The Bloom is Off The Rose.

[garyshell]

Danica Hears Boos After Poor Qualifying at Indy

May 22, 3:47 PM (ET)

By CLIFF BRUNT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Danica Patrick has experienced a new sensation at the Indianapolis 500 - getting booed.
IndyCar's most popular driver heard fans' displeasure Saturday when her comments blaming a poor qualifying performance on her car's setup were broadcast over the racetrack public address system.
She was far from challenging for a spot on the front row after averaging 224.217 mph on four laps during the first of three possible runs during qualifying.
Patrick, by far the leader in merchandise sales and visibility in the series, appeared upset when she talked about the reaction. Patrick said her car has been loose throughout the week of practice. Her Andretti Autosport teammates also are struggling.

My how the mighty have fallen.

Gary

[Dr. Krogshöj]

I was pulling for TK & PT so much this year. Maybe I shouldn't.

[Scotty G.]

Good. Indy fans know racing. Despite the usual gasbags at TF defending her (led by the king gasbag, KleanUpKrew), the vast majority of folks (including 99.9% of the people in the sport) DESPISE this woman.

The Danica story is long over. She is yesterday's news. And the consistant whining and blaming others for her OWN lack of talent/results has finally gotten old with those that matter the most....the fans.

She is the 3rd fastest driver on her own team and 3rd fastest woman.

And she'll be full-time in NASCAR in 2011.

[TURN3]

Good. Indy fans know racing. Despite the usual gasbags at TF defending her (led by the king gasbag, KleanUpKrew), the vast majority of folks (including 99.9% of the people in the sport) DESPISE this woman.

Yeah, thanks for letting me in on that little secret pal! I got a huge tag team early in the week for stating the obvious!!

[Jag_Warrior]

I wonder if they booed her because she (once again) blamed her poor performance on the car or because she's all but gone to NASCAR... or a combination?

At least the crowd didn't start chanting,
"Hit the road, Jill. And don't you come back no more, no more. Hit the road, Jill. And don't you come back no more!"

[Easy Drifter]

Don't bet on full time Taxi Cabs next year.
If she doesn't get at least a couple of respectable finishes in Nationwide this year she will be hard pressed to find a ride in anything, except continuing her current IC contract.
The Taxi Cabs run loose (oversteer) and super close and she cannot handle that.
I dislike her but I also feel she has lost what little fire she had. She was better than she is showing now.

[beachbum]

And she'll be full-time in NASCAR in 2011.

I wouldn't be too sure. So far, she hasn't done much in good equipment. In NASCAR, they do have to qualify on speed and they send drivers home at every race. She hasn't shown that much speed so far.

[Jag_Warrior]

Is there any place that hosts the car-to-pit radio transmissions, or at least a partial transcript???

Versus reran the interview with Danica right after she got out of the car. She really seemed completely lost. I make a LOT of Danica jokes and I really don't like her. But it's like when I make Sarah Palin jokes on the Chit-Chat forum: I exaggerate and spew hyperbole to poke fun at her. I do think Palin is an idiot, but probably not quite as stupid as I might make her out to be. And I think Danica is an overhyped, average (at best) driver, but I thought she would have picked up a few hints or clues on car setup over the years. Danica said she was still shaking during the interview. She shrugged her shoulders about what direction to go. She guessed that adding downforce would be the way to go. But you could tell she was just plucking a term out of thin air. So what I want to know is what she said over the radio during or immediately after her run. Did Tony Kanaan REALLY do all the setups on her car in the past? Is Danica truly incapable of giving any sort of meaningful feedback to her engineer to make the car better???

Goodness knows, I love to poke fun at The Danica. But my gosh, maybe I only thought I was exaggerating her incompetence. Can anybody point me to such a site?

[NickFalzone]

I sense that even the casual fans, that typically know no more about IndyCar than Danica, are getting the clue that's she's not one of the better drivers out there, and that blaming the cars week after week gets old. She did look genuinely scared though when she got out of the car. I wonder what they're up to at AA engineering. Everyone thought they would have good cars this year and it seems like they're pretty far back in the pack. Granted, in race trim they seem OK, but a team as significant as AA should be able to set up cars that both qualify AND race well.

[TURN3]

I dislike her but I also feel she has lost what little fire she had. She was better than she is showing now.

Has she lost anything or is it that she races against 8 car fields until the merger? As the teams that crossed over have gotten more dialed in, she keeps going further backwards. And, being a spec series, there is only so much speed in these cars. Every team is getting closer and closer to those limits. She no longer has an equipment advantage. The fact is, she never "had it". That is why I've continued to tout her lack of achievements going back to the beginning of her pro career.