Does everyone still hate Danica?

[rich911s]

How can you hate some"body" that hot!

[Hydrocket]

I'll repeat for anyone that missed it....

ONE win in ALL series she's raced in since she was 16 years old. She's 31 now. And she's had every single opportunity...many opportunities that most racers never get.

Sorry...she's just not that good. She would have won more by now (and consistently) if she had the talent to do so.

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by EMJ

Those who say she can't drive have never watched a race. She's only in her second year of any stock car racing and she's running Sprint Cup with the absolute best. And she's got more top tens this year then her 2-time Nationwide Series champ boyfriend (Ricky Stenhouse, 2011, 2012 NNS champ), 1. And there's plenty of drivers in Cup who get tons of press who've never won a race and they've been in Cup for many years (Almindinger, Almirola, Gilliland, etc.). Big stars who've only won one or two races (Martin Truex, 2 wins, Brian Vickers, 3 wins) in 6-plus years. And one of the most popular drivers in the sport, Michael Waltrip, took 462 races before he won.

So, yes, total double standard with the negativity towards Patrick. Jeff Gordon didn't win until his second full season and he wrecked like 20 cars his rookie season. Dale, Jr., in Hendrick equipment for 5 1/2 years - 2 wins.

The media gives the public what they want...

Stenhouse is actually GOOD though...Danica is not. Stenhouse won a race in only his 6th race in a stock car. Then he won multiple races in NNS. Plus he's a series champion.

Danica is none of that.

Those are not personal feelings. Those are FACTS.

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by yazhound

It boggles my mind. Guys who have not raced at her level being so adament that she sucks as a driver. Where cometh thy expertise? Sour grapes and misogynism?

Aren't you the same guy that still thinks Ray Lewis is a choirboy?

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by Hydrocket

I'll repeat for anyone that missed it....

ONE win in ALL series she's raced in since she was 16 years old. She's 31 now. And she's had every single opportunity...many opportunities that most racers never get.

Sorry...she's just not that good. She would have won more by now (and consistently) if she had the talent to do so.

There you go... "The facts Ma'am, just the facts"

Totally agree. Crashcar had to do something for their dwindling ratings. I seriously wouldn't doubt it if Crashcar is paying some of her salary, behind the scenes.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by EMJ

Those who say she can't drive have never watched a race. She's only in her second year of any stock car racing and she's running Sprint Cup with the absolute best. And she's got more top tens this year then her 2-time Nationwide Series champ boyfriend (Ricky Stenhouse, 2011, 2012 NNS champ), 1. And there's plenty of drivers in Cup who get tons of press who've never won a race and they've been in Cup for many years (Almindinger, Almirola, Gilliland, etc.). Big stars who've only won one or two races (Martin Truex, 2 wins, Brian Vickers, 3 wins) in 6-plus years. And one of the most popular drivers in the sport, Michael Waltrip, took 462 races before he won.

So, yes, total double standard with the negativity towards Patrick. Jeff Gordon didn't win until his second full season and he wrecked like 20 cars his rookie season. Dale, Jr., in Hendrick equipment for 5 1/2 years - 2 wins.

^^^This.

The Danica sniping by some of you is very difficult to understand here on a board of mostly intelligent and well-balanced guys. It smacks of the insecure-in-one's-manhood thing, but I don't think that's the case.

She is a much better driver than the "bad press" that some exhibit here.

Watch her on a road course. The woman can drive.

If you want to criticize her for the cheesy bikini shots or because she called out somebody for some p*iss poor driving that ended up punting her off the track (J. Villeneuve last year at Road America), go ahead.

Every racer in history has called out bad driving that caused them to wreck. Don't call it whining when Danica does it and then say, "he was p*ssed off at -------" when a guy does it.

The cheesy bikini stuff... meh... truthfully, I wish no women racers had ever done any of them, and I'm a confirmed hetero. I just think it cheapens the sport.

[Heel n Toe]

BTW, I think Danica took the high road in the post race interview on the 2012 Road America shunt. Villenueve, not so much.

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

Watch her on a road course. The woman can drive.

Really? She raced on many roadcourses while in IRL. I didn't see multiple wins.
Please let us know when her skills start show up with wins. Don't hold your breath though.

And it has nothing to do with being a woman. I happen to think Katherine Legge is a great driver....certainly a much better driver than Danica. She won her first three races EVER in Toyota Atlantic Series. VERY impressive skill. So after 2 races, she had already earned more victories than Patrick had in her racing career.

