Danica?
Bob
to NASCAR.
My thoughts:
No real surprise. NASCAR is where the money is if you can cut it at
the Cup level. Glad to see she's not coming directly to Cup where
she'd have zero chance of being successful right out of the box.
Someone with more knowledge of open wheel racing than I have will have
to judge her talent as an open wheel racer. Obviously she's good
enough to have won an Indycar race, but some open wheel guys made it
(Tony Stewart, Juan Montoya), some have struggled (Hornish) and some
couldn't cut it (Franchitti, Villeneuve).
My guess is that she'll be more like Hornish than Montoya, but will be
a strong enough sponsor magnet to stay around as long as she wants to.
I just hope she's allowed to rise to the level that her talent will
allow without getting any special treatment or facing any obstacles
based on the kind of plumbing she's got.
Martin X. Moleski, SJ
<1cf4a76e-f4df-4e51...@m16g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>:
>I'm somewhat surprised by the lack of comment on Danica Patrick coming
>to NASCAR.
It didn't seem like a huge shock to me. It's been
talked about ever since she became a big story
in the IRL. I think I tuned in her first Indy 500
to see how she did. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
> ... NASCAR is where the money is if you can cut it at
>the Cup level. ...
Yup. I don't mind people trying to earn as much money
as they can while they can. More power to her!
> ... Someone with more knowledge of open wheel racing than I have will have
>to judge her talent as an open wheel racer. Obviously she's good
>enough to have won an Indycar race, but some open wheel guys made it
>(Tony Stewart, Juan Montoya), some have struggled (Hornish) and some
>couldn't cut it (Franchitti, Villeneuve).
I'm not knowledgeable about IRL (nor much about NASCAR either, of course),
but she has won a lot less than those five guys.
>My guess is that she'll be more like Hornish than Montoya, but will be
>a strong enough sponsor magnet to stay around as long as she wants to.
Agreed.
She photographs beautifully. Money makes the cars go 'round; she
should help Jr. bring in lots and lots of money for JRM.
History of other women drivers:
<http://bleacherreport.com/articles/305728-danica-not-first-female-in-nascar-so-why-the-big-hoopla>
Marty
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Listpig
1cf4a76e-f4df-4e51...@m16g2000yqc.googlegroups.com, "Bob"
<bob.p...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm somewhat surprised by the lack of comment on Danica Patrick coming
> to NASCAR.
I'm just taking it as a wait-and-see. As often as she's made remarks about
"36 races a year is just way way too much" and such, it remains to be seen
if she's willing to expend the kind of effort it takes to make it in Sprint
Cup.
(Then again, wasn't it Smoke who said for years that owning USAC teams was
fun and all, but he'd NEVER want to own NASCAR teams......and that he'd
never ever ever work with ANY crew chief but Zippy?
Clearly, things change. :)
What I find odd is that NASCAR and the media and all seem to be under the
impression that women are falling over themselves for the chance to root for
Danica, that Danica's fan base is mostly women, and somehow this will
increase female fandom a zillion percent.
Danica's fan base is *not* women. Danica knows that; clearly, so does Bob
Parsons at GoDaddy, as well as most of the other companies that have used
Danica in their advertising. Women are far more likely to be singularly
UNimpressed with a driver who markets herself as "I can make you believe in
me as a racer by making you want to sleep with me."
In IndyCar, the women I know who choose to support a female driver *because*
she's a female driver tend to be Sarah Fisher fans. At least here in Indy,
we get Sarah in commercials about as much as we do Danica....and she's fully
dressed in something that doesn't look spray painted on. (Usually her
firesuit, actually....) I'll always be curious how Sarah might have stacked
up against Danica had she been able to attract the kind of funding Danica
has.
I thought it was very cool when Danica won her one IndyCar race, but I'm not
particularly a Danica fan. So I'm treating the whole thing as sort of an
experiment meant for disinterested observation.....
--pig
John McCoy
c0b895...@m16g2000yqc.googlegroups.com:
> I'm somewhat surprised by the lack of comment on Danica Patrick coming
> to NASCAR.
>
> My thoughts:
>
> No real surprise.
Well, that might explain the lack of comment on Danica. None
of us are surprised :-)
> Someone with more knowledge of open wheel racing than I have will have
> to judge her talent as an open wheel racer. Obviously she's good
> enough to have won an Indycar race, but some open wheel guys made it
> (Tony Stewart, Juan Montoya), some have struggled (Hornish) and some
> couldn't cut it (Franchitti, Villeneuve).
She is not, as yet, close to the talent level of those you mention.
Her race win was a fuel mileage deal, she needs to back that up
with a full-competition win to really establish herself.
That said, she is a competitive driver, not a back marker; she has
shown year-to-year improvment, and she does have a very real chance
to win in Indycars.
I think she will by physically challenged by full-body cars, because
(as Robby Gordon somewhat tactlessly noted) she's a very small
person, and stock cars require rather more force on the steering
wheel than formula cars.
> I just hope she's allowed to rise to the level that her talent will
> allow without getting any special treatment or facing any obstacles
> based on the kind of plumbing she's got.
That's entirely contrary to the Danica philosophy, tho. Every
woman driver before her has made a point of "I want to be seen as
a driver, not a woman, and I don't want any favors". Danica has
chosen to take the path of "I am a woman, and a pretty darn sexy
one, who's also a pretty good driver". That's gotten her the
special treatment of sponsorship dollars, which in turn has given
her top-notch equipment that her skills initially didn't justify.
That has given her advantages that Janet Guthrie, Lyn St James,
Sarah Fisher, et al didn't have (granted, most of those lacked
the physical attributes to follow the path Danica has).
