Does America champion the underdog? The pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps tales of the little guy making it big, the evergreen story of heart and determination overcoming the odds to make it to the top, remains inspirational. Boris Becker, an unseeded 17-year-old, winning Wimbledon in ’85. The 1980 Olympic “Miracle On Ice,” seeing the American men’s hockey team take it to the Russian crew. Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson. Niki Lauda returning to racing at Monza just six weeks after his horrific Nurburgring crash, and losing the world championship to James Hunt by a single point. Rudy. Books are written about these triumphs; songs are written and sung; legends are forged in the moment.

Or does America love a dominant winner? Dynasties run thick in American sports–the Green Bay Packers in the ’60s, the New York Islanders in the first half of the ’80s, the Chicago Bulls of the ’90s, the Yankees from ’49-56 (and ’97-03), and Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson each claiming seven NASCAR drivers’ championships in their day. Each victor will have their detractors, but most of us can’t help but admire a well-oiled machine (however literal or figurative) racking up the victories and championships. History is often written by the winners, after all.

What history has obscured about the legacy of the epic race between motor titans.