Then there's Milka Duno. She's won Ferrari Challenge races and was the Panoz GT Series champion. She also scored wins in the American LeMans series racing an LMP car. She's won Petit LeMans...TWICE. She finished 2nd in the 24 hours of Daytona. She raced in the Rolex Series and won several races. She's a VERY good racer.

So it had zero to do with Danica being a woman. It has 100% to do with her not being a winner.

Milka:




Katherine:

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Hydrocket

Really? She raced on many roadcourses while in IRL. I didn't see multiple wins.
Please let us know when her skills start show up with wins. Don't hold your breath though.

And it has nothing to do with being a woman. I happen to think Katherine Legge is a great driver....certainly a much better driver than Danica. She won her first three races EVER in Toyota Atlantic Series. VERY impressive skill. So after 2 races, she had already earned more victories than Patrick had in her racing career.

Then there's Milka Duno. She's won Ferrari Challenge races and was the Panoz GT Series champion. She also scored wins in the American LeMans series racing an LMP car. She's won Petit LeMans...TWICE. She finished 2nd in the 24 hours of Daytona. She raced in the Rolex Series and won several races. She's a VERY good racer.

So it had zero to do with Danica being a woman. It has 100% to do with her not being a winner.

It's not all about winning. The typical quotes, "nobody ever remembers who came in second" and "winning isn't everything; it's the only thing," come to mind. Fine if you want to crow like a hero and think that only the guy with the first place trophy is worthy of praise, but it's very shortsighted.

If you're only impressed by (and supportive of) drivers with tons of wins, that's a very limited view of motorsports, in my opinion. That's an extremely high standard to hold anyone to, dismissing them as completely worthless and worthy of derision if they don't measure up to your standard.

I'm not accusing you of being guilty of this, but it reminds me of people who impose such standards on their kids when they play sports.

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

It's not all about winning. The typical quotes, "nobody ever remembers who came in second" and "winning isn't everything; it's the only thing," come to mind. Fine if you want to crow like a hero and think that only the guy with the first place trophy is worthy of praise, but it's very shortsighted.

If you're only impressed by (and supportive of) drivers with tons of wins, that's a very limited view of motorsports, in my opinion. That's an extremely high standard to hold anyone to, dismissing them as completely worthless and worthy of derision if they don't measure up to your standard.

I'm not accusing you of being guilty of this, but it reminds me of people who impose such standards on their kids when they play sports.

When you're talking about driver SKILL, yes, it is about winning. Because winning is the single best way to measure that skill. And let's be honest, at this level of racing (professional) it IS about winning. These driver's want to win and they want to beat their competitors. The want to show their competitor who's best.

When you're talking about advertising, sponsor dollars, marketing and "buzz" no...it's not all about winning. Danica is a perfect example of this.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Hydrocket

When you're talking about driver SKILL, yes, it is about winning. Because winning is the single best way to measure that skill. And let's be honest, at this level of racing (professional) it IS about winning.

When you're talking about advertising, sponsor dollars, marketing and "buzz" no...it's not all about winning. Danica is a perfect example of this.

It's still evident that you and a few others "have it in" for Danica in an overly vehement way. IMO, that's an out-of-balance position, given the number of male drivers who have a similar record that you don't seem to get as incensed about.

So, you may say it's not about the fact that she's a woman, but your actions say otherwise.

[intakexhaust]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

^^^
The cheesy bikini stuff... meh... truthfully, I wish no women racers had ever done any of them, and I'm a confirmed hetero. I just think it cheapens the sport.

Have to agree. Please race. Limit the drama. Done.

No pics of the younger years of Denise McCluggage on the legs and butt thread... haha



In early 1950s San Francisco, whilst covering a yacht race, she met Briggs Cunningham, the builder of the first American cars to race at Le Mans. She bought her first MG TC sports car, and began racing at small club events. In 1954 she moved to New York to work at the New York Herald Tribune as a sports journalist. The MG was replaced with a Jaguar XK140, and she began to race professionally. As she began to drive professionally in the mid-1950s she earned the respect of her male counterparts. Her trademark was a white helmet with black dots. Her racing achievements included winning the grand touring category at Sebring in a Ferrari 250 GT in 1961, and she scored a class win in the Monte Carlo Rally in a Ford Falcon in 1964. She also participated in the 1000-km race at the Nürburgring. She drove Porsches, Maseratis and other racing cars of many marques, often with her compatriot Pinkie Rollo. She ended her racing career in the late 1960s and eventually became founding editor of the U.S. automotive magazine AutoWeek.