I don't see that changing until Sports Illustrated gets tired of
"Danica in a bikini". She gets attention outside the traditional
motorracing press, and sponsors love that.
John
Chuck Steak
>I'm somewhat surprised by the lack of comment on Danica Patrick coming
>to NASCAR.
Bobby Santos would blow her doors off.
Who the hell is Bobby Santos?
That's my point.
This kid is a phenom. Yet... Danica gets a top ride.
Dan
------------------------------------------
You should keep your words soft and sweet.
Tomorrow, you may have to eat them
pe2
For the youngsters...he is an "Outlaw" champ who drove for Brett Bodine in
the early '90's.
Merry Christmas
pe2
John McCoy
news:XfhUm.85361$Xf2...@newsfe12.iad:
> I'm hoping she won't be a Steve Kinser...
>
> For the youngsters...he is an "Outlaw" champ who drove for Brett
> Bodine in the early '90's.
Actually, Kinser drove for Kenny Bernstein (the seat which Brett
Bodine had previously occupied, before starting his own team).
Kinser drove one year, 1995. By this time Bernstein had totally
lost interest in NASCAR and was giving his time entirely to the
NHRA team; with the Cup team basically running on autopilot it
was rapidly falling apart. Kinser had the ride largely thru
sponsor efforts (Quaker State, Bernstein's sponsor, was also
Kinser's sponsor in WoO); but with a car that was nowhere close
to competitive his results were predictably poor. This was a
shame, because Kinser had run the IROC for several years with
competitive results, including a win, showing he knew how to
handle a stock car on a big oval.
I don't think Danica will find herself in that situation. JR
Motorsports is Hendrick equipment. If that's not the best car
possible, it'll be pretty darn close.
John
Pete
without any problem as "small" as he is.
"John McCoy" <igo...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9CDD7D36EF1...@216.168.3.30...
Anna Khonda
"Pete" <pstea...@atlanticbb.net> wrote in message
> Hmmm! Wonder how much Mark Martin weighs? He seems to handle
> the big cars without any problem as "small" as he is.
Experience in these cars accounts for a ton.
When you first start running stock cars, the mental and physical
drain
is enormous.
Mark has figured out how to "race" these cars.
He isn't learning.
Fortunately, Danica will be "learning" in less powerful cars,
running shorter races.
The whole key to success in an open wheeled car is not turning
the wheel.
In a stocker, while that would be the goal, it is rarely the
occasion.
Using Martin as a case for smaller people running is really not
a good choice. He is in excellent physical condition.
John McCoy
@adenine.netfront.net:
>
> "Pete" <pstea...@atlanticbb.net> wrote in message
>
>> Hmmm! Wonder how much Mark Martin weighs? He seems to handle
>> the big cars without any problem as "small" as he is.
I would guess Mark is about 145. He's 5'6", give or take half
an inch, and very lean (muscle weighs more than fat, so he'd
be heavier than you might expect).
Danica is 5'2" and 100 lbs. That's a significantly smaller
build.
> Using Martin as a case for smaller people running is really not
> a good choice. He is in excellent physical condition.
As best I can tell, Danica is also in excellent physical
condition. But there's no avoiding the fact that a larger
person, even when that person is Mark Martin's (or Jeff
Gordon's) size, will have more weight and leverage to apply
to the wheel.
John
Mike Simmons
Danica is a "babe", no doubt but she also seems to have a wee bit? of an
"attitude" that may not go over well with her fellow drivers and fans. She
will find that her adversaries are somewhat more formidable on the NASCAR
tracks vice the IndyCar circuit.
Just my .02
Mike
>
armpit
IIRC, I read somewhere that men's muscles are more efficient than women's.
(Not meant to be chauvanistic, so please lower your flamethrowers)
pe2
Bernstein was the owner.
I have a classic photo here at home with Berstein and the Bodine brothers
(Geoff(ry) and Brett, taken at Martinsville. that was my one opportunity to
meet Kenny...
Merry Christmas-
pe2
Megan Zurawicz
of exertion (strength), while women are built for endurance (stamina).
So that might give Danica something in return.
--pig
On 12/12/09 7:00 AM, in article
orydndDKpN5MGL7W...@giganews.com, "armpit"
DAVe
> OTOH, I've read several places over the years that men are built for bursts
> of exertion (strength), while women are built for endurance (stamina).
>
> So that might give Danica something in return.
Women are also far better prone shooters. Something about the hips and
the patience.
We'll see.
(Personally I hope she does well, I have a daughter and a grand
daughter to motivate)
Megan Zurawicz
a0a428e9-b074-4b54...@d21g2000yqn.googlegroups.com, "DAVe"
<small...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Women are also far better prone shooters. Something about the hips and
> the patience.
>
> We'll see.
I'm thinking if Danica's prone and/or shooting while driving, she's doing
something wrong. :)
While we're more or less on the topic, also notice that Braun's testing
Milka Duno in an ARCA car......
--pig
DAVe
>
> <smalleys...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Women are also far better prone shooters. Something about the hips and
> > the patience.
>
> > We'll see.
>
> I'm thinking if Danica's prone and/or shooting while driving, she's doing
> something wrong. :)
<chuckle>
Your hips properly ground you to the car and racing patience is a
difficult skill to acquire and use properly.
John McCoy
lis...@earthlink.net:
> While we're more or less on the topic, also notice that Braun's testing
> Milka Duno in an ARCA car......
Well, that should make for an interesting test and race at Daytona.
Ms Duno and Ms Patrick do not get along very well; if they both
race the ARCA race we may have a ready made rivalry.
As an aside, I'll note that Duno has the record for best finish
by a woman in a professional level race at Daytona, with a second
in the 24hrs in a Daytona Prototype (she has 3 career wins in the
DPs, too).
John