Don't get me wrong. I am all for girls being the best in male dominated sports, but come on! Danica Patrick is awful!! If she were a male she would have lost her sponsors or at the least be a no-name face in the IRL world. She causes accidents, she isn't a team player, and she never owns up for her mistakes. IMO its great she is a female Indy car driver, but she really needs to step it up and stop relying on her looks to get her fame and fortune.
2007-07-08 21:07:45 · 16 answers · asked by Stephanie P 3 in Sports ➔ Auto Racing ➔ Indy Racing League (IRL)
I am aware it takes some skill to be at the level which Danica has reached; however, as the last post says, where are the wins?
2007-07-09 03:43:03 · update #1
Wow, ok for those of you who think she doesn;t cause accidents, lets take a look at the race about 2 weeks ago. Had she not gotten flustered by there being 2 cars in close proximity and held her line 4 cars would have been able to stay in the race. Secondly, Sara and Milka, you guys are stating my exact point. They DON'T have the fancy equipment that Danica does. They finish in the middle spots. WHY? They aren't good enough. As a woman in a "Man's Sport" all three of them should step it up to race clean races with fast times. Their racing should speak for itself, not their GoDaddy ads.
2007-07-09 18:32:39 · update #2
I agree with the fact that danica gets way more recognition than she deserves. EXACTLY...count the wins..ZERO!
and if people wanna say shes doing great for only being in the irl for such a short time well u no what thats BS b/c marco is only a sophomore in the irl and he has won a race.
i also think that all the other drivers dont get time in spotlight b/c she is always the center of attention b/c of her good looks.
not that the other drivers arent good lucking but they dont pose in FHM.
but i disagree on the fact that she is a horrible driver...
the race a couple of weeks ago wasnt her fault .. you cant go four wide and not crash.
btw.. milka is backed by the number one selling oil tycoon of venezuela .... she does have a good backer but sehs just getting used to her car and her car just isnt up to speed yet.
id like to see how she does next season.
i also think that the reason danica is doing well is because she is with the dream team andretti green. i mean theyre one of the top teams id say in the irl and she has great team mates.
but she is a selfish driver, i mean the other day at watkins glen was a great example. marco was out to win it and he clearly had a faster car than her but she was in the way. they spoke to her crew to give him the pass b/c she was slow and she wouldnt do it. she CLEARLY wasnt going to win whereas marco was a contender the whole race.
ALL in ALL YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!
2007-07-10 04:26:46 · answer #1 · answered by TK #11 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
She's an O.K. driver but certainly not in the top third of the average field for any given IRL race. She's continually a solid middle of the pack driver with flashes of top 5 every once in awhile. She can qualify decent and shows she can be fast at times but her lack of consistency plagues her. Her looks have definitely taken her farther than her driving skills and I hope she doesn't attempt to move to NASCAR down the road. Sarah Fischer probably has more talent and not as good of equipment and Milka Duno is an absolute joke. Danica can at least drive and deserves to be in the IRL she just doesn't deserve as much attention and credit as she gets most of the time. When she matures a little and gets more experience she might win eventually. Unfortunately everybody will be going "I told you so" then, even if that doesn't happen for a couple more years.
2007-07-09 05:12:36 · answer #2 · answered by Tregosteevo 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Her good looks is not what has her in 8th on the points standing out of 18 drivers that have started all 10 races so far. I believe that is the driver's ability and crew that gets you to that spot.
So what if she doesn't have a win. How many other drivers that have raced this year don't have wins?
We have had 10 races won by six drivers. Does that mean all the other guys and girls suck, and they don't deserve to be there?
Does Sarah Fisher or Milka Duno have a win? Danica is out doing them. I don't see you asking for them to step it up.
2007-07-09 16:59:37 · answer #3 · answered by Douglas D 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Her racing background is actually quite lengthy. To make a long story short, she has competed at all levels and dominated every one of them. That is, until now. I tend to think that being a female has actually hurt her image more than it has helped. True, she wouldn't have gotten nearly the publicity initially had she not been a girl, but, she is only in her third year of Indy racing. There isn't much doubt that she will win more than a few races before she is done. Give her just a little more time.
2007-07-08 21:24:06 · answer #4 · answered by John H 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
she is there for her looks, yes in racing sponsorship money is everything, even more important than tallent, this is true od all racing, this is why christian kleen got his ride with jaguire in f1 a few years back, this is why dale jr is still racing even though he hasn't won a race in 2 years and this is why danica is in a top team, make no mistake about it this is why agr went from not being in the compition last year to winning indy, danica won that race for dario not by blocking for him or giving him a tow down the straights, but by bringing gobs of cash into the team
2007-07-10 09:17:30 · answer #5 · answered by eyesinthedrk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just about every driver at the top level of motorsports has something going for them besides sheer driving ability. I think Scott Speed being American has something to do with him being an F1 driver. I notice one or two drivers have some family connections that have helped them get their seat. Tracy has his ride in part because his sponsors feel he appeals to young Canadian guys who like cigarettes and drink beer. So I'm not going to single out Patrick in this regard.
2007-07-09 04:42:38 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
"To make a long story short, she has competed at all levels and dominated every one of them."
What an absolute load of crap!
Before going to the IRL, Patrick ran two full seasons in Champ Car Atlantics. She managed a whopping 1 pole and 5 podiums in 24 races, with no wins, against some relatively weak fields.
She got her ride in the IRL because Bobby Rahal had an opportunity to secure a good sponsorship deal to move her up. She has stayed in the IRL because, for some reason, sponsors continue to support her despite her total lack of respectable results in the equipment she's provided with.
Does she have some talent? Sure. Does she belong at this level? Not really.
"Tracy has his ride in part because his sponsors feel he appeals to young Canadian guys who like cigarettes and drink beer."
Huh?!?
For starters, Paul Tracy doesn't actually *have* a sponsor right now. He's definitely not in the sport because some moronic sponsor group thinks he has appeal -- he has a job because he can drive a f*cking race car. The guy has 31 wins and a championship in his career. Danica Patrick does not merit a comparison to Paul Tracy on any level whatsoever.
2007-07-09 03:38:02 · answer #7 · answered by Edward S 3 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Her looks get her the publicity but if she was not a talented driver she would not be inthe position to get the publicity in the first case. Time will tell just how good a driver she turns out to be which of course will be determined by when (not if) she wins in the Indy Car series.
2007-07-09 00:56:32 · answer #8 · answered by koppite99 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
its a little of both... she's an amazing indy driver as well as other formats, alot of her popularity though does come from being a very attractive girl, especially from the media. to make an example she's the Dale Earnhardt Jr. of IRL, very good but famous for who she happens to be (Danica - hot girl/ Dale Jr. - son of a legend) not her talent. i know those vague descriptions are very different but its the same concept.
2007-07-09 20:47:06 · answer #9 · answered by xdragonx425 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Wow. You are seriously 100% off on here. She does NOT cause accidents-she has been collected during an accident. She has been racing since she was a kid.
By the way, she was successful in Britain where she raced open wheel for a couple of years.
Oh yeah. I'm NOT one of her fans. Sarah Fisher is my favorite. If she ever gets a decent ride.
2007-07-09 11:03:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