Danica stays in IRL, signs with AGR

[tidwell]

She shouldn't regret it, it helped her career, it made more people notice here. You were making it sound like she did.

Obviously she can handle a racecar... my only beef is with the fact she gets all the hype, but has produced 0 results. Even with her doing worse this year than last, for whatever reason, she still gets just a hundred times more pub than drivers that actually deserve and earn it like Hornish, Helio, Wheldon, Kanaan, etc.

You got me there, I haven't watched many IRL races this season. ESPN and ABC do a terrible job of actually advertising their races. You'll be flipping through channels on Sunday afternoons and see that there is 5 laps left of an IRL race and that'll be the first time all week you knew there was a race. The ones I have watched however, they'll give the top 3 or so running order and in the same breath mention that Danica is in 11th or 12th place. I was watching the Sunday Night baseball game on ESPN just about an hour ago and they had a 30 at 30 update and showed who won the race and added Danica's finishing position. To say she doesn't get the most attention or hype even this year, would be quite a stretch, in my opinion of course.

If she was treated and acted like the mid-packer at best that she has shown to be thus far in her career, I'd have no problem with her.

 

[volinbham]

Just to add my :twocents: to the discussion.

She does get a lot of attention - Why? She's hot, she's unique (a woman in racing) and she's competitive. She hasn't won yet but she has been the most competitive woman driver in a major racing series. She just missed the pole at Indy, led Indy and finished 4th in her rookie year - that alone is worth a year of hype.

As for her talent - she's fast but hasn't shown the race durability. Not too unusual for a first year in a series (first time seeing new tracks). She is a better driver than some in IRL and worse than others. Rahal/Letterman Racing is down this year.

Bottomline - she's earned a spot in the IRL based on talent. She's earned a spot on a top team because of potential and marketability.

 

[tidwell]

I was under the impression that racing was a performance based business. With that said, what exactly has Danica done or accomplished prior to her time in the IRL to warrant a ride for a top team such as AGR?

If of course I was mistaken, and the IRL form of racing is just based on marketability, then Penske needs to sign her up for one of his cars immediately.

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

She shouldn't regret it, it helped her career, it made more people notice here. You were making it sound like she did.

No, you make it sound like she did something wrong by posing for those pics.

Even with her doing worse this year than last, for whatever reason, she still gets just a hundred times more pub than drivers that actually deserve and earn it like Hornish, Helio, Wheldon, Kanaan, etc.

As I've already said, if you actually watched the IRL, then you'd realize that those are the guys who get most of the pub pre, during, and post race. Does she get some pub, of course.

The ones I have watched however, they'll give the top 3 or so running order and in the same breath mention that Danica is in 11th or 12th place. I was watching the Sunday Night baseball game on ESPN just about an hour ago and they had a 30 at 30 update and showed who won the race and added Danica's finishing position.

Here's your problem tid. She is by far the most popular driver in the Indy Car Series, and as long as that's true her fans will want to know how she' doing in the race. Nascar does the EXACT same thing in their coverage when they go through the top ten, then fall back to tell you that TCDOTNEBCMC is running 23rd, last car on the lead lap, and is about three seconds from going a lap down.

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

Just to add my :twocents: to the discussion.

She does get a lot of attention - Why? She's hot, she's unique (a woman in racing) and she's competitive. She hasn't won yet but she has been the most competitive woman driver in a major racing series. She just missed the pole at Indy, led Indy and finished 4th in her rookie year - that alone is worth a year of hype.

As for her talent - she's fast but hasn't shown the race durability. Not too unusual for a first year in a series (first time seeing new tracks). She is a better driver than some in IRL and worse than others. Rahal/Letterman Racing is down this year.

Bottomline - she's earned a spot in the IRL based on talent. She's earned a spot on a top team because of potential and marketability.

It wouldn't matter if she won out the rest of the season, tidwell would still say she didn't belong there.

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

I was under the impression that racing was a performance based business. With that said, what exactly has Danica done or accomplished prior to her time in the IRL to warrant a ride for a top team such as AGR?

What exactly did Jeff Gordon of Jimmy Johnson do in the lower divisions on Nascar to earn a ride in a top team like HMS?

 

[tidwell]

No, you make it sound like she did something wrong by posing for those pics.

Nothing wrong at all. Besides being born a female, that's been the biggest coup for expanding her career.

Here's your problem tid. She is by far the most popular driver in the Indy Car Series, and as long as that's true her fans will want to know how she' doing in the race. Nascar does the EXACT same thing in their coverage when they go through the top ten, then fall back to tell you that TCDOTNEBCMC is running 23rd, last car on the lead lap, and is about three seconds from going a lap down.

It's not my problem, I realize she's brought in the casual fan that thinks it's neato that a girl is out there driving fast cars. At the same time, she's pushed people away that don't give a crap about her and how she's running in 14th place and what the excuse is for her for that given week.

You lost me on the 'TCDOTNEBCMC' reference. NASCAR doesn't heap the attention all on one driver nearly as much as the IRL heaps it upon Danica.

