What's Today's Excuse?

[Old3Fan]

Again Danica is on outside pole. She has the best equipment. What will it be. Handling off. That guy Dan. All the other front runners won't have equipment failure or an incident of one kind or another. Or could it be, like Sarah Fischer, she just doesn't have it to race with the guys. All PR but no results for all the PR given. Am now crawling back into my foxhole. :)

[beachbum]

Am now crawling back into my foxhole. :) Good idea. Lumping Fisher with Patrick will usually cause more than a bit of "impact".

But the main question remains. Patrick is definitely fast, but can she race with people? The jury is still out IMHO.

[Alexamateo]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/racing/wires/08/22/3010.ap.car.irl.power.steering.1st.ld.writethru.13 01/

It's lack of power steering ;)

[geek49203]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/racing/wires/08/22/3010.ap.car.irl.power.steering.1st.ld.writethru.13 01/

It's lack of power steering ;)

Actually, that theory -- that women just don't have the strength -- has been around for a long time. We're not supposed to say stuff like that, but the theory has been whispered.

[beachbum]

The strength theory IMHO is bogus. If she has enough strength to hustle the car for one lap, then the issue is endurance, not ultimate strength. That doesn't seem to be an issue for any of the women in racing.

However, that doesn't explain why she was so slow on the start and drops back as the race goes on. DP's issue seems to be that she goes fast - by herself - but doesn't race well, especially in traffic. Anyone who has raced knows passing people requires something commonly called "race craft", or the ability to set up and execute a pass. It isn't "see car, pass car" which seems to be the extent of her thinking on the track. That may work on an oval with multiple race lines, but a road course like Sonoma where passing is difficult requires thinking, precision, and aggression to make a pass. The "fast" line may not be the "passing" line. It is the reason the best, like Dario and Dixon, always seem to find a way to the front while others drop back.

Back to the other popular theory and that is weight. If weight didn't matter, why do the F1 teams work so hard in qualifying to burn off precious ounces of fuel? If weight doesn't matter, why are the cars typically fastest at the end of a fuel run when the tires are at their worst, but the weight is lightest?

F1 commentators have reported that every 5 lbs can add as much as .1 second to the ultimate lap time when the cars are light. Since she is anywhere from 30 to 60 lbs lighter than the other drivers, she should be at least 1/2 second quicker than an equal car in qualifying. When times are close, that is quite a few grid positions. In race trim with a full load of fuel, the driver weight is a lower percentage of the total, so her weight is less of an advantage and driver skill in traffic is more important.

There is a difference between a fast driver and a winning driver. Winning requires speed, but also a lot more. Racing history is peppered with drivers who were fast, but rarely if ever won. Yet there are many regular winners who were always seemed to find their way to the front even when they weren't the fastest on any given day.

Without a doubt, DP is fast. But she hasn't proven she has what it takes to be a winner.

[Bob Riebe]

Shirley Muldowney, the women who really put women racers on the map, to paraphrase, said probably the main reason women to well in drag racing but rarely anywhere else is in the head.

They can keep that-take no prisoner-juices flowing for the short time it takes to man-handle a AA fueler, i.e. think of sow bear defending its cubs, but to keep that atttitude going for a hundred miles or more is not how women are built to operate.

[geek49203]

They can keep that-take no prisoner-juices flowing for the short time it takes to man-handle a AA fueler, i.e. think of sow bear defending its cubs, but to keep that attitude going for a hundred miles or more is not how women are built to operate.

(grins) I dunno -- I've seen some women who can stay in attack mode for years... just ask any divorce lawyer.....

(ducking)

[LotusElise]

They can keep that-take no prisoner-juices flowing for the short time it takes to man-handle a AA fueler, i.e. think of sow bear defending its cubs, but to keep that atttitude going for a hundred miles or more is not how women are built to operate.

You're actually wrong there. The standard theory now is that women are actually more suited to sustained, endurance-type activities such as the marathon than to fast-twitch ones like sprinting.

I have a radical theory here. Danica didn't win because there were five drivers out there better than her on the day. It's a matter of individual skill, talent and attitude. A person's gender has little to do with it.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I think the people who discount the strength angle are missing something. For the endurance you have to be not having your strength being tested to 100%. I can pick up a car battery, my wife can pick up a car battery. Yet I know I can hang onto it longer because my muscles are big enough that they are not at 100%. My Wife, she aint hanging on to that battery very long because her muscles are working to the limit.

Same thing will apply in racing. Danica has the strength to run a few fast laps on a road course. She has not the endurance though because she is maxed out to make that effort to make the car go that fast.

The theory that she doesn't how to adapt her lines to get around people on road courses would also hold true. She never really passed or set people up to get by in Atlantics either. At least from what I saw, but the results of her years in Atlantic tend to back me up.

Danica is a terror on the ovals, she can take that type of racing easier, but the roadcourses are a lot more physically draining, and her oval results have always been better than her road course results.

