2011 Indianapolis 500

[Anubis]

If i was a DHL exec I'd punch Mikey Whinedretti in the face and withdraw the fricking sponsorship for the seasonl. Good nite.

There's a certain irony to being sponsored by DHL and then failing to deliver.

[Chris R]

There's a certain irony to being sponsored by DHL and then failing to deliver.

ouch!

[dataman1]

I heard from Jenkins and from local Indy radio the same thing (which didn't happen) "Can you imagine an Indy 500 without Danica?" So I would like to hear your thoughts on the topic. My point of view is that being the 100th Indy the media would still be there to cover the race so without Danica other drivers would likely get more coverage. To me that is a good thing.

What are your thoughts?

[dataman1]

If i was a DHL exec I'd punch Mikey Whinedretti in the face and withdraw the fricking sponsorship for the seasonl. Good nite.

I bet that Mikey is on his knees asking how he can put DHL on John, Danica and Marco's cars and keep DHL happy.

[dataman1]

In the versus interview of RHR after he was bumped he revealed that the cars have had a problem for sometime, before unloading for Indy. Add that to the comments made by Marco seems like Team Andretti has some internal problems. I hope they can do some inward analysis and team building to get the problems resolved.

[banshee74]

Does anyone get the idea that in the AA team a little too much developmental and engineering resources, parts, team effort, etc. might be going to support what is arguably the weakest driver on the team???? Anyone who has run ovals knows that the car setup is easily (depending on the track) 70-95% of the qualifying speed, and not the driver.

Why didn't Marco pull his time earlier, go out and bang out a modest qual run (knowing full well that it was his teammate on the bubble), AND then leave time for Hunter Reay to go back out and try and requal? Were they that confident that the car setups are that bad that both Marco and Hunter-Reay would not make the field with the setup, yet Princess makes the field with some room to spare??? Superior driving talent.....GMAFB!

Also, did you note the Versus coverage asking Barnhart for a special exception to the 6 o'clock rule for Princess to qualify??? This is the type of stuff that alienates folks to her career, NOT her gender. BTW.....notice the real female racer qualified easily last week with second degree burns....now that's a racer!!

[bzcam]

What are your thoughts?

She doesn't seem to be as much of a jerk as she used to be. She was almost charming in her interviews on Saturday and Sunday. She got it done when the pressure was on, so I have to give her that. As far as the 500 being without her - everyone is lucky she made it. Like it or not she is still the current face of Indycar. With her out a significant amount of interest in the sport from casual fans would have gone away. With her in, it will still be all Danica, all the time, but we all benefit from the increased coverage and exposure.

I would even bet that if she makes the jump to cup next year, she'll be back as a one-off for the 500.

As for me, I'm going to root for Ed Carpenter and Team Sarah. What a story that would be if he were to win.

BZ

[dataman1]

Banshee74, Noticed in the earlier section of TV coverage that Michael was thinking like a team owner and suggesting to Marco that they pull his time and go set a new one. It was Marco and the TV announce crew that disagreed with Michael. We will likely never know but could Michael have been thinking like you suggest? I think so but his son was too selfish to think like a team mate. IMO.

[Will Rogers]

What are my thoughts about an Indy 500 without Danica? It would be preferable to one with her, because more of the focus would be on the race, and the racers. It's an interesting contrast to golf, in which the participant who draws the most media interest is also the best player. The interest in Danica is like the interest in Anna Kornikova in tennis--despite never winning, she was easily the most popular internet search among men under the age of 30.

How many showers have you taken today, Danica?

[Sateryn76]

She doesn't seem to be as much of a jerk as she used to be. She was almost charming in her interviews on Saturday and Sunday. She got it done when the pressure was on, so I have to give her that. As far as the 500 being without her - everyone is lucky she made it. Like it or not she is still the current face of Indycar. With her out a significant amount of interest in the sport from casual fans would have gone away. With her in, it will still be all Danica, all the time, but we all benefit from the increased coverage and exposure.

I would even bet that if she makes the jump to cup next year, she'll be back as a one-off for the 500.

As for me, I'm going to root for Ed Carpenter and Team Sarah. What a story that would be if he were to win.

BZ

I wonder if that is still true. Helio did a hell of a job on Dancing With the Stars, and I'm guessing he may have generated more new eyes on the races than Danica did.

The problem is that Danica isn't that good, and 99% percent of the time, she displays that pissy attitude that Andretti seems to cultivate. She'll take off her clothes, which the male race fan might enjoy, but she alienates a lot of women fans. If her skills could match her body shape, it'd be different, but for now, all I ever see is someone who gets all the race coverage for being popular outside of racing.