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

It's still evident that you and a few others "have it in" for Danica in an overly vehement way. IMO, that's an out-of-balance position, given the number of male drivers who have a similar record that you don't seem to get as incensed about.

So, you may say it's not about the fact that she's a woman, but your actions say otherwise.

There are also many men who shouldn't be in racing. Throw out some names, and we'll talk about it. However, this thread is about Danica specifically, so that's why she's centered out.

My actions say nothing of the sort. I've already told you I'm a big fan of Katherine Legge. She, like Danica is a woman. And likewise I was quite impressed with Duno's career. Again...a woman. And I used to follow the career of motorcycle racer Katja Poensgen.

Again...zero to do with her being a woman.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Hydrocket

There are also many men who shouldn't be in racing. Throw out some names, and we'll talk about it. However, this thread is about Danica specifically, so that's why she's centered out.

My actions say nothing of the sort. I've already told you I'm a big fan of Katherine Legge. She, like Danica is a woman. And likewise I was quite impressed with Duno's career. Again...a woman. And I used to follow the career of motorcycle racer Katja Poensgen.

Again...zero to do with her being a woman.

That's a really strange thing to say.

Your opinion is duly noted, but if it is your opinion that those who don't have as many wins as you think is warranted by the length of time they've been in the sport, that's all it is.

Just an opinion. And it's an unwarranted one unless the people you think "shouldn't be in racing" are driving in ways that are endangering other racers' lives.

And I don't see that being true in Danica's case.

Anyone and everyone has the right to get out there on the track... any track, and for you (and others) to jump at the chance to bash Danica every time her name comes up, that's just misguided.

She doesn't deserve that. She's a better driver than that. You're only a few words away from saying that she is unqualified.

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

She doesn't deserve that. She's a better driver than that.

And likewise, that's your opinion. However, the facts don't bear that out. And the fact is, Danica hasn't been a winner her entire career.

[herr_oberst]

Here is PART of the reason that some might say that others "have it in" for Danica. Typical ESPN crawler on a Sunday evening:

NASCAR Bull Ring 500: 1. J. Johnson 2. G. Biffle 3. Ky Busch 23. D. Patrick


It'll give a thinking man something to ponder....

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Hydrocket

And likewise, that's your opinion. However, the facts don't bear that out. And the fact is, Danica hasn't been a winner her entire career.

And for you, winning is all that matters. Understood. Very shortsighted, narrow viewpoint given that there's a ton of drivers who haven't won as much as you think they should.

I guess you're now running from your ridiculous "shouldn't be in racing" statement.

So, have you seen her endangering other drivers' lives?

Of course not.

She's on Leno tonight. Tune in... maybe she'll wave to you and you can throw something at the TV.

[intakexhaust]

Michčle Mouton could drive circles around any of the above mentioned!

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

And for you, winning is all that matters. Understood. Very shortsighted, narrow viewpoint

At the highest levels of racing...yes, that's what matters. It's about winning. Every racer says so. They want to win the title, the championship, etc. Their team wants the same.

You with the kids at the go-kart track? Not so much. Me at a DE day? Nope. Me riding bikes with my friends? Uh-uh.

But a pro at the pinnacle of their sport? Yes...it's about winning.

Even Danica Patrick herself says so. Here's some of her quotes:

-"I want to win races and I wanted people to know that."
-"The Indy 500 is the reason I started racing, the dream of winning this race has been my single focus since I was a kid."
-Winning was always the goal
-One of the things that happens after I won, is that you want to win again so quickly. You get a little taste and you want it back.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Hydrocket

At the highest levels of racing...yes, that's what matters. It's about winning. Every racer says so. They want to win the title, the championship, etc. Their team wants the same.

You with the kids at the go-kart track? Not so much. Me at a DE day? Nope. Me riding bikes with my friends? Uh-uh.

But a pro at the pinnacle of their sport? Yes...it's about winning.

Of course everyone wants to win.

That's not what is being discussed.

You said she and others who are not winning at a certain frequency are people who "shouldn't be in racing."

That's a ridiculous assertion that you can't back up with valid, substantive reasons.