Iowa Corn Indy 250

[Mark in Oshawa]

I don't want to take a good thread and turn it into a(nother) Danica thread, but do you think that's one of the reason that many formula car drivers tend to have a difficult time with stock cars??? In most any form of circuit racing, AFAIK, "looser is faster". But many stock car drivers cut their teeth going sideways and hanging the rear end out much of the time. That's probably not the case for the overwhelming majority of open wheel formula car drivers. In addition to Danica not being much more than an average driver to begin with, and having a shocking lack of understanding about basic setup principles, do you think the "looser is faster" thing is a double whammy for her?

Since (obviously) better drivers than The Danica have had their struggles in stock cars (Montoya, Franchitti, Speed, Allmendinger, Tracy, Hornish, et al), I just wonder if that handling variation is part of what makes it harder for them to cross over? Stewart is an exception, but he started out in sprints and stock cars before he ever got in an IRL car.

Of course it is that. That said, I don't think for a second that the OW driver cannot adjust in time. Montoya is a contender to win on a lot of ovals, so I would say he has made the transition. Franchitti never got a full season in. Speed, Dinger and Hornish show flashes of getting it. Tracy, well he did ok in the few Daytona races he entered and did ok in the road racing event at Mexico. It is no secret that is why the Sprint and Midget guys like Kahne and Newman followed Stewart and Jeff Gordon to Cup. The modern OW race car is designed NOT to be loose. Loose at Indy means you eat a wall, and these cars being light like they are will not be very drivable if the downforce goes away.

It is why I think Danica is in for a world of hurt unless she sucks it up and learns, because it is obvious from her short NASCAR career so far she cannot grasp that she must learn to accept the loose race car. Very few guys win in NASCAR if they are driving comfortble tight cars. Danica has never developed that feel in a type of car she has driven most of her racing career, so I fail to see how the heck she is going to do this when it is clear she shows no interest in doing so.

[Mark in Oshawa]

AS for the race, I would be for more Iowa ovals every year. Best oval race I have seen in a while in the IRL, and I am glad to see New Hampshire is back next year too.

On a flat oval, or a tight one like Iowa, the guys have to drive the race car and adjust....and it separates the men from the boys, and the women from...well the rest of the women...lol..

Dump the cookie cutter foot to the floor shows if all you are going to do is give them enough wing to run flat out, and give me more Iowa's where they had to breathe on the throttle.

[garyshell]

This just in, the end of the world is near:

http://www.ibj.com/the-score/2010/06...AMS/post/20687

What a steaming load of horse excrement. Who is this HACK? Does he not understand that rivalries are a GOOD thing, even among team mates?

Gary

[Mark in Oshawa]

This just in, the end of the world is near:

http://www.ibj.com/the-score/2010/06...AMS/post/20687

What a steaming load of horse excrement. Who is this HACK? Does he not understand that rivalries are a GOOD thing, even among team mates?

Gary

I don't know if he is a hack. I think he points out quite rightly that going after Kanaan will erode her popularity. I think everyone is just about fed up with the Bitchy/cranky/whiney bit she does...and Kanaan is making it pubically clear he is not carrying the water for her any more.

My only complaint with his article is his assertion that she was justified in calling her team out. She wasn't. She isn't smart enough to make that car that fast on her own, and she needed them a hell of lot more than they needed her. I don't know if Danica will ever figure it out, and I hope she doesn't. IT is nice to have a nice easy decision every day knowing I can cheer against ONE driver for sure...

[TURN3]

First of all, to a man, each and every professional media person out there has long agreed that one of the many missing ingredients in Indycar these days is that of a rivalry. So this guy isn't thinking very clearly in my opinion.

Secondly, I know others here agree with what I started saying 2 1/2 years ago...that the sooner Danica is gone the sooner Indycar can start rebuilding credibility. The fact she is the highest profile driver is a joke considering she's likely not one of the top 30 most talented active openwheel drivers. Pretty hard to sell a legitimate product to educated people when your poster child is a side act at the circus show.

[garyshell]

I don't know if he is a hack. I think he points out quite rightly that going after Kanaan will erode her popularity. I think everyone is just about fed up with the Bitchy/cranky/whiney bit she does...and Kanaan is making it pubically clear he is not carrying the water for her any more.

My only complaint with his article is his assertion that she was justified in calling her team out. She wasn't. She isn't smart enough to make that car that fast on her own, and she needed them a hell of lot more than they needed her. I don't know if Danica will ever figure it out, and I hope she doesn't. IT is nice to have a nice easy decision every day knowing I can cheer against ONE driver for sure...

Mark, anyone who titles an article "Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick feud could wreck IndyCar" is a hack, plain and simple.

Gary

[harvick#1]

I rivalry is when two teams hate each other but still repect each other and the game they play

TK has zero respect for The Brand and hes not afraid to diss her in public either, Danica is off to Nascar and she will fail, she will try and come crawling back to the IRL but no team is gonna wanna spend that money to get her and get mediocre results

[NaBUru38]

it separates the men from the boys, and the women from...well the rest of the women...lol..

Girls?

[Jag_Warrior]

I don't know if he is a hack. I think he points out quite rightly that going after Kanaan will erode her popularity. I think everyone is just about fed up with the Bitchy/cranky/whiney bit she does...and Kanaan is making it pubically clear he is not carrying the water for her any more.

