Before we begin, I’ m dedicating this one to all the motorsport enthusiasts just like me. Ever since the 6th grade, I’ ve been a Latin and Greek nerd, especially historically. However, since a much younger age I have been a car and racing enthusiast. So, when I learned of Diocles’ spectacular charioteering racing career, I was thrilled. So, when I was asked to write an article, what else could I possibly write about then comparing two things from wildly separate times to see who was better? So how about we take a little trip down history road, which of course leads to Rome( as every road does) and compare the NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson to charioteering’ s greatest racer Gaius Appuleius Diocles.
For those of you that don’ t know, when we are talking about Gaius Appuleius Diocles, we are talking about one of the richest athletes in history, and for good reason as you’ re about to see. Diocles won 1,462 times out of over 4,000 races and has a podium rate of ~ 68 %. For those of you who don’ t follow any form of racing, these are INCREDIBLE stats to be putting up for any form of racing.
Now, who’ s in the other corner of this oval track fight? Jimmie Johnson, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers in history. It is fair to say that being successful in NASCAR is much harder than chariot racing. However, Johnson doesn’ t disappoint. 83 wins out of 686 race starts single-handedly puts him among the greatest with a ~ 12 % win rate. Johnson has led more than 18,000 laps in his career, which is also SPECTACULAR in such a competitive and tight racing series. Finally, he has 7 Cup Series Championship victories, tied for the record, and once getting 5 championships in a row.
Alright, it’ s time for the moment you all have been waiting for( and what you probably skipped to), who would REALLY win this matchup? Well, to put it simply, while Diocles was incredible for his time to a point where he could dominate a lot of future racing generations, he simply could not compare to Jimmie Johnson. While the statistics point toward Diocles, they also don’ t tell the full story. NASCAR is the highest league you can reach for stock car racing, and to reach that point is not as easy as“ turning left”. This sport has become highly technical, creating a pool of 40 extremely talented drivers. Now take one of the greatest of them all, such as Jimmie Johnson. Provided both get ample time to learn how to race in each other’ s sport, I think Jimmie Johnson would ABSOLUTELY DESTROY Gaius Appuleius Diocles in every way, due to his technical skill and adaptability being overall superior to Gaius Appuleius Diocles’ sheer numbers.
By Tyler gier, south gubernator
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