicknames ever.

Paul Mahon: My nomination for Worst Driver of All Time would be Hiro Matsushita. He ran in Indycar/CART from 1990 to 1998. No wins, no poles and never higher than 23rd in the points (1991). He will always be remembered as “Traffic”. Whenever the play by play announcer said the leaders are coming up on traffic, it was Hiro.

Jeff Schlein: Sadly, the article is tongue in cheek as there are a few out there who lost, or nearly lost their lives for the folly of swimming in waters far out of their depth......My nominee belongs in this category.....

Mentioned in the same breath as Dr. Jack Miller says something......

Personally, I believe it is strictly professional courtesy that Patrick Bedard is not nominated in the first class......Actually, he belongs in a hall of fame of one....He singularly went where no journalist had gone before and thankfully none since..Many great drivers have and continue to write of their experience behind the wheel; McCluggage to Daly in OnTrack and today Graham Rahal....Never before had a writer parlayed a poison pen to the heights of a GTP and Indycar ride....Sam Moses never made it past AAA ball........There is no pleasure in this as he almost lost his life at Indy with injuries that would end his high horsepower career. Still in his two years at Indy the people I enjoyed the race with established a pool with the lap he would ball it up....For better or worse, he did not let us down....

Gail Sharp: What about Salt Walther taking out the field at the 1973 Indy 500 or Dick Simon - taking out every leader in the field at least once! Who can forget these two?

By the way did Salt ever get out of Jail?

(I asked our man Robin Miller, who reports: “He has all kinds of problem…selling things he shouldn’t have, not paying alimony from what I heard…but I’m not sure if he’s out. Or in. I think it was a lot of both, to be honest…”)

Doug Stokes: Marshall: How did you miss Elmer George in this list?

Bruce Selby: Loved the article! and so many esteemed contributors... my vintage is similar to Robin Miller's (70s) so I remember Arlene Hiss (formerly married to Mike Hiss, '72 Indy rookie of the year). I think she made one or two USAC Indycar starts in '73 or '74 and didn't prove her potential... also Lee Brayton (father of Scott) who wisely decided to become a team owner in '74 after a dismal '73 season highlighted by crashing AJ's Coyote in practice for the '73 500. Last but not least is Bill Simpson, full of fear as a shoe, but who made his mark in racing selling safety equipment, not by his driving prowess!

Mickie Ruff: We don't have a story about Milka Duno but we (my husband and I) call her Milka "Dunnowhatshe'sdoin". Whenever there is a race, we automatically say, I bet she's in last place and then we make bets as to what lap Brian B. will pull her dumb %$# off the track.

It is the opinion of everyone we know, who loves Indy as much as we do, that Milka "dunnowhatshe'sdoin" be permanently removed from ANY form of car racing, this includes soap box derby races, pedal bike races and big wheel races (even though these are not car racing, we feel that she would be just as much of a hazard at any of these as she is in Indy).

Milka "Dunnowhatshe'sdoin" has no business racing with drivers such as Dario F., Tony K. and Will Power, or any of the other drivers including the rookies.

If Citgo wants to sponsor a permanent driver, why not go with Nelson Philippe, Bruno Junqueira, or Paul Tracy?

Sorry Milka, you suck! You are a joke. It is time to slink off and slither under your rock where you belong!

And with Mickie’s letter, we’ve come to the end of the Worst IndyCar Driver of All-Time Hall of Fame feature.

What was the most rewarding part of doing the Worst feature? Personally, it was having Dario Franchitti stopping me to scroll through his Blackberry to pull up an email he received from racing legend Vic Elford who apparently loved the piece.

In terms of praise, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Now, let’s get back to the bickering and fighting!

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.



Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com’s Auto Racing Editor, and also covers IndyCar and sportscar racing for the site. Pruett grew up at ‘Pruett's Olde English Garage,’ his father's shelter for abused foreign cars, and spent his childhood being dragged across the West Coast to help with his dad's amateur racing exploits.

Pruett spent 20 years working in the IRL, CART, IMSA, and most of the known open-wheel feeder series before retiring from active duty in 2001. And in case you were wondering, he isn’t related to Scott Pruett.

Marshall lives in Northern California with his wife Shabral, and can be emailed . He can also be harassed on Twitter .