Success
Winning is one of the most obvious ways for a racer to elicit fan reaction - both positive and negative. Winning brings the adoration of fans but too much of it will cause fans to grow sick of constantly seeing one racer atop the race podium. Michael Schumacher assumed legendary status with his complete obliteration of the F1 tour during the earlier parts of this century. While his winning earned him one of the richest salaries in sport it also waned fan support of Formula 1. The success of Schumacher's Ferrari team took all the drama out of races as his wins became virtually assured. Formula 1 has since become more interesting as the other teams have been able to close and surpass Ferrari's technology.

Team Affiliation
For other fans, their adoration for individual racers comes from their team affiliation. I know many people who cheer for Team Ferrari racers simply because they like the Ferrari brand. As long as the person behind the wheel of the red car is successful support is willingly given to a driver. Other racing teams like Williams-Renault, Rahal-Letterman and Penske Racing all have their own supporters.

Nationality
Nationality certainly for us Canadians is a major factor in determining our favourite racers. Greg Moore, Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve have all received tremendous support from Canada almost solely on their nationality. Their talents didn't hurt either. Brazilian racers like Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves also enjoy great support from their native country.

Appearance

	Good looks are just one way to win fans. (Source: Getty Images)

Danica Patrick's meteoric rise to fame certainly wasn't hurt by her good looks. There have been several other female racers that have come along before Danica and they received nowhere near the attention that she has gotten ever since her fourth place Indy 500 showing. Although to be fair to Danica, unlike someone such as Anna K she has the talent to back up her appearance.

In NASCAR, looks play an important role not only in securing fans but also sponsors. The New York Times had a feature on the role good looks play in the NASCAR world, specifically the feature detailing how the combination of looks and driving skills has catapulted the likes of Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne into stock car racing's top driving league. Before making it to NASCAR emerging stock car racers need to win rides with teams before they race in the top circuit. In addition to being a good driver having a marketable look is considerable advantage because a driver's face can help draw in new sponsors and thus appease the team's owner.

Driving Style
Finally and most importantly, the style of driving that a racer employs is the clearest way of building a fan base. Paul Tracy and Tony Stewart are probably the most aggressive and intense personalities in the racing world. They're both aggressive drivers who have built lengthy enemy lists as a result of their penchant for risk-taking racing. To fans who don't appreciate that type of boldness they'll opt to cheer for other racers.

A friend of mine who likes NASCAR is a big fan of Jimmie Johnson for the exact opposite reasons that people like Tracy and Stewart. He likes how smart of a race Johnson drives. Johnson avoids taking careless risks during the bulk of the race and pushes for the win near the end.

It's easy to see the talents of Mike Vick during a QB scramble, the pure goal scoring ability of Ilya Kovalchuk on a breakaway, and the hops on Dwyane Wade on an alley-op. What's not as easy to recognize is the talent of the man or woman behind the wheel of the car. Racing will always have to contend with the driver talent vs. car performance debate. But while that debate lingers there are still plenty of factors that help separate the popularity of certain drivers.