Kudos to Danica Patrick

[ff]

Damn, now that's a woman. :thumbup: Took 4th place at the Indy500, became the first woman in history to lead an Indy500 lap, actually going on to lead 19 of them. Came so close to winning the race, but had to cut back on the fuel valve in order to actually finish the race under power. I doubt that a single person watching it wasn't cheering for her to win.

I know most of you guys are not fans of the IRL, but I think she deserves a ton of respect, and more than a little attention. She showed that she not only had the "balls" to race against the guys, but to take it even further and actually intend to win the darn thing. Right from the start. She came soooo close.

Hat's off to you girl!

http://www.indy500.com/news/2005/images/danica-290-05292005.jpg

[kognito]

must be nice to only weigh 100 pounds, and race in a league where car weight requirements do not include the driver.

Sorry, but the IRL (Insignificant Rookie League) just doesn't cut it with me. Those announcers for the 500 sure had to work hard to make the race seem interesting. At least when Nascar races at Indy, they have more than 50% of the field finish the race.

[ff]

must be nice to only weigh 100 pounds, and race in a league where car weight requirements do not include the driver.


Exploit any advantage that you can.


Those announcers for the 500 sure had to work hard to make the race seem interesting.

So, sounds like you watched it then? :P

[blee]

I watched the entire Indy 500. It looked like an open-wheeled NASCAR race, but that's not so bad. I wouldn't watch it every weekend.

Still, Danica did an awesome job. Despite three major rookie mistakes, she kept her head and managed to finish 4th. I hope her story brings more people to racing in general.

As for unfair advantage...bullshit. She's playing by the rules like everyone else. It's still a game of skill.

[kognito]

So, sounds like you watched it then? :P

Yeah, I watched most of it. I had Rotator cuff surgery 2 weeks ago, so I've been watching lots of TV lately while rehabbing.

Nice to see Mike Andretti finally make it to the winners circle, but the 500 has really sucked since the CART split. I think this is the third year in a row that it did not sellout, and ABC didn't even bother to broadcast in HDTV :flame:

[kognito]

I watched the entire Indy 500. It looked like an open-wheeled NASCAR race, but that's not so bad. I wouldn't watch it every weekend.



But with only 17 cars running at the end, and 9 on the lead lap. It seemed even more boring than a Nascar race.

It also annoyed me a little bit that too much attention was paid to D. Patrick. 32 other drivers started the race, but it seemed everyone's attention was on Patrick.

Maybe it is just that the IRL is hurting so bad, they had to make it the complete story? :dunno:

[blee]

I watched the entire Indy 500. It looked like an open-wheeled NASCAR race, but that's not so bad. I wouldn't watch it every weekend.



But with only 17 cars running at the end, and 9 on the lead lap. It seemed even more boring than a Nascar race.

It also annoyed me a little bit that too much attention was paid to D. Patrick. 32 other drivers started the race, but it seemed everyone's attention was on Patrick.

Maybe it is just that the IRL is hurting so bad, they had to make it the complete story? :dunno:

Everyone's eyes were on Patrick. I'm sure IRL was hyping it themselves, but the media was having a field day weeks before the race. A cute girl who had a legitimate shot at winning an auto race? Who wouldn't be following a story like that? And you can't be surprised that IRL would capitalize on the chance to bring people back to the sport.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't find the race to be mind-bendingly cool or anything like that. I just thought it was a good race with a lot of passing, which I can't always say about my favorite series. On top of that, the media hype was not unwarranted -- that girl can drive. Even if I don't watch every race, I'll probably follow along in the news to see how the rest of her season goes.

[kognito]

I guess I'm just still bitter about the open wheel split that happened years ago.

I first met Mario Andretti when I was 4 (1960) Actually, my father "used" me to get an autograph for himself and me. ( my father probably figured Mario wouldn't want to disappoint a 4 year old) I always followed the Andretti family career because of my father's influence.

Was good to see smiles on the Andretti's faces at the end of the day

Indy 500 (and the month of May in Indianapolis) just isn't what it used to be

[blee]

I don't know a lot about the CART/Indy split. Got any links?

[kognito]

Happened back in 1994. IMHO open wheel racing in USA hasn't been the same since.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/04/01/Sports/The_CART_IRL_split.shtml

http://www.autoracing1.com/MarkC/000528MontoyaIndy.htm

read 7th post on this thread... http://forums.autoweek.com/thread.jspa?forumID=20&threadID=15728&messageID=34 8732

http://www.detnews.com/2005/motorsports/0505/29/moto-196266.htm