04/16/24
May 28, 2005
Who's rooting for Danica tomorrow?: The 2005 Indy 500 coverage starts at 10am PST/1pm EST on ABC tomorrow (pre-race coverage starts an hour before)! This is the first time I'll actually be interested in watching a car race. Vrrrrooooom!
posted by worldcup2002 to auto racing at 04:20 PM - 43 comments
I was tickled to learn that Ms Patrick is part of Rahal Letterman Racing. Yes, that Letterman.
posted by worldcup2002 at 06:18 PM on May 28, 2005
I wouldn't put a lot of faith in anything Robby Gordon says. He can't drive a Nextel Cup car at all. All he does is whine and complain about anything and everything. All mouth and no talent. I don't think the IRL is going to miss him any way. Go Danica!!!
posted by dbt302 at 08:54 PM on May 28, 2005
Wow. Did Robby Gordon insist that everyone get weighed before all of his races for his entire career? Does he throw on some ankle weights and a fanny pack full of lead shot when a fatter driver participates? Methinks someone is jealous of the attention and is just lashing out in frustration...
posted by grum@work at 09:04 PM on May 28, 2005
Danica can drive my race car anytime she wants!
posted by tdheiland at 09:24 PM on May 28, 2005
I wish her well. My only problem is that her spot in this race has been WAY over-hyped.. From what I have read, she has the talent to finish, at least, in the top 10. Right now there are too many "what if she wins" floating around. She is just another driver rookie driver with a good team, and good car and talant. Other women have shown that gender really doesnt make that much difference when it comes to racing. It should be a great race.....
posted by daddisamm at 10:28 PM on May 28, 2005
Robby Gordon needs to get real. Give me a break! Since when does being 100 pounds lighter than your opponent translate into an advantage when you're wrestling a 1 ton monster around a race track? Hey Robby, ever stop to think that weight difference is because of muscle mass? If anything, she's at a significant disadvantage because of her size.
posted by Malik at 12:43 AM on May 29, 2005
I'm not a Robby Gordon fan anyway, but I just watched Dust to Glory... there were people with a tiny percentage of his budget and support crew that still finished the race despite major injuries and barely-holding-together vehicles. Robby quit because part of his truck "might" break. I don't know if the filmmakers intended to portray him so badly, but he came across as egotistical and a wimp. As for Danica: I think it would be great if she wins, but daddisamm is right. Her chances are so over-hyped that anything less than a win will look like a failure. But I still hope she wins!
posted by dusted at 01:08 AM on May 29, 2005
I'd prefer that, like Salma Hayek, she never win the gold ring so her chance of showing up on Skinemax will still be intact. Just sayin'.
posted by geekyguy at 03:38 AM on May 29, 2005
posted by justgary at 03:57 AM on May 29, 2005
Since when does being 100 pounds lighter than your opponent translate into an advantage when you're wrestling a 1 ton monster around a race track? If the 100lb difference was in the car then it would make a huge difference, more so if we were talking about F1, rather than IRL. (See the FIA suspending BAR for two races for being twelve lbs underweight). But as we're talking about drivers, Robby Gordon needs to put his fist in his mouth and be quiet. Of course, Gordon probably wouldn't fit in an F1 cockpit. A quick look through the driver list shows a number of drivers 30 or more pounds less than Gordon's listed weight, 180lbs, (a gap that stretches to 50lbs if you believe Gordon's assertion that he's 100lbs heavier than Danica), I presume he's been crying that they carry extra weight too? No?
posted by Mr Bismarck at 05:52 AM on May 29, 2005
... Sporting Goods - Badminton, Tennis, Squash, Golf. Did I miss something, or is this just a blatant ad?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:52 AM on May 29, 2005
It was an ad. Our first comment spam, to my knowledge. I edited the company name out of your comment.
posted by rcade at 07:03 AM on May 29, 2005
I agree with DADDISAM. The hype is way to much. The poor girl looked like she was gonna puke before the race. I wish her luck. Does anyone remember Sarah Fisher? She was actually the first woman to race at Indy. What happened to her?
posted by volfire at 12:28 PM on May 29, 2005
Hey Robby, quit whining and go on a diet if you feel less weight is that big an advantage.
posted by roberts at 12:44 PM on May 29, 2005
Last time i saw, she was in 3rd place. Now how's that? Go danica
posted by Jimbob1077 at 12:58 PM on May 29, 2005
"Does anyone remember Sarah Fisher? She was actually the first woman to race at Indy." I think Janet Guthrie may take offense to that statement.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 01:33 PM on May 29, 2005
OK. Excuse me! Original question, where are THEY now?
posted by volfire at 01:53 PM on May 29, 2005
Dang, what a cutie!
posted by StarFucker at 02:27 PM on May 29, 2005
I wish her luck. posted by volfire at 12:28 PM CST on May 29 Really? Because I thought for sure you were against women and men competing in the same sport. What changed your mind in this case? OK. Excuse me! Original question, where are THEY now? Sarah Fisher is still racing. And considering Janet Guthrie is 67 years old, I'm betting that she's retired now.
posted by grum@work at 03:03 PM on May 29, 2005
Fourth place. Not bad for a rookie, male OR female.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 03:16 PM on May 29, 2005
Damn. Just a little more fuel and she might have made it. A stall, a spinout and damage to her nose cone -- and then she came back to lead for almost twenty laps. So.Kick.Ass.
posted by maudlin at 03:21 PM on May 29, 2005
That's most excited I've been about the Indy 500 since Scott Goodyear lost by a nose.
