O/T So who is watching the Indy 500?, Is it you? Options

[So.Cal.914]

It would have been fun to see if she could have lived up to all the hype and won.

She had a good car, a good crew, she was off a win, and in the top ten.

It would have been fun. And she could eat Ritz in my bed.

[HAM Inc]

Watched Monaco then Indy, then the 600. Didn't miss a lap of any of them! My ass was sore!
It's true that Indy isn't what it used to be... but it's still Indy. The whole open wheel mess started in 78 when the entire USAC brain trust was killed in a private air crash. That bolstered the team owners to take over the races and start CART. I remember Roger Penske trying to rip a USAC patch off a drivers uniform at Indy in 79 or 80. It really got ugly, but Indy's prestige didn't suffer from it. It took Tony George and the screwed up leadership at CART to do that. It was a big bunch of rich guys with giant egos. Tony only needed to worry about Indy, but his concerns over the future of the series, while legitimate, clouded his judgment IMHO. In '95 (the last year before the split) 96 cars entered the 500. The next year they had to scrounge up a dozen back-markers just to fill the feild. Indy will come back, it's just going to take some time. Every racer still dreams of winning Indy.

[stepuptotheMike]

I was at the Coke 600. Pretty good show. I think the only reason Dale Jr ended up with a 5th place finish is the fact that he didn't have to get gas. After he hit the wall, he pitted about 4 times.

Those NASCAR drivers must be fairly dense... cause everybody in the stands kept pointing which way they should go around the track (IMG:style_emoticons/default/slap.gif)

Did catch a few shots with the camera.

(IMG:http://lh5.ggpht.com/purvis358/SDrvhExGnuI/AAAAAAAAByI/Tq3oQiYiwT8/s800/IMG_6130.JPG)

Mike

[rhodyguy]

"why did he do that?", tony cannan re marco a. sara fisher in tears saying she's sorry. indy? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

[Todd Enlund]

Watched Monaco then Indy, then the 600. Didn't miss a lap of any of them! My ass was sore!
It's true that Indy isn't what it used to be... but it's still Indy. The whole open wheel mess started in 78 when the entire USAC brain trust was killed in a private air crash. That bolstered the team owners to take over the races and start CART. I remember Roger Penske trying to rip a USAC patch off a drivers uniform at Indy in 79 or 80. It really got ugly, but Indy's prestige didn't suffer from it. It took Tony George and the screwed up leadership at CART to do that. It was a big bunch of rich guys with giant egos. Tony only needed to worry about Indy, but his concerns over the future of the series, while legitimate, clouded his judgment IMHO. In '95 (the last year before the split) 96 cars entered the 500. The next year they had to scrounge up a dozen back-markers just to fill the feild. Indy will come back, it's just going to take some time. Every racer still dreams of winning Indy.

Tony George didn't just kill off CART, he pissed off Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA took the show elsewhere. No more US GP.

[PeeGreen 914]

I dunno...I've tried watching Nascar and Indy, but they just get boring. I love F1 and WRC. Unfortunatly they have stopped broadcasting the WRC (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) . So now there is only F1. F1 has been very interesting this year and the last race was great. Just goes to show you what happens when you have turns with wet surfaces.

[Todd Enlund]

I dunno...I've tried watching Nascar and Indy, but they just get boring. I love F1 and WRC. Unfortunatly they have stopped broadcasting the WRC (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) . So now there is only F1. F1 has been very interesting this year and the last race was great. Just goes to show you what happens when you have turns with wet surfaces.

Monaco is the one race where I hope for rain. It is fairly boring otherwise.

NASCRAP weenies won't race in the rain. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/gayfight.gif)

[Todd Enlund]

If she wants to be a top level race driver, this certainly does not help me take her seriously:

[HAM Inc]

Tony didn't kill CART (though I think he wanted to). The powers that be at CART screwed themselves when they decided to boycott Indy. Remember the US 500? CART scheduled it the same day as Indy in 96. We all know now how that worked out for them.

Boycotting Indy was bad for Indy and CART, but it was worse for CART. CART might have survived if they had kept their chassis and engine rules in line with what the Indy 500 required. (Indy rules were the rules that AAA used when they sanctioned Indy car racing in the pre-war days.) At one time even Grand Prix formulas were built around Indy's rules. Used to be that Indy counted toward the F1 points title. CART could have run their races and included Indy in the schedule. Indy is still the largest single day spectator event in the world, and the most prestigious race in the world. It was foolish for the brains at CART to think they could have a stand alone series that excluded the biggest race of the year. That's not just me talking... most corporate sponsors felt that way too.
BTW pissing off Bernie was bound to happen. His ego is even bigger than Tony's. The US GP didn't belong at Indy anyway. Send it to Road Atlanta or back to Watkins Glen, or some other great road course.

[Todd Enlund]

Tony didn't kill CART (though I think he wanted to). The powers that be at CART screwed themselves when they decided to boycott Indy. Remember the US 500? CART scheduled it the same day as Indy in 96. We all know now how that worked out for them.

I've got to disagree with you. Tony killed CART when he formed the IRL. CART made a bad move with the US 500, but it was in response to Tony's only allowing 8 CART cars into the Indy. For 1997, CART cars weren't even legal for Indy, because Tony changed the rules.