It wouldn't matter if she won out the rest of the season, tidwell would still say she didn't belong there.

We both know that's not going to happen.

What exactly did Jeff Gordon of Jimmy Johnson do in the lower divisions on Nascar to earn a ride in a top team like HMS?

Win races, for starters.

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

You lost me on the 'TCDOTNEBCMC' reference. NASCAR doesn't heap the attention all on one driver nearly as much as the IRL heaps it upon Danica.

The Current Driver Of The Number Eight Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Just an attempt at a little hatvolesque humor. And yes, the broadcasters who cover Nascar go out of their way to follow Dale Jr no matter how bad he's running. No problem with that, he is the most popular driver, just like Danica is the most popular in the IRL. And for the third time, she really dosen't get talked about all that much during the race. If you actually watched an IRL race you would know that. Of course, if they even mention her once that would be too much for you.

You've made your point tidwell. You don't like Danica. That's fine. I'm done here.

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

Win races, for starters.

How many Busch races did Johnson win before he moved up to cup?

 

[tidwell]

The Current Driver Of The Number Eight Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Just an attempt at a little hatvolesque humor. And yes, the broadcasters who cover Nascar go out of their way to follow Dale Jr no matter how bad he's running. No problem with that, he is the most popular driver, just like Danica is the most popular in the IRL. And for the third time, she really dosen't get talked about all that much during the race. If you actually watched an IRL race you would know that. Of course, if they even mention her once that would be too much for you.

You've made your point tidwell. You don't like Danica. That's fine. I'm done here.

Heh, I figured it was something like that, I just couldn't figure it out.

Jr. isn't the only one they cover, that's my point. I've never heard them give the top 3 or 5 running order and then stop to give the position of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, or even Jr. if they don't happen to be running in the top 3 or 5 at that time. That's what the IRL and every imaginable media source does with Danica. You'll see the results scroll across the bottom of the screen and it'll read like this: "1. Sam Hornish Jr., 2. Helio Castroneves, 3. Dan Wheldon, 4. Scott Dixon, 5. Tony Kanaan, 15. Danica Patrick." I've never seen that with Gordon, Johnson, Stewart, or Jr.

How many Busch races did Johnson win before he moved up to cup?

1 more than Danica has won in her career since she left go-carts.

Surely you're not going to argue with the success Johnson has had in the Cup Series thus far in his relatively short career. Like him or not, and I definitely do not, the man has been one of the top 3 or 4 drivers in the sport since he burst onto the scene in 2002.

I will respectfully bow out as well and agree to disagree with you on the subject. I enjoyed the debate, I'm sure it will be re-visited, and I will be the first one to congratulate Danica on her first IRL victory when and if that happens.

 

[volinbham]

Clearly big-time racing is not all about performance --- on the track that is.

Dale Jr. clearly has been given opportunities that other drivers of his abilities wouldn't have been given. He gets tremendous coverage. He has won races but there are probably many drivers out there that could win races in the best equipment/team. He is good but he gets more coverage and fan adoration than his wins than just on-track performance explains.

Getting a good ride is about more than just pure driving talent. Both Dale Jr. and Danica attract sponsor $$$ and that makes it easier to have a good team. Andretti Green is making a business decision. Most teams make the same decision.

 

[tidwell]

Sure, having a famous father and racer helped Jr.'s career along, it worked out pretty well for Lee Petty's son as well.

Jr. has performed on the track, simple as that. Even though his name is 'Earnhardt', Sr. didn't give him anything. He spent several years racing late models with his brother and sister. Dale just bought them a car from a junkyard and let them work on it and do whatever they could do with it. Jr. managed to win a few races and Sr. gave him a chance to drive the AC Delco Busch car, and he won the championship both years.

Jr. has performed well since his rookie season in the Cup Series despite driving for a brand new team at the time and for a company that had only been fielding Cup cars for 2 years prior to that with Steve Park.

Statistically, he ranks in the top five in wins, top 5s, top 10s, laps led, and points scored since he entered the Cup Series. I would say he gets the same amount of coverage as the others in or near the top five of those stats since 2000; Gordon, Stewart, Johnson, etc.

Whether or not Jr. doesn't deserve his ride and that other drivers of his ability not named Earnhardt wouldn't have got his ride can't be argued, neither can the fact that Jr. has been a top 5 driver since he joined the Cup Series.

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

Surely you're not going to argue with the success Johnson has had in the Cup Series thus far in his relatively short career. Like him or not, and I definitely do not, the man has been one of the top 3 or 4 drivers in the sport since he burst onto the scene in 2002.

Not at all, I begrudgingly (sp) concede that he and Tony Stewart are by far the two best drivers in the Nextel Cup series right now. I was simply stating that I don't remember that he ever did anything in the Busch series to merit that ride in the first place.

 

[tidwell]

He did very little, that's for sure. I guess he showed some flashes of talent, but he fit the mold of the new NASCAR driver perfectly. Young with some semblance of talent. Nevermind the fact that once Todd Bodine took over his #92 Busch ride, he won more races than JJ in the same car, even without a sponsor.