I think F1 and NASCAR should come together to mock WRC, the guys who need to have someone constantly telling them directions...
The point of the second paragraph of my post, I guess you missed, maybe I wasn't clear. I'll make it clear. I was referring to the original topic starting post. Danica outdid Jeff Gordan. My second point, was Danica really did record that lap time, it wasn't an edit in a computer by some one later. as implied in posts here She ran early, how'd they'd know what to put in to make sure she got pole position? But, in direct response to your post: Sponsor dollars talk. Motor, not sure, the difference there would not be as great, but she probably did get the one with better specs. Specifically though, I was referring to the fact that not all NASCARS are created equal, hair tolerance differences create different aero packages. Danica probably got the one that pushed the rules the most - probably the fastest. At Daytona qualifying, having a car with less drag, and that is more settled, will make a big difference. I don't know if you've seen Days of Thunder, but the look on the 'ol car chief's face when the main character tells him he wanted to move to NASCAR because all the cars are equal and its just the different drivers, pretty much tells the story. As for decent car and engine, nope, she was not alone. Roush makes great engines. Trevor's 4th in qualifying was well done. Jeff had a strong car and engine, but didn't get good grip, you can see his car wasn't sticking to the track. He may have had a head wind on the back stretch and a tail wind on the front stretch in comparison to Danica. Like I said, Daytona Pole = Fastest car, best conditions, and smooth driving input. Jeff had one of the Fastest cars, but either messed up as a driver, or got knocked around by wind. He either had 1 or 2 of those three. Danica had all three. Daytona qualifying, being a flat out track, takes away throttle and brake input from the driver. This makes aero drag, engine power, and a balance of minimal rolling resistance vs handling a bigger factor than driver. The better the driver, the harder to drive setup you can run with. Jeff brought a fast setup, but slipped up with it. If you could follow a Hendrick Restrictor car setup for qualifying at its speed, if you leaned your hand out and pushed the rear fender - the car would move. It is that much on the edge. Although that was with the last gen car, I'm not sure on this gen.
Danica outdid *all* of 'em, not just Jeff! *Exactly* the point I've been trying to make! [Thanks for the nice summary of what went down BTW]. The conspiracy theorists have claimed; - They were all in cahoots. I shot that down in flames so then; - They "fiddled" with the timing system. Which I again tried to shoot down. She simply drove a superb lap IMO. This is what I just can't accept. I may be wrong, but I cannot believe she had a "better" motor or indeed car to anyone else on her team. Or better than JJ or the other front runners. Understood. But again, I can't believe she had the only "slippery" car. Not just Jeff, the entire field it seems!..... And you seem to still be implying that somehow she was the only one to benefit from any wind while the others suffered. She ran 8th in qualy and stuck it on pole. Done job. I would guess the same situation - Aero's *important* at those speeds for sure! One thing I didn't know is that they've completely removed the rear anti-sway bar on ovals! [Source; Sports Illustrated) Apparently, they want the ass end stepping out of line........ Cheers, Ian PS; If the mods feel this should get moved per Pete's request, please go ahead; I started it here as something of a tongue-in-cheek missive regarding the "excuses" that were being spouted.
Even IF NASCAR was able to "adjust" her qualifying time, they sure as hell didn't "adjust" the 499 good miles she ran during the race. As for the last lap or two, a combination of lack of experience, lack of help from "the boys", and maybe spotters who should have encouraged her to take matters into her own hands helped her go from 2nd to 8th so quickly. She was never out of contention right up to the end...
I stopped caring about the walking advertising property known as Danica long before she moved to NA$CAR.
And if there were 43 cars on an F1 grid, would you expect more competitive racing? ROTFLOL In F1 there are, what, maybe eight cars capable of winning, and if the wind blows just right and some of those drop out, maybe two more. Whereas in nascar you have a legitimate 20 cars that can win, and with the right race strategy and adjustments during a race, 10-12 more. Face it - if someone wins NOT in a Red Bull or a Ferrari it is a surprise (yes, I know - Surprise - Kimi won this past weekend) - and everyone is shocked.