[sevnson_71]

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/blog/roy_s_joh...s?urn=top,73900

[Shodar]

Without knowing too much about the sport, I'd say that it's possible the motivation is somewhat sexist but I think the end result is a fair one.

[SNAP]

Danica Patrick made history on April 19th, 2008 when she won the Japan Indy 300, making her the FIRST women EVER to win an IRL race. The weight issue is a bunch of crap stirred up by the good old boy network that hates to see a women excell in a male dominated sport. She rarely gets a poll position(front row) for any race which requires a top speed of a given lap, so the weight issue is a non issue.And for the record Danica was leading the Indy 500 a few years ago when she was with the Rayhall/Letterman team. With 11 laps to go and pulling ahead of the pack, her crew told her to lean out the engine which saves fuel, as a result the pack caught back up with her and she did not win the race.Everything is computers in Nascar and the IRL but the amount of fuel left in a tank has always been a guessing game regardless of what your gauge says. What Danica should have done as she was pulling away from the pack at Indy was to go to full rich on her fuel setting ie maximum power, balls to the wall 9500+rpm let it all hang out, but her team told her to conserve fuel which I believe was on purpose. Why, they did not want to be the team responsible for the first women ever to win the INDY500. Three weeks ago it was reported at the end of that race Danica had MORE than 2 1/2 gallons left in her tank after the car was inspected. I know alittle about racing and with all the onboard computers and practice sessions they knew damn well she Had something close to that amount of gas which is why I think she got ripped off. Sorry for my rant but this crap really pisses me off. Get used to it boys because this little babe is just as good as any one of you.!! http://www.danicarac...indexSmall.html

This post has been edited by SNAP: 24 June 2008 - 10:19 PM

[sevnson_71]

But they play up the eye candy factor too much. There are actually 3 women in IRL right now Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher, the original barrier breaker in Indy, and Milka Duno, a Venezuelan that holds count 'em four Masters Degrees, holds several 1st and second place finishes in other leagues, and is also very easy on the eyes to boot. The main reason Danica is getting the season she is is because she is driving with AGR. Sarah Fisher is running a one car team on a shoestring budget and Milka is an IRL rookie running with a second tier team, and still doing fairly well. AGR is a dominant force in IRL right now so to her credit, Danica picked a winning team to be on.

[SNAP]

sevnson_71, on Jun 25 2008, 11:06 PM, said:

But they play up the eye candy factor too much. There are actually 3 women in IRL right now Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher, the original barrier breaker in Indy, and Milka Duno, a Venezuelan that holds count 'em four Masters Degrees, holds several 1st and second place finishes in other leagues, and is also very easy on the eyes to boot. The main reason Danica is getting the season she is is because she is driving with AGR. Sarah Fisher is running a one car team on a shoestring budget and Milka is an IRL rookie running with a second tier team, and still doing fairly well. AGR is a dominant force in IRL right now so to her credit, Danica picked a winning team to be on.

Yes but in this day and age, everyone is pretty equal in the IRL there is a different winner every week(almost) so I do not agree its just her team.

This post has been edited by SNAP: 26 June 2008 - 07:09 AM

[sevnson_71]

From my understanding though AGR is much more open about pooling driver telemetry data to optimize the cars and driving habits of the individual drivers. Mario Andretti was always a brilliant tactician on the track, and I'm certain he is very hands on in coaching his drivers to get the most from them. That alone is a huge advantage.