US Fans Name Michael Schumacher the Driver of the Decade

We know that most of you might argue that the racing fans in the United States of American don't really appreciate the Formula One championship, or at least they don't consider it just as exciting or tough as the NASCAR championship. However, the latest news coming from the continent across the Atlantic says otherwise.

In a recent on-line pole conducted by the famous American cable television network ESPN, the 7-time champion of Formula One was voted out the best racer of the decade.

In recent weeks, several of these polls regarding sports have been conducted within the US public, given that the first decade of the new millennium has passed. Well, we know there's a bit of a controversy regarding the actual end of the 2000s, but that's not what this article is about. Returning to our topic, Schumacher managed to edge famous NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson in the racers' poll, while two more European motorsport figures made the Top 5.

Third overall in the readers' opinion was 7-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi, while 6-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb only qualified for 4th in the “standings”. The last person in the Top 5 (only 5 racers were included in the poll) was NHRA Top Fuel ace Tony Schumacher.

The readers accessing the ESPN's poll site were asked to rank these 5 racers, with the top choice being handed 5 points and the last one scoring a single points (after the 5-4-3-2-1 scheme). Curiously enough, Schumacher did not win in the No 1 spot allocations, but Rossi.

“Frankly, your votes were a bit surprising. Schumacher got the most points overall from 4,935 fans … but not the most first-place votes. Rossi easily garnered the most first-place votes among the readers - 1,863 top votes, compared to 1,270 for Schumi. Johnson was third overall and third in first-place votes with 1,160,” wrote ESPN's Terry Blount, according to the aforementioned source.