Anyone watching? I actually am!
She's sizing some of the guys up here

 

When i still lived in Europe Formula 1 was the thing I HAD to watch when it came on TV. After moving here i stopped watching Formula 1, and never actually watched the Indy races because i was never sure if they are the same cars, on the same type of track (cant stand watching cars going in circles like NASCAR). Are they they same?

 

Damnit, 4th place, she was 2nd up to the 4th lap. Great race for her

 

Holla! Indy is pretty much the open-wheel equivalent of NASCAR.

I watched the last half-hour of the race just for giggles...I don't think I've heard the word "best" used more times:

"best drivers"
"best cars"
"best teams"

But for all of you who are unaware and/or bought into ABC's brilliant hype of this race, the "best drivers," "best cars," and "best teams" did not compete at Indy today. The "best" could be seen at the Nur in Germany earlier this morning.

 

Damn she really drove a good race, couple rookie maistakes but all in all she did awesome. She is gonna be a contender in the IRL for a while now.

 

LMAO... no, I wasn't there.

 

I saw her a while back on Spike TV's Power Block on Sat. & Sun mornings. I knew she was a driver but never that she was on the Indy circuit.

She really has a bright future. Had she not run out of fuel, she may have won this thing.

Not too bad to look at either.

Go Danica !!

 

Doubtful. The race winner had to be pushed back to the pits because he ran out of fuel. So it's not like she was at a monumental disadvantage.

 

Hmmmmm. To the contrary, I would say that running out of fuel during the LAST 2 LAPS of a race when you're running 1st or 2nd might have had something to do with where she finished. Her team took a gamble and lost to some degree. The main reason she got passed at the end was the fact that she was conserving fuel.

 

shes hot. glad to see she did good!

 

 

Yes and no. The basic concept is the same...more or less pedal-to-the-metal racing at continually high speeds. But the turns are much less banked (around 11 degrees vs. 33 and up for high-speed NASCAR tracks), the Indy cars have MUCH more downforce from the wings and airdams, the drafting tactics are much different due to the different car bodies, the amount of tire traction far exceeds that in NASCAR racing from the ultra-wide tires and light car weights, and, of course, an Indy car has MUCH less protection for the driver in an accident due to its much smaller size and open cockpit. And the cars themselves are much more high-tech than NASCAR, with many computer functions from steering-wheel buttons.

Just an aside note.......I don't care much at all for F1, CART (or whatever it is called now) , and Grand-Prix-type road courses. To me that is as boring as watching paint dry. Give me pedal-to-the-metal superspeedways like Indy, Charlotte, and Daytona any day of the week.

 

So what are you saying? This happens in racing, it's called poor strategy.

I'm all Danica'd out...Sorry to say it, but if Patrick was not a female her record thus far would render her completely irrelevant. This is one of the biggest, most perplexing bandwagons I've ever seen in the world of motorsport. I'm amazed at how quickly and easily people buy into it. Obviously she is not bad-looking and has some degree of talent, but it's more talk than walk. I could see her being used for (short-term) marketing rather than high-stakes racing. She better milk this while she can, because I'm sure she would fade if this gets her promoted to some more important/demanding leagues.

 

sigh...me= band wagon jumper

 

Semantics..

Why the hate?? "Some degree of talent" doesn't get you chosen as an Indy car driver. I guess Rahal Letterman put her under contract for short term marketing. Last time I checked it costs millions upon millions to run these race teams, and as far as I know the goal of racing is to WIN, not just to market an auto marque. "More talk than walk" doesn't yield the results seen today. Tell that to everybody who finished behind her today. A strong team can only get a driver so far, and male or female, she qualified 4th for God's sake... even as a rookie I might add. She gave these guys a run for their money and there is no denying that fact. Give credit where it is due. No band-wagon jumping here, just facts.