Hell, I know Danica has learned a lot and has some talent, but at some point, being 100lbs with a female's upper body strength is going to bite you in the @ss. I don't care that it sounds sexist, the simple reality is men are stronger than women, and in most things, it matters very little. But if you ask that woman to be as strong as a man for 2 hours, then you better be a woman with a bit more meat on your bones than DP.

The fact that these guys are not going to give her anything is just yet one more obsticle for her, one that I am sure she will gladly accept.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Shirley Muldowney, the women who really put women racers on the map, to paraphrase, said probably the main reason women to well in drag racing but rarely anywhere else is in the head.

They can keep that-take no prisoner-juices flowing for the short time it takes to man-handle a AA fueler, i.e. think of sow bear defending its cubs, but to keep that atttitude going for a hundred miles or more is not how women are built to operate.

There may be something to that. Although, I will also say that in the case of Ex's, they are quite capable of being nasty for long periods of time!


Muldowny I think is onto something though. If you look at most sports where men and women do compete head to head where the man has little or no advantage, men still seem to dominate. In a sport like Curling, where either sex should in theory be able to play the game at a high level (trust me, I have played it) get their clocks cleaned when they play men straight up. It is a combination of mental toughness, and mental competitive drive that men seem to hang onto for hours. Hell, even in Poker, which is all mental, very few women reach the top level, and fewer still can beat the men on a regular basis. They are good....but not in the same class with the best. It is mental, it is physical.

Women are wonderful, can do most things every bit as well as men and a lot of jobs they do better than men. I just don't think driving race cars in the end will be one of them....but of course, I like exceptions to the rule, and I want women to prove their detractors wrong, including me. I have nothing against women trying either. That is the whole point of equality of the sexes. Let em try...no harm in that...

[blackfox]

IMHO I think it's her size and weight not her gender that hurts her on road courses. Remember how good of a driver shorty was when CART had traction control and power steering? When Champ Car did away with driver aids Shorty didn't do as well. Compared to other women in open wheel racing Danica is noticeably smaller than Kat, Sarah , Milka and even NASCAR'S Erin Crocker. My suggestion? Less time posing for pictures and more time in the gym.

[teamlotus13]

As quoted right here on the front page article of AR1.com, the excuse(s) of the day are as follow:

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished sixth): "We had a pretty fast car, but races like this are all about track position. We lost so much time in the pits, and there is just no need for that. It just seemed like there was something on every pit stop. You can't win races when you have problems on every stop. There are things that we all need to improve on when it comes to our pit stops, but the stall -- I barely got it going the second time, so that is something that needs to be looked into on the car."

As we can see from her own mouth, it has nothing at all to do with her weight (which is a huge advantage under the pro-Danika "dry weight" IRL rules) or her strength, power steering or lack thereof. As it always is, the excuse of the day is that her "problems" are someone else's fault. Since it wasn't another driver this week, it therefore had to be the pit crew, and the car for stalling itself because, of course, the driver doen't ever have anything to do with stalliing a car coming out of a pit stop.

And Nascar fans think Jeff Gordon whines a lot........

Now how about a Danika trivia contest? Who can name the last US race, including, venue, date, & type of vehicle, which Danika won?

Hint: Think leash and dog collar.

For major extra credit, name the one before that.

[mileman]

This thread is hilarious! I can't stop laughing. By the way...where did Wheldon, Scheckter, and Meira finish on Sunday...and what were their excuses? And when was that last race that Meira won? I just can't recall at the moment...

[Mark in Oshawa]

As quoted right here on the front page article of AR1.com, the excuse(s) of the day are as follow:

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished sixth): "We had a pretty fast car, but races like this are all about track position. We lost so much time in the pits, and there is just no need for that. It just seemed like there was something on every pit stop. You can't win races when you have problems on every stop. There are things that we all need to improve on when it comes to our pit stops, but the stall -- I barely got it going the second time, so that is something that needs to be looked into on the car."

As we can see from her own mouth, it has nothing at all to do with her weight (which is a huge advantage under the pro-Danika "dry weight" IRL rules) or her strength, power steering or lack thereof. As it always is, the excuse of the day is that her "problems" are someone else's fault. Since it wasn't another driver this week, it therefore had to be the pit crew, and the car for stalling itself because, of course, the driver doen't ever have anything to do with stalliing a car coming out of a pit stop.

And Nascar fans think Jeff Gordon whines a lot........

Now how about a Danika trivia contest? Who can name the last US race, including, venue, date, & type of vehicle, which Danika won?

Hint: Think leash and dog collar.

For major extra credit, name the one before that.

That's a good way to make the guys work harder, make it their fault when you stall coming out of the pits.

Here is a clue Danica, at some point, people are going to notice that you are NEVER at fault, while they take note of the times it it is CLEAR you are at fault, and then my friend, you will have to notice that you wont have that ride. AT some point, Danicamania only deserves so much legitmacy, and I think her time was up last year.

[NoFender]

At least she's in the mix.