Who is she, anyway? The cars are awesome. And you're right about Danica's looks--go walking down the street and half the women will look better.
how coud this happen? I hope she will not go to nascar. I am waiting for the day she goes F1 and shows her driving skills to the world. after all, she is already a lot better than half of the IRL, or so they said.
Thank you. That's a pretty cool resume'. I think it's great that more women are cracking through into motorsports, and it's going to take a while to move past the looks-first mentality. That said, here's an observation: They shouldn't try to dress up these women like supermodels, because they aren't supermodels. They look their best just being themselves, not all made up.
???? Wake up!! She missed the boat, not that she ever could have got on it. there are maybe 2 or 3 F1 prospective US drivers able to run F1, all boys. If JPM could only be a wanker in F1, Danica would be a farce. Ask Bernie about Lella and his views on women driver prospects.
I heard Gene Simmons is heading to NASCAR. Serious question for all of you that hate NASCAR, if you dislike that form of racing so much, why would JPM or Danica moving make you want to watch ?
Danica a farce in F1? maybe so but... ...compare her to half the F1 field and I bet she would do just as BAD as they do every other week. F1's reality is it's a group of about 5-6 drivers that are worth the seat time...all the others are just to fill the grid. At least she would get a lot of press time for F1 in the states (aka Scott Speed)...and this is the very reason she is going to NASCAR.
I dislike the crowd and attitude associated with it. Oval track racing to me is boring, and I can never watch more than a few laps before wanting to move on to something else. I do watch IRL and have attended races but them being open wheel gives me that extra push to watch the series. From a visual standpoint, stock cars aren't great to look at or hear. I would rather see actual production cars outfitted to run the series vs a rc-car cut-to-fit plastic body over the chassis. I guess I don't hate it, I just don't prefer to watch it but with the move of Montoya and possible move of Danica, and J. Villeneuve, I will be watching the series a little closer next year to see how they fair.
You are exactly right. As women enter this male dominated sport we become mere chauvinistic pigs if we judge them by their looks and and not their abilities. That being said, I have seen Danica, Legge, Mila Duno, and Liz in person. Liz is by far the hottest and Milka has the biggest-----Nevermind. Want to see a pic?
Women have been racing competitively in NHRA for decades and a woman is leading both the Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks. As hot as Angelle Sampay is, she is judged first by her talent in that sport. Danica was doing photo shoots in FHM long before she hit the IRL, so it is her own fault if she is not taken seriously. Female drivers can't have it both ways, they can't market themselves based on appearance and then complain that men are chauvinists because we judge them on their looks and not their abilities. She needs to worry more about winning and less about posing for men's magazines. As far as Nascar being a step down: other than Michael Schumacher, which F1 drivers outearn Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr.? That would be...none. Lastly, to answer the question regarding drivers' weight, there is no question whatsoever that a lighter driver has an advantage over a heavier one, it is simply a question of physics. What that means is that a heavier driver who outruns a lighter driver on a consistent basis must be doing so on the basis of superior driving talent, all else being equal. The corollary to that is that a lighter driver who fails to outperform heavier drivers must be an inferior driver, all else being equal. There isn't a driver in racing who wouldn't want to have a 50 lb. weight advantage over their competition.
Well said. Furthermore I sense a lot of sour grapes when it comes to complaining about Danicas size and weight. If being 50lbs lighter is what it's going to take to be competitive in auto racing then horse jockeys and Olympic gymnasts just got a new career option.
Very well said. I think the weight issue though has more to do with acceleration. IRL cars go at constant speed around an oval. With 1000+ lbs. of down force, I don't see how 30 or even 50 lbs will affect the performance. With a car like F1 were you need electronics to keep the rear wheels spinning I don't see again how a little less weight will matter. I think speed has as much to do with managing down force and wheel grip as power to weight. Modern race cars have tremendous power to weight ratios, and as pointed out previously some of the heavier drivers are faster. I'm not a big fan a nascar, but the fans are generally much more knowledgable and serious about there drivers than IRL fans. At Indy last year it seemed more of a party that just happened to be a race involved. I think it is a step up IMO.
I'm not against women drivers, Legge is very good, someone just let me know when Danica accomplishes something like winning a race.
You never noticed that F1 cars get a lot quicker as they get lighter i.e. burn off fuel? 60-70 lbs is a lot of fuel, about 10 gallons I believe. If weight weren't important, teams would not spend so much time making sure their weight is right at the minimum without going under the limit. That's why they weight winner's cars afterward. Weight affects acceleration, deceleration and turning as well as top speed although most race cars hit a limiter before weight holds them back. Dave
Don't care much for either one of them so whatever. IRL is garbage and Danica is a midfielder that can qualify well at times. Big whoop.
Legge did seem good in atlantic but she's not too impressive in Champcar this year. I hope she gets it together.
There's only room for one Schumacher in NHRA, and Michael isn't the one! edit: http://www.nhra.com/drivers/driver.asp?driverid=17
It might have something to do with equipment, unfortunately PKV isn't that strong. Sucks because Jimmy Vasser is one of the nicest drivers I have ever met.
Not to mention that Cristiano Da Matta didn't exactly do much except for the one win last season at PKV.
It's her first year in the big cars, they're trying to get her used to them in advance of the new chassis next year. It was borderline that they were going to put her in a ChampCar, but in the end, I think the experience will do her well. Look at Nelson Philippe for a good example of this - when he started, he was in way over his head, but this year he's been doing pretty well. Note the difference, though - PKV has been saying from the start that this is a development year for her and not to expect too much. Much different than Danica's rookie year where she was hyped at every opportunity.