Boycotting Indy was bad for Indy and CART, but it was worse for CART. CART might have survived if they had kept their chassis and engine rules in line with what the Indy 500 required. (Indy rules were the rules that AAA used when they sanctioned Indy car racing in the pre-war days.)

Tony changed the rules so that CART cars were not legal.

At one time even Grand Prix formulas were built around Indy's rules. Used to be that Indy counted toward the F1 points title. CART could have run their races and included Indy in the schedule. Indy is still the largest single day spectator event in the world, and the most prestigious race in the world. It was foolish for the brains at CART to think they could have a stand alone series that excluded the biggest race of the year. That's not just me talking... most corporate sponsors felt that way too.

Remember when Porsche raced in CART? Now it's a spec series. The Star Mazda series is now the best open-wheeled racing in the US.

BTW pissing off Bernie was bound to happen. His ego is even bigger than Tony's. The US GP didn't belong at Indy anyway. Send it to Road Atlanta or back to Watkins Glen, or some other great road course.

Agreed on all counts, but now, thanks to Tony George being the one to do it, there is no USGP at all.

[HAM Inc]

Yeah, you're right about the limits placed on starting spots for cars that didn't compete in the IRL series the first couple of years. That was a real knot-head move by Tony.
I liked the balance of tracks that CART raced on in it's hey-day, though I really didn't think much of the street races (Long Beach being the exception). Despite Tony's machinations, I still think CART could have twarted his efforts toward their demise if they had modified there rules to align with the IRL's around 2000 (I think that's when CART approved a new package) By then Tony needed the cars badly and had abandoned the guaranteed starting spots for IRL regulars.
I'm not a Tony George fan, but he wasn't smart enough to kill CART without their help. Whatever the history, as a life long racing fan that favors openwheel racing I'm very happy to see just one series now. It bugs the hell out of me that it is a spec series, though. That just seems down-right un-American!
The Star Mazda races are great! Those guys really go after it. Even so, I would rather see a full field of USAC midgets at Terra Haute or Eldora, or Belleville than just about any other type of race there is.

[iamchappy]

If she wants to be a top level race driver, this certainly does not help me take her seriously:

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)
Danica Patrick is a top level race car driver, period...................
Shirley Muldowney was a top level NHRA Top Fuel Dragster driver period......
Angelle Sampey is a top level Pro Drag Bike racer period.........Doesn't get much hotter than this.

Time to acknowledge them and their accomplishments. I do.......They must have some awful big balls hidden somewhere...

[Ian Stott]

I have daughters and would much rather they race cars than stand around them looking cute or waving their tops to start a race. Any person male or female who gets a lot of attention will always have detractors. I think Danica is a great driver and this was before I saw her even with her helmet off. I am a professional driver and feel I can hold my own, she deserves credit for her accomplishments and I try to appreciate what an accomplishment it is to even qualify at Indy, also she qualified highest amongst a team of four very well regarded race car drivers.

Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada

[ericread]

I have daughters and would much rather they race cars than stand around them looking cute or waving their tops to start a race. Any person male or female who gets a lot of attention will always have detractors. I think Danica is a great driver and this was before I saw her even with her helmet off. I am a professional driver and feel I can hold my own, she deserves credit for her accomplishments and I try to appreciate what an accomplishment it is to even qualify at Indy, also she qualified highest amongst a team of four very well regarded race car drivers.

Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada

Great driver or not.... I sure do like the pics! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drooley.gif)

[rhodyguy]

if tony stewart or some other driver gets all chesty after a stupid on track incident, they're studs. if danica does it she's a bitch or worse. nice double standard there guys. perhaps if she looked like sally jesse rapheal (sp) danica would get more respect and make a whole lot less money

k

[URY914]

Maybe if she wasn't on her cell phone as she was heading down the pit lane she could have reacted to the car pulling out in front of her. The same thing happends every day on the streets of Anytown, USA.

Sure it wasn't her fault but it was a racing accident and people get put out of the race by others every weekend. You would have thought that by the time she was pushed back to her pit and finally got out of her car she would have cooled off. It just looked a bit contrived and made to play for the cameras.

[ericread]

if tony stewart or some other driver gets all chesty after a stupid on track incident, they're studs. if danica does it she's a bitch or worse. nice double standard there guys. perhaps if she looked like sally jesse rapheal (sp) danica would get more respect and make a whole lot less money

k

So what I'm hearing is that you want Danica to get all "chesty"? I'm up for that (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Todd Enlund]

if tony stewart or some other driver gets all chesty after a stupid on track incident, they're studs.

In my book, they're assholes. It's not going to solve anything. Take it to the sanctioning body.

I never said that Danica wasn't a good driver. I will say, however, that she is over hyped. She is nowhere near the best driver out there, but she is the only one that most people have ever heard of, because of the photos and the Go Daddy commercials. She's not even the best driver on her team... Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan are both better. Women get all upset over sexual discrimination, but it's okay if they use sex as a promotional tool. Katherine Legge is a much better driver than Danica, but without the hype.

Don't even put Danica anywhere near the level of Shirley Muldowney.

[URY914]

Shirley Muldowney? She drives the cars that only go in straight lines right?

I agreed with everything you said up until you threw in Shirley.

[rhodyguy]

there should be a commercial with a car load of old guys creamin' their jockeys over danica like the ones with the MILFS steamin' the silks over kasey kahne.