Indianapolis 500 (1 Viewer)

[AjayM]

Nascar along with most other top level race series include the drivers weight when doing a weigh-in (ie the car with driver must weigh X lbs).

 

[Grant B]

I have seen the who probably 20 times in their hey day and agree 100%
But even the day it was rained out turned into a blast.
Basically impromto women mud wrestling ....free of charge!

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

From today's Sports Illustrated 10 Spot:

 

[Brad Porter]

When the announcer was lumping Danica in with Amelia Earhart and Sally Ride, I was rolling my eyes and feeling pretty sorry for Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James, and Sarah Fisher. None of them had the car or the team backing at Indy that Danica is currently enjoying, so it's seems rather premature to be vaulting her ahead of them in stature. I hope she does well in her career, but all this fawning and talk of making history seems a bit over the top. Leading a lap at Indy is only a worthwhile accomplishment if it's the last lap.

Can anyone catch Wheldon in the points race now? He's on fire.

Brad

 

[Henry Gale]

There's a car in the photo? :b

Sorry Dennis, no idea.

 

[Ray Chuang]

Folks,

I know that Robbie Gordon is being flamed for his remarks, but alas, he is absolutely right in regards to Danica Patrick's substantial weight advantage--which can be critical in an IRL racer that weighs only 1,525 pounds!

I think you folks need to read the April 2005 issue of Motor Trend, where an article talked about how racers try to cheat to get an advantage over others in the race. One part of that article talked about how Darrell Waltrip's race team knew about how NASCAR tech inspectors didn't bother to weigh the car after the race, so the race team devised an extremely ingenious scheme where they would build fake (but substantially overweight!) radios, helmets and even water bottles that would be fitted to the car during tech inspection before the race, but swap them out for the substantially lighter real thing just before the race starts. The result was saving 150 pounds off the car, which meant the race car really weighed 3,550 pounds, not the 3,700 pounds NASCAR requires. Is it small wonder why NASCAR is extremely stringent when it comes to tech inspections for cars meeting minimum weight? It's also why NASCAR uses the same weight rule as Formula 1, where cars with smaller-stature drivers must be fitted with extra weights to get all competitors to very close to equal weights.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

Here is another car to ignore... :b


[c]

[url=http://photobucket.com/albums/y102/Digital-Nitrate/Sports/Car%20Racing/Danica%20Patrick/th_FHM0304_01_1024x768.jpg] [/url] [url=http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Digital-Nitrate/Sports/Car%20Racing/Danica%20Patrick/th_FHM0304_02_607x768.jpg] [/url] [url=http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Digital-Nitrate/Sports/Car%20Racing/Danica%20Patrick/th_FHM0304_03_614x768.jpg] [/url] [url=http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Digital-Nitrate/Sports/Car%20Racing/Danica%20Patrick/th_FHM0304_04_745x1024.jpg] [/url] [url=http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Digital-Nitrate/Sports/Car%20Racing/Danica%20Patrick/th_FHM0304_05_614x768.jpg] [/url]

(click on any of the images to enlarge - if that's your pleasure) [/c]

 

[MikeH]

Thanks, Nils. Like I needed another reason to visit the bathroom.

Mike

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Give her a Hardees burger and she could be Paris Hilton !

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Even more than speed, the weight difference has a huge impact on fuel economy. Some physics major did all the math on one of the racing forums. Had she weighed the same as most of the other drivers, she would've run out of fuel several laps prior. She would've had to pit again, and finished somewhere around 12th. So yeah, the weight difference is a huge advantage and very unfair to the other drivers.

The IRL needs to change this rule to bring it in line with Formula One and NASCAR.

 

[Brandon_T]

So why weren't people bitching before she came along? I mean Ed Carpenter weighs in at 165, while Ryan Brisco weighs in at 135, very close to the same weight between Patrick and most of the drivers who are in the 130's and 140's, but before her you never heard people crying this much about weight difference, even though there is as much difference between her and some drivers as their was between the rest of the drivers before her. To me it sounds like WAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa a girl beat most of us....

 

[Seth_L]

I think it's all part of the hype / marketing machine trying to make the IRL "sexy".

The whining is just more publicity.

 

[Philip_G]

I think the majority of the publicity is simply because she's attractive, and indy needs more fans, that's about it.
I'm sure it's been mentioned she's far from the first woman to race in the 500.

 

[Henry Gale]

Well, it didn't hurt that she's a hotty, but the lady can drive and she came to Indy with more track experience than the previous women.
You don't get the #4 position...and finish 4th in the race by batting your eyes.
I think she's the 5th female at the Brickyard.

 

[Joseph S]

Partially, but, it's definitely for the better. It's not like the 4th best 1B, Pitcher, Guard, Center or QB doesn't get a great deal of press. She's attractive and it's a better draw than the hideous experiment of Greta Von Sustren on TV, but she's nothing compared to the 1999 Australian Open Doubles Champion. Heck, it seems like every 8 y/o playing golf is playing in some tournament and covered on ESPN with as much fanfare as she got.

 

[Philip_G]

Janet Guthrie finished 9th in 1978!

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

Here's an interesting article by Ed Hinton from the Sun-Sentinel on Danica and her future in auto racing:
It will certainly be interesting to see how she does this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for the Bombardier Learjet 500.

BTW: Danica mania is already taking over eBay. Part of the front wing from her car that was damaged when she got hit on lap 154 and did a 450 spin is currently listed on eBay and is already past $5,000 with nearly five more days to go! In addition there are several other Danica memorabilia up for sale on eBay.

 

[CharlesD]

A long term contract with Weber would be a good move for Patrick if she sets her sights on F1, but she is currently a long way from being a serious candidate for a F1 seat at the moment IMO.

It will be interesting to see if any of the "a girl might win the Indy 500" hype will rub off on the other IRL races. I doubt it personally, but we'll see soon enough.

Reports out of Montreal have Bernie Ecclestone meeting with NASCAR officials in Montreal and in Indianapolis regarding a new North American open wheel series! Apparently these sources come from reputable motor racing journalists there, and of course the F1 circus is currently in town. I find these stories hard to swallow myself but who knows?

 

[Ray Chuang]

In my humble opinion, I think within two years Danica Patrick will likely be driving for NASCAR, likely first in the Busch series as a driver for Roush Racing or Evernham Racing.

Despite the big ratings bump from her success in the Indianapolis 500, Ms. Patrick likely knows that her continued future success will be in NASCAR.

 

[Paul McElligott]

I think Tony George would orally service Brian France in the middle of Gasoline Alley just to hang onto her.