The Bloom is Off The Rose.

[Mark in Oshawa]

She got booed in the driver intro's so I guess the paying public is ahead of the press once again. That said, she did what she does well, and that is hustle the car around without getting into trouble. She has learned in the last few years to not make mistakes, especially at Indy. That also means she will likely never win another race, because with the IRL field's as deep now as they are with guys willing to run over their mother's to win, being patient and out lasting people will get you decent points finishes, not victories.

THAT my friends is why Danicamania is so sad. If she tried to win and crashed, and on occasion was challenging for the lead based on her ability to pass and race, I would ignore her personal icy attitude....but alas, she is just hanging around waiting for the boys to crash. Well, take it to the bank Danica, they all wont crash and leave you standing. You won in Japan with that strategy....but that is a once in a blue moon event. I cheer for drivers who try to win, or bring the wheel home trying.....

[BernieD]

....THAT my friends is why Danicamania is so sad. If she tried to win and crashed, and on occasion was challenging for the lead based on her ability to pass and race, I would ignore her personal icy attitude....but alas, she is just hanging around waiting for the boys to crash..... I cheer for drivers who try to win, or bring the wheel home trying.....

Exactomundo. I for one am sick of the PC claptrap that follows this driver alike angels wings. Enough nonsense -- no other driver would be lionized with only a solitary fuel strategy win to show for years of racing -- including many in competitive equipment. Truly ridiculous.

[beachbum]

The last time I looked, you don't get a lot of points or prize money for how fast you were during the race. You do get them for where you finish the race.
On that basis Danica beat the majority of the field yesterday. Everyone keeps saying how she's lucked out race after race. She must be the luckiest driver around then. Just sayin' you know.

Starter, what you say is true with a few buts.... Danica makes some of her luck by being just fast enough to hang around to profit from others misfortunes. She rarely seems to race anyone, just finds a spot to run mostly alone. This "style" gives her teams some options other teams don't have. They really aren't running for win in most cases, so alternate strategies don't have much risk. She usually seems to gets good fuel economy as she isn't aggressive and is off the gas more than most drivers. This gives opportunities such as her Montegi win and her Indy finishes based on economy.

She has also had the "luck" of being on the best teams even from the days of FF. She has never run a POS. IMHO, the source of most of her "luck" is her brand. Its value can buy a lot of "luck". But she has often been very lucky on track. Her crash at Kentucky a few years ago where she barely missed a safety vehicle was pure luck. As Scott Goodyear would say, "she was just a passenger".

This kind of "luck" only exists as long as she has excellent equipment, engineers, and strategists, the other competition isn't deep, there aren't many other drivers with the same strategy, and she is fast enough stay close enough to the front to make it work. Last year was a perfect year for that strategy and her 5th in points was the result. This year hasn't gone as well and it shows in her finishes. When she goes to NASCAR full time, that strategy may not work at all as there are too many hard chargers who don't make many mistakes.

The problem for some people is accepting that she is what she is - a mid pack driver who gets results from being conservative. Nothing wrong with that, but she isn't usually a contender for wins. She is the tortoise chasing the hares.

I think what annoys some is her attitude that she is a contender for wins on a regular basis and her behavior when it doesn't happen. But Indy this year was one of her best races and her interviews after the event were possibly her most realistic and humble. Time will tell how long that lasts.

[Mark in Oshawa]

The question is, if Sarah Fisher was in Danica's car, and Danica was in Sarah's car, would either improve? discuss...lol

[harvick#1]

if Danica was in Sarahs car, she would have parked the car and blab about how its not her fault

Sarah would work hard to get it right

[Scotty G.]

if Danica was in Sarahs car, she would have parked the car and blab about how its not her fault

Sarah would work hard to get it right

If Danica was in Sarah's car at Indy this year, she wouldn't have qualified.

Sarah and her team did a HELL of a job to find the 2 MPH she needed to make that race in a 7 year old chassis. In quals, that was Sarah showing what a true racer does. Suck it up with a less-then-great car and get it done. I am sure Danica would have been whining about how her new car wasn't at the track and how she could dare compete with the oldest chassis at IMS.

Sarah also had a decent race going (was running about 16th or 17th, right behind Danica and Simona) until being forced into the grey and into the 4th turn wall on a restart. I am not sure, but I think one of the two rookie women might have been the culprit, but Sarah never said exactly which rookie "got her". Classy that she didn't call out, who the rookie was.

And if Danica was in Sarah's car, Sarah's team would probably fire her after about an hour. The O'Gara's don't put up with spoiled primadonna's.

[beachgirl]

[quote="Scotty G."]Sarah also had a decent race going (was running about 16th or 17th, right behind Danica and Simona) until being forced into the grey and into the 4th turn wall on a restart. I am not sure, but I think one of the two rookie women might have been the culprit, but Sarah never said exactly which rookie "got her". Classy that she didn't call out, who the rookie was.[quote]

I don't remember if Sarah even said it was a rookie who ran her up into the gray. With Simona ahead of her at the time, it certainly wouldn't have been Simona, if it was even indeed a rookie. Not trying to start a "discussion" - I just don't remember exactly what Sarah said about the situation.

[beachgirl]

And if Danica was in Sarah's car, Sarah's team would probably fire her after about an hour. The O'Gara's don't put up with spoiled primadonna's.

ROFLMAO!

[Mark in Oshawa]

I knew it would be an interesting discussion...lol

Truth is, Danica has never done well if the car wasn't set up well by really smart people behind her. A good race driver would find a way to make the car better and make something happen in spite of the limitations. You saw that with Sarah getting into the race....