...it's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there...
Everybody's talking about Danica Patrick, the girl who is starting today's Indianappolis 500 in the second row. Danica is one of eight rookies in the race. She's never driven a 500 mile race before. Don't believe the hype, she's not going to win (i'm picking Helio). So much depends on the car, the team, and luck. But i'll be rooting for Danica. i hope she'll be safe and i hope she does good.
The Indy 500 is not an easy race. That's five hundred miles - think LA to Phoenix, an 8 hour drive, normally - exept they're doing it at 200 miles an hour. Five hundred miles, two hundred laps, eight hundred left hand turns, two hours of total mental concentration. You ever try concentrating for two hours in a life and death situation? In this race there are a hundred problems that come up, which you gotta deal with, and a million potential problems you gotta worry about the whole time. You gotta have your shit together to win the Borg Warner.
My brother races a little, and he's a huge Danica fan. Mainly because he's a horndog and she is a hottie. On weekends at my parents house, no one is allowed to touch the remote because everyone knows Derrick will be watching the car shows on Spike tv all day long. Danica does the intros for each of the shows (Ride with Funkmaster Flex, Horsepower TV, Extreme 4x4, etc.), so i was familiar with her as a spokesmodel before i ever heard she was a driver.
It was hard for me to believe, when my bro told me that Danica drove Indy cars and that she had talent. He knows about those things, but i still thought he was kidding me, so i looked her up on the web. In fact she's done well in her short career. Derrick says driving is all about aggressiveness and thinking ahead, and he thinks Danica has those qualities.
What's interesting to me is that Danica doesn't try to be "one of the boys." It's a different world now, than it was when girls like Janet Guthrie or drag racer Shirley Muldowney blazed their trails. i can understand the wisdom of using a driver's looks in a sport that depends so heavily on sponsorship money. But i also think its a sign of progress when a girl can do a guy thing and not have to act like a guy or downplay her own femininity. i think that's cool.
just gone done watching, that was a good performance as she made some mistakes but amazingly led like 15 laps near the end. I thought it was a good finish, Wheldon definitely deserved it -- curious if you think he's a hottie annika?
Posted by: scof on May. 29, 2005So, how about the huge advantage she picks up by weighing less? They've been making a deal out of this lately.
Should everyone have to weight the same, like in horse racing, where they add pounds for handicap purposes?
I don't know enough about NASCAR to have an opinion. If I were the judge, I'd give her anything she wanted.
Posted by: shelly on May. 29, 2005Shelly, your blue-stateness is showing. In NASCAR the idea is to even the playing field by making all the cars as similar as possible. Not so in IRL racing.
Posted by: annika on May. 29, 2005You think that's fast? You should have seen me driving up the Merced River into Yosemite at 0700 last week in a brand new Sebring convertible. The state trooper bagged me outside of Lemore, Dudley-Doright-motherfucker.
In the immortal words of BB King, "ain't it just like a woman" to run out of gas just before the flag? Danika is the real deal, beautiful and talented. She was definitely a contender.
Posted by: Casca on May. 30, 2005This girl is a fast and courageous driver. The guys who are complaining about her weight didn't complain about Sarah Fisher. They never complain about Jeff Gordon or any of the other guys who weigh much less than they do. They are whiners. They approve of any little cheats they can get away with and think it's just slick racing. They are weenies who are simply afraid of losing to a girl.
I used to race GP motorcycles on asphalt and it was well known that the smaller, lighter riders had an advantage. So what? The fact that some were women didn't play. It's still the same track, same day, and it's your own skill and nerve that you're up against, not the next riders body weight or gender. When the green flag drops, the BS stops. Hit the gas or go home - nobody wants to hear your whining.
If body weight has to be an issue like in horse racing or boxing, then we'll have to include engine horsepower as well to 'level the playing field'.
Posted by: Hawkeye on May. 30, 2005"its a sign of progress when a girl can do a guy thing and not have to act like a guy or downplay her own femininity."
Never ceases to amaze me that some women think they have elevated their femininity by emulating men.
Of course, let's not forget the opposite of all this: men behaving like women don't get respect. They end up on the Bravo channel.
Posted by: Mark on May. 30, 2005Shirley Muldowney! I saw her race a few times when I was a kid.
I think Danica did a great job, especially considering how many positions she lost when she stalled out in the pits. It was an impressive performance from any rookie.
Posted by: lorie on May. 30, 2005DP will make more money than she has ever dreamed from marketing partnerships and endorsements.
Posted by: Jason O. on May. 31, 2005
I wonder if she is fast in bed?