posted by grum@work at 03:24 PM on May 29, 2005
Did I hear the announcer ask, with about 10 laps left, "can she turn the trick and win the race?" Not the best choice of words there.
posted by oscillator72 at 03:30 PM on May 29, 2005
Honey? Did you put gas in the car?
posted by volfire at 03:34 PM on May 29, 2005
I've heard that one.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 04:07 PM on May 29, 2005
P.S. GO ENGLISH!!!!!!!
posted by volfire at 04:55 PM on May 29, 2005
According to this article, the fuel issue was the result of a gamble:
Wheldon took the lead for good on lap 194 of the 200-lap race but his victory was almost overshadowed by a daring fuel gamble by Patrick ... Early in the race Patrick ... stalled in the pits and slipped back to 16th. However, she battled back to the front only to spin on a restart with 40 laps to go. Her front wing was damaged but the stop for repairs gave her time for a full methanol fuel fill. Wheldon ... and the other race leaders had to pit one more time with about 28 laps to go allowing Patrick to take the lead. Her Rahal Letterman team, knowing fuel was tight, gambled on a yellow flag but the caution did not come when she needed it. After Wheldon took the lead seven laps from home Patrick faded to fourth place as she had to conserve fuel to finish.I'm not sure I understand the yellow flag part, so maybe one of you guys can explain how that might have paid off for Ms Patrick.
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:05 PM on May 29, 2005
On a yellow flag, the field drops down in speed (as there is wreckage/safety crew on the track). That reduction in speed would probably have conserved enough fuel to let her run to the finish line at full throttle when the green flag came back up.
posted by grum@work at 05:12 PM on May 29, 2005
Nice. Thanks, grummy!
posted by worldcup2002 at 06:20 PM on May 29, 2005
Just as a side note, Wheldon also ran out of fuel shortly after finishing, and had to be pushed to victory lane
posted by volfire at 11:12 AM on May 30, 2005
If females can compete as jockeys, why do people think it somehow revelatory that a woman can drive a car fast? Race-car drivers are the 2nd-most over-hyped athletes around (golfers, of course, being Numero Uno). I loved it when the 1997 Lou Marsh Award for Canada's best male athlete went to Jacques Villeneuve and a miffed Larry Walker said he gotten "beaten by a machine." Put these drivers behind the wheel of an inferior car, and notice how their supposed athletic "greatness" spirals downwards.
posted by the red terror at 12:07 PM on May 30, 2005
When I stumbled across the race yesterday it was lap whatever, and Danica was leading, I was like, "oh shit! She's leading, fuck all you all that thought she didn't have". I was drunk, and hooting and hollering as she took the lead again, but alas the lady had gas problems.
posted by jbou at 12:48 PM on May 30, 2005
She'll get them next time.
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:41 PM on May 30, 2005
Danica will never win a race, because she'll keep having gas problems- and never admit it. She'll just blame it on the dog...
posted by hincandenza at 04:34 PM on May 30, 2005
Damn, Hal beat me to it.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:29 PM on May 30, 2005
posted by graymatters at 09:41 PM on May 30, 2005
Just for information. Sarah Fisher is driving for Richard Childress in the Winston West Series. From what I've heard, she is a mid-pack racer. Don't look for her in the Nextel Cup Series any time soon. As for Danica. Great drive. Overcame problems and still damn near won. You heard it here first. It is a matter of time before she goes to Nextel Cup. People like Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and other ex open-wheelers will influence her to come where the BIG bucks are. The exposure would be unreal for her. I'd say within the next three years this will happen. Maybe before if she gets bored with the IRL.
posted by dbt302 at 11:31 AM on May 31, 2005
As for the gas issue, they actually threw some numbers out during the race. The announcers said those cars get about 11 mpg when under caution and 1 lap (2.5 miles) per gallon while driving balls out. So another yellow flag or two and Danica would've definitely had a good shot. By the way, first motor sport I've watched in probably 20 years.
posted by Ricardo at 01:18 PM on May 31, 2005
Belive it or not THERE are die hard racing fans out there. As long as it has wheels and a motor, I'll watch. There is one woman who actually won a race championship. That would be Sarah Muldowney, who won an open drag racing championship, and was the first woman to do so. There is also another nice lady that races motorcycles and has a few wins to her name( which escapes me at this time, all I remember is long blonde hair). There is also the note that not many drivers cross over from open wheel to stock car, as the control differential is huge. Few drivers have made that change and stuck with it, Boris Said, is the first ine that comes to mind.
posted by volfire at 04:51 PM on May 31, 2005
I saw these two ladies on Travel Channel yesterday who were racing this tricked-out double-hull speedboat called the Cyclone. Because the boat is so big, one of them has to watch the gauges and give directions, while the other steers. Oh, and they also take great bikini shots. Hey, that's what they showed on the show. But I can't find any link to them.
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:01 PM on May 31, 2005
volfire, her name was Shirley Muldowney. Heart Like A Wheel, etc etc. And there are many racing fans here. I'm only one. There are others.
posted by chicobangs at 05:04 PM on May 31, 2005
f/u : her busted shit is now for sale.
posted by garfield at 03:26 PM on June 08, 2005
Here's one person who isn't rooting for her: Robby Gordon says that she has an unfair advantage because she weighes 80-100 pounds less than male drivers. My question about this: If small stature was a real advantage, why aren't the Indy car drivers a bunch of horse jockeys with booster seats?