My only complaint with his article is his assertion that she was justified in calling her team out. She wasn't. She isn't smart enough to make that car that fast on her own, and she needed them a hell of lot more than they needed her. I don't know if Danica will ever figure it out, and I hope she doesn't. IT is nice to have a nice easy decision every day knowing I can cheer against ONE driver for sure...

What this guy missed is that while a feud between Kanaan and The Danica might erode her popularity, it very well might INCREASE his. And rather than wrecking the IRL, it actually might tell some of the long time fans (the real racing fans, not the bikini shot fans) that have been turning off their sets, it's time to return... we're back to cheering for real racers and making fun of hacks (Shiggy, "the Human Wrecking Ball", anyone?).

Personally I like a good dust up (hey, it's a genetic personality defect - like a handicap, so leave me alone! ). The wars between Prost and Senna, Schumacher and Hill, Schumacher and Villeneuve, Schumacher and Montoya, Hamilton and Alonso, etc. just made F1 incredibly more exciting than it would have otherwise been. And what about the epic slap fights between Paul Tracy and, well... EVERYBODY! Especially him and Michael Andretti! Does anybody else remember Paul promoting (I think with t-shirts) the Michael Andretti Racing School for the Blind? It was for downtrodden racing drivers who had failing eyesight. Or Andretti's comeback that featured Paul on a box of Captain Crunch cereal. Or what about hot-headed Robby Gordon putting a fat donut on the side of Mike Andretti's car at Cleveland(?) after a race! The most exciting things about CCWS, as it was stumbling to its grave, were the Tracy vs. Bourdais battles! I had SO much hope that Allmendinger and Scott Speed would wind up in good cars in CART/CCWS. Why? Because I read many years ago in AutoWeek that they hated each other. Two young hot shoes in good cars that couldn't stand the sight of one another?! Oh yeah!

As for American sponsors preferring that teammates play well together... uh, newsflash: Danica and Kanaan don't have the same primary sponsors! Go Daddy is only there because of The Danica. I have no idea what the 7-11 sponsorship is based on. But I find it hard to believe that Kanaan is going to get a call from anybody at 7-11 chastising him for taking The Brand to task for her attitude and actions, especially when it brings MORE exposure to their driver.

IMO, what the IRL needs is MORE controversy and hard feelings among drivers, not less. I can't stand much more of this syrupy, feel good hand holding! As it stands now, Barney the Dinosaur is going to be the next series mascot. Ol' Barney singing, "I love you. You love me." And I hate Barney the Dinosaur!

The way I see it, if the IRL needs a popular Danica in order to survive, the future is not bright.

[Mark in Oshawa]

What this guy missed is that while a feud between Kanaan and The Danica might erode her popularity, it very well might INCREASE his. And rather than wrecking the IRL, it actually might tell some of the long time fans (the real racing fans, not the bikini shot fans) that have been turning off their sets, it's time to return... we're back to cheering for real racers and making fun of hacks (Shiggy, "the Human Wrecking Ball", anyone?).

Personally I like a good dust up (hey, it's a genetic personality defect - like a handicap, so leave me alone! ). The wars between Prost and Senna, Schumacher and Hill, Schumacher and Villeneuve, Schumacher and Montoya, Hamilton and Alonso, etc. just made F1 incredibly more exciting than it would have otherwise been. And what about the epic slap fights between Paul Tracy and, well... EVERYBODY! Especially him and Michael Andretti! Does anybody else remember Paul promoting (I think with t-shirts) the Michael Andretti Racing School for the Blind? It was for downtrodden racing drivers who had failing eyesight. Or Andretti's comeback that featured Paul on a box of Captain Crunch cereal. Or what about hot-headed Robby Gordon putting a fat donut on the side of Mike Andretti's car at Cleveland(?) after a race! The most exciting things about CCWS, as it was stumbling to its grave, were the Tracy vs. Bourdais battles! I had SO much hope that Allmendinger and Scott Speed would wind up in good cars in CART/CCWS. Why? Because I read many years ago in AutoWeek that they hated each other. Two young hot shoes in good cars that couldn't stand the sight of one another?! Oh yeah!

As for American sponsors preferring that teammates play well together... uh, newsflash: Danica and Kanaan don't have the same primary sponsors! Go Daddy is only there because of The Danica. I have no idea what the 7-11 sponsorship is based on. But I find it hard to believe that Kanaan is going to get a call from anybody at 7-11 chastising him for taking The Brand to task for her attitude and actions, especially when it brings MORE exposure to their driver.

IMO, what the IRL needs is MORE controversy and hard feelings among drivers, not less. I can't stand much more of this syrupy, feel good hand holding! As it stands now, Barney the Dinosaur is going to be the next series mascot. Ol' Barney singing, "I love you. You love me." And I hate Barney the Dinosaur!

The way I see it, if the IRL needs a popular Danica in order to survive, the future is not bright.

JAG...I am with you on all of it...

Especially the last line. If we need Danica that bad, you might as well shut the doors. I think the IRL has been held BACK actually because of Danica. As I said before, if she was so valuable, why do the ratings NOT reflect it?