Danica Patrick First Woman to Win IRL race

This is a big deal. A woman winning in one of a big-time racing series is a big deal. I never thought she'd win anything. Good for her.

 

Headline should read Danica Patrick First Woman to Back into a Victory in a Major U.S. Series

Sorry, but this is a gas mileage strategy win. Some of the greats have won this way, but they did not become great by winning this way. They became great because they outran their competitors and won. Can Danica Patrick actually outrun her male competitors at the end of a race and win? Maybe she can. Maybe a woman can. So far, she has not done it.

Also, I think she is too small physically to compete in long NASCAR races. I don't think she would have the stamina.

BTW, I love all women! raying:

 

I agree that nobody becomes great by winning gas mileage races, but nobody is saying that Danica Patrick is a great driver either. Danica was fast enough to put herself in position to win, which is all you can ever do.

No, I don't think we'll ever see her in Nascar.

At some point, she would have to wrestle a tight car around the track, and it seems to me that there's a world of difference between driving a 1,800 lb car in IRL vs. a 3,400 lb car in Nascar. Not only that, Nascar races are at least an hour and a half longer than IRL races.

 

It's a win...and how many guys in the IRL have not won this season? How about ever. I think she is getting a bit of a bum rap from some. Personally i'm glad she won and got the "monkey" off her back. Although now the "can she win again" monkey has moved in i'm sure.

 

I can see the earlier controversies being reborn about her weight (or lack of) being a factor now

 

I think it's a big deal, if for no other reason than it was "history made" during my lifetime.....just as I think the Hillary and Obama candidacy's are a big deal (yeah, I know that's another thread!)

But I'm not a racing fan at all, so it was not a big deal to me "as a fan", so I hadn't read anything indepth about it--just saw the headlines. I find it interesting to learn here that even in driving a car there are discrepancies on physical performance between men/women. Not knowing anything about the "physics" involved (since I don't follow the sport), I hadn't a clue that gender would matter on the track. So, gas-mileage strategy, or sheer dumb-luck, it's pretty cool she won!

 

I don't look down on Jimmie Johnson at all for winning by gas strategy. Most great drivers I can think of have won this way at some point. But Jimmie Johnson has won most of his races by outrunning the competition and that is why he is a top driver. Until Danica Patrick does this, her win will be seen as a fluke. And I will say that unless she does this, ultimately this one win will be seen as a fluke.

 

Hard to break through the "good-ole-boy" network.

 

People 50 years from now will read that she won and probably won't know how; for them it will not matter how she won--unless she never wins again. If she never wins again, then it will probably always be noted that she won on gas strategy, not by outrunning the boys.

If she wins again, I'll congratulate her and then stick my foot back in my mouth, but, IMHO, she has had the equipment, the financing, and the opportunities to win but has not. I'm just not sure she can actually outrun the boys in a head-to-head finish. Even Darrel Waltrip doubted that she would come to NASCAR last year or that she would succeed if she did because of her small build.

I remember when Janet Guthrie came to NASCAR back in the nmid-seventies. At first, her equipment was lousy and she honestly did not have the opportunity to run up front. Later, she did get good equipment, but simply did not get the job done.

 

Yes, it is. "Good-old-boys" do not want to give a woman a chance to do well. They want to "keep them in their place". Danica Patrick has not faced this. She has been given the opportunity to win; a great car, a great pit-crew, a top team, and plenty of financing.

 

It is Big...

Danica didn't back into victory lane - and she wasn't the only one doing a fuel mileage race. She passed Helio Castroneves and took the lead on lap 198 of the 200 lap race. He finished less than 6 seconds behind her afterword.

She's a racer - and has been in a position to win several times. This is by no means the first.

 

One more point: Here is a list of some drivers who have won 500 mile Sprint Cup races at Talledega, Alabama: Richard Brickhouse, James Hylton, Lennie Pond, Ron Bouchard, Bobby Hillin Jr., Phil Parsons and Brian Vickers. What do they all have in common? This is the only Sprint Cup race they ever won (actually Hylton won one other race in his career). Danica is in the same class with them right now. Whenever one of these drivers is mentioned, their single win is duly noted and the coincidence (not) that so many drivers who have only a single win have it at that track. Danica will always be remembered for this one win and the circumstances of it will always be noted. To avoid this, she must win more.

 

I don't know about anywhere else, but she's getting one in this thread.

Actually, the IRL did her a favor with the rule change, because she didn't win by having an unfair advantage. I didn't look to see who finished 2nd, but I would almost guarantee that they would have lodged a protest if she had won under the old weight rule.

Indeed, it's very cool. Just to reiterate, I believe gender only matters because of the brute strength difference between men and women. Otherwise, I can't think of any other difference. It's likely that a woman with the same skills as Danica, but who's bigger and stronger (Danica is 5'2", 100 lbs), could run well in Nascar.

That's true of every driver, isn't it? What makes this so much more special than say, Casey Mears winning at Charlotte last year? I don't recall anybody saying that his win was a fluke. As SBC said, it's not fair that she gets criticized for not winning, then gets criticized for not getting the right kind of win.

 

I don't believe for 1 second that she hasn't faced a group that wants to "keep her in her place".

I don't believe that the circumstances will always be noted when her win is mentioned. She will forever be known as the first woman to win a race in the IRL.

 

Yes. It is true of every driver including the list of one hit wonders from Talledega and Casey Mears at Charlotte.
Given the team that Mears is on and the success that Earnhardt Jr, who has not been on the team as long as Mears, has had, I think it is quite possible that his win was a fluke. This is why I am not hesitant to say it of Danica and the circumstances of her win make it even more so.