With the IndyCar paddock relatively quiet today, one Reddit thread caught our attention—not because it sparked a heated debate, but because it surprisingly didn’t.
The question was simple:
“Which IndyCar driver (past or present) is hated by fans and deserves it?”
Normally, questions like these produce dozens of different answers spanning generations of drivers. Aggressive racers, controversial personalities and outspoken veterans usually split opinion.
Instead, this discussion reached an almost immediate consensus.
Jon Herb—and according to fans, it isn’t even close
Nearly every highly-upvoted response pointed to former IndyCar driver Jon Herb.
Some commenters simply replied with his name.
Others insisted he was “the only correct answer.”
One fan even joked that anyone giving a different answer probably just didn’t know who Jon Herb was. Unlike most controversial figures in motorsport, Herb’s reputation has very little to do with what happened on a racetrack. Herb made 16 IndyCar starts across the early 2000s, with a best finish of ninth at Texas. His racing career was relatively short and largely forgettable.
What permanently cemented his reputation came years later. In 2013, Herb was arrested on child sexual abuse and child pornography charges after authorities investigated evidence found on his laptop. In 2016, he pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious molestation and multiple counts of possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by lifetime probation. Given those crimes, it’s easy to understand why the Reddit discussion never really became a debate. Instead of arguing over who deserved the title, fans spent much of the thread expressing surprise whenever someone admitted they didn’t recognize Herb’s name before learning why.
Several even compared him to Gary Brabham—another former racing driver whose legacy was destroyed by convictions involving child sexual abuse—arguing that Herb occupies the same category of universally condemned figures.
Other names did appear…
Although Herb dominated the conversation, a few familiar IndyCar personalities still received mentions.
Paul Tracy was brought up by several fans, reflecting how polarizing he remains among portions of the IndyCar community. Danica Patrick also appeared, with commenters acknowledging she still divides opinion years after leaving the series. More surprisingly, Graham Rahal received a mention as well, with one fan suggesting he “hasn’t endeared himself to the fanbase recently.” The important distinction, however, is that none of those names generated anything close to the agreement surrounding Herb.
In fact, several commenters explicitly separated them from Herb altogether, essentially arguing that while drivers like Tracy, Patrick or Rahal may have critics, Herb belongs in an entirely different category because of his criminal convictions rather than anything related to racing.
Reddit being Reddit…
Of course, no Reddit thread is complete without someone refusing to answer seriously.
One fan nominated Guy Gagné, the over-the-top villain from DreamWorks’ Turbo. That prompted another user to share a wholesome memory from the 2017 Indy Grand Prix. Their then-three-year-old son had watched Turbo so many times that when he saw Mario Andretti climbing into the IndyCar two-seater wearing a bright red race suit, he excitedly believed he was looking at Guy Gagné. According to the fan, Andretti immediately understood the reference and happily played along.
As funny as the story was, even the fictional French racing villain couldn’t steal the spotlight from Herb.
Rarely does Reddit agree this much
Anyone who spends time on racing Reddit knows consensus is rare.
Ask who the greatest driver is and you’ll start an argument. Ask who caused a controversial crash and you’ll get hundreds of replies. Ask which driver deserves the most criticism?
Apparently, IndyCar fans had already made up their minds years ago. While names like Paul Tracy, Danica Patrick and Graham Rahal still generate mixed reactions among different corners of the fanbase, this discussion made one thing abundantly clear:
When it comes to the question of which former IndyCar driver is genuinely despised—and deservedly so—the overwhelming consensus was Jon Herb.