Danica Patrick leaving IRL ???

I still think Nelson Phillipe would have done much better if he would have done a few years in a feeder series instead of jumping straight into CART.

 

Hey, if Danica score 12 points so far this year, that is probably double what Kyle Petty score for the last two years. I say bring her on, she can't be any worse that the consistent backmarkers that regularly pilot a cup car.
Let's see, Juan Montoya, Danica Patrick, Boris Said--Yeah you oval guys better look out when the road tracks come about. Man, Nascar is looking better every day!!!

 

12 Points is not much in the way the IRL points system is set up. It's more like the NASCAR system of rewarding a lot of the field points, and higher amounts, than the F1 system.

Here is her current performance in the IRL this year:
Current Statistics » Career Statistics »

Track Start Finish
Homestead-Miami Speedway 17 17
Streets of St. Petersburg 14 6
Twin Ring Motegi 14 8
Indianapolis Motor Speedway 10 8
Watkins Glen International 16 8
Texas Motor Speedway 14 12
Richmond International Raceway 14 15
Kansas Speedway 12 11

And her overall career in IRL is here:http://www.indycar.com/stats/driver_stats.php?driver_id=259&statYear=2006&showCareer=1

 

Anyone see the preview for Driving Force on A&E? Looked more like the changing room of Victoria's Secret than a drag racing show.

And they wonder why no one takes women drivers seriously...

 

That's the best truism I've heard in a long time - bravo to you!!!

Carol

 

Women in F1? Not gonna happen as long as Bernie's in charge...U.S.=ok, MEN=ok, Women=don't even bother.

Older guys in Europe think women oughta be barefoot & el prego...too bad, but till these guys die off, that's the way it's gonna be.

 

As far as her posing in magazines etc.; its what people do in the early (or last) stages of their carreer to get attention, thus money, thus rides. Same principal with movie/rock stars. Then, if they make it, get to spend lots of time going "I cant believe I did that !"
Catch 22. No big deal.
Dannica in F1? Unless she wins a Championship, that wont happen. That door has closed.
I do believe she has lost "it". The burning desire.

 

I gotta say I'm a fan of Force's daughters. I just couldn't ever imagine going to pick one of them up on a date and there's crazy John waiting to have a talk with you!

 

From Comcast news,

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A fellow IRL driver says Danica Patrick has what it takes to succeed if she switches to the paint-swapping world of NASCAR and she's plenty aggressive in open-wheel racing when it's "the right time of the month."

Ed Carpenter, who trails Patrick by four slots in the IRL IndyCar Series' points race, made the comment when asked how Patrick might handle NASCAR racing during a radio appearance to promote Saturday night's Firestone Indy 200.

"I think Danica's pretty aggressive in our cars," Carpenter said Wednesday on WGFX-FM in Nashville.

"I mean, you know especially if you catch her at the right time of the month, she might be trading plenty of paint out there," he said. "But I think she'll hold her own. Who's she's going to drive for is hard to say. I don't think she's leaving, so we'll see."

Carpenter later told The Associated Press he didn't mean to be disrespectful of Patrick by using a female stereotype.

He said he was trying to make the point that Patrick is competitive and already proven as a capable driver. He predicts she'll stay in the IndyCar Series.

"It's obvious when you're around her, she's very competitive," he said in a telephone interview afterward. "I think she has goals that she hasn't accomplished yet in the IRL Indy cars. That's going to want to make her stay."

Patrick, a presenter at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, didn't take offense when informed of Carpenter's comments.

"That sounds like a good joke to me, it's pretty funny to me," she said backstage. "No big deal. Ed is a really nice guy. There's no drama there. I think it's funny. I'm glad he's showing some personality."

There has been wide speculation that Patrick will switch leagues after her IRL contract ends this season. Her father was a guest of Roush Racing at Chicagoland Speedway for the Nextel Cup race last weekend.

"It would be silly of me being my contract year not to look at all my options," Patrick said in Los Angeles. "My interest level right now is not really high, it's a little there just because it's racing. The (NASCAR) schedule is sort of unfathomable."

Carpenter, who is married, drives for a team owned by his mother and her husband, Tony George _ chief executive officer of the Indy Racing League.

Patrick, who won three poles and was rookie of the year in 2005, ranks 12th in points this year, best on the Rahal-Letterman team.

"She's kind of leading the way for her team and putting up the best results for her team. She's going to get shoved around over there just because she's a girl, but I think she's going to be able to hold her own _ if she even goes over there," Carpenter said.

Too funny



___

 

She should get Victoria's Secretions to sponsor her in NASCAR & make serious $$$

I love road racing but you cant beat the 800 # gorilla that NASCAR has become

 

I remember Bernie was once asked about Danica in F1 and made a funny comment about her, don't remember it exactly, but it wasn't a compliment by any means.

If you REALLY want to see her dead last, try her in F1. Better yet---don't, she would end up somewhere behind Scott Speed. Like Anna K in tennis, I think Danica's real role now is to make lots of money and draw attention to her sport of choice, with little chance of actually winning titles. After a few years I suppose she will transform into a baby producing machine (nothing wrong with that!) and her racing career will fall to the side.

 

Shawna who?

I do recall a blonde housewife from Iowa wasting a seat in the #49 car a couple of years ago. If I remember correctly, she had a helluva a rack.

 

Agreed.

Tony Stewart was a champion in IRL. Went to NASCAR in some 6 or 7 years ago and won two championships and a boatload money - way moy cash than he'd ever dream of winning in IRL or CART.

Some "step down", eh?

 

Agreed. Chicks may dig NASCAR, but they can't hang on the track. Biggest embarassment for the female contingent at present has to be Erin Crocker. She runs a handfull of Busch and CTS races this season and wrecks nearly each race. If she doesnt wreck, she is seriously in the way - as bad as Derrick Cope.

On top of everything else, Danica is still scared of Robby Gordon.

 

Gordon didnt race IRL (or CART) which was the sanctioning body at the time.

However, you are correct in that Stewart and Gordon came from open wheel USAC roots and have done well. Casey Kahne is another open wheeler that has come from open wheel and is doing well in NASCAR.

 

Yeah, something about a "kitchen appliance" comes to mind...