Indy!!!

Originally Posted by SCWDP911

I think overall, this was probably a bad error on the part of his spotter - they knew he was a rookie and should have helped him make the choice before he ever got there.

Excellent point.

[Embraer]

my thoughts exactly. what kind of racing excites the naysayers? F1? NASCAR? Rally? Motorcyle? i think they're all exciting. MORE SO when you're there, not just sitting at home complaining about it

I've watched racing since I was a little kid. Vividly remember the 1967 STP Turbine at Indy. I've drag raced, kart raced, and sports car raced for over 20 years. Love it all.

I'd watch two old ladies in wheelchairs race if that's all there was..

[AFC-911]

I got to say this finish sounded very similar to the race in Pixar's Cars.

[SCWDP911]

Originally Posted by AFC-911

I got to say this finish sounded very similar to the race in Pixar's Cars.

conspiracy...?!?

[CMDR Perry]

What I noticed this year is Danica carefully chooses her words so as not to criticize her team or their efforts. She is trying very hard not to be a whiner and doe's not want to alienate her large fan base.

[Joe Bob]

Driver "How far back is he?" Spotter "8 seconds, take the last turn, slow and careful". Driver "Hey, watch this......"

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

Driver "How far back is he?" Spotter "8 seconds, take the last turn, slow and careful". Driver "Hey, watch this......"

You mean the rookie equivalent of 'here, hold my beer!'

LOL

Danica did not acquit herself well on that last restart from yellow. Looked like she lost about 6 positions. Would love to know if she's using PTP when she should, or if she just lacks aggressiveness in full on scrambles. I've been in situations like that, and it's very intimidating at 50-60 mph on track, let alone over 100... People here love to criticize Danica from behind their computers, but she's out there doing it.

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by techweenie

People here love to criticize Danica from behind their computers, but she's out there doing it.

Isn't that the same for any creative endeavor. Watching a race is no different than watching a movie and calling into question the actors ability. As spectators paying for the telecast through our advertising dollars we can choose to criticize any or all of the show and it's participants. With enough feedback, perhaps the promoters can find a way to make this nonsense palatable.
Just my two cents.

[Por_sha911]

I caught a lot of flack for defending Danica (in another thread) as a valid driver in the Indy series. She has proven herself to be better than 99% of those around the world that would like a seat in Indy but she does have weaknesses that she will have to overcome to be the best of the best. She doesn't qualify well and she almost always loses spots in the restarts. Most likely a lack of confidence in her car and the other drivers. I remember her saying one time that she is afraid of fire. I do not remember a pro driver ever confessing to fear but maybe my memory is short. That said, I wish I had 25% of her skills.

[Turbo_pro]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

.....edit..... That said, I wish I had 25% of her skills.

I would like to rub up against 25% of her talent ......

[Buckterrier]

Choke is a strong word. Mistake yeah, on his part, spotters part.

One thing I wonder about is why the the kid he had to pass was going so slow.

As far an Danica goes, she's already trying to get used answering questions the right way. If she whines in CRASHCAR they'll just take her out in the next race.

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

Choke is a strong word. Mistake yeah, on his part, spotters part.

One thing I wonder about is why the the kid he had to pass was going so slow.

As far an Danica goes, she's already trying to get used answering questions the right way. If she whines in CRASHCAR they'll just take her out in the next race.

I would bet the there was some excitement for that fellow who crashed. He just got too excited knowing it was the last corner, went off line too fast and lost control. Like everyone said, rookie mistake.


Danica won't get taken out of the car for whining. She drives for JR motorsports. Owned by Earnheart Jr. He is one of the biggest whiners about his Cup cars. It may have changed this season, but last season he was ALWAYS whining about how they were set up, etc. etc. Despite a 104 race losing streak (almost broken last night, but ran out of fuel in the last corner in his National Guard car...deja vu?) he's one of the hottest properties in NASCAR. He suffers from being a racing celebrity as well with a father who was loved/hated, depending on where you sit.

[URY914]

If Danica wasn't a household name she would be out of work long ago. As stated above she can't qualify and loses positions on restarts. Add the fact that she is slow on road courses. What do you have left? Good marketing and that's about it.

[AFC-911]

That was probably Hildebrand's best shot at winning Indy...It could also be his last (plenty of great drivers never got a chance to win there).

If that turns to be his best race there, that would suuuuuuuck big ones.

Originally Posted by VaSteve

I would bet the there was some excitement for that fellow who crashed. He just got too excited knowing it was the last corner, went off line too fast and lost control. Like everyone said, rookie mistake.


Danica won't get taken out of the car for whining. She drives for JR motorsports. Owned by Earnheart Jr. He is one of the biggest whiners about his Cup cars. It may have changed this season, but last season he was ALWAYS whining about how they were set up, etc. etc. Despite a 104 race losing streak (almost broken last night, but ran out of fuel in the last corner in his National Guard car...deja vu?) he's one of the hottest properties in NASCAR. He suffers from being a racing celebrity as well with a father who was loved/hated, depending on where you sit.

Agreed. Junior is the Andretti of NASCAR (well, except for John Andretti, I suppose). He hasn't filled the Intimidator's shoes, and never will with his attitude. The Intimidator made other people whine.

I wish Danica well, and agree she can drive, but she's progressing too slowly--if she didn't look like a supermodel she'd be gone by now. That said, she's great for the sport.

Graham Rahal, Simona DiSilvestro, and JR Hildebrand are the youngsters to watch, IMO.

[Buckterrier]

Not to get to far OT but the ONLY reason he the intimidator was to win he'd just crash you out. That would intimidate anyone.
He couldn't even run in too many other series because of that.

And what is the problem with the Andrettis'??
Mario is, to me, the best racecar driver ever. Michael was very very good. Now Marco is a different story. It's all most like he thinks he deserves to win becasue he's an Andretti. I don't think he puts in the work but what do I know.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by URY914

Some debate on the various Indycar boards about when the yellow came out, was it called too late. In other words, if the yellow came out at the time of the crash, Weldon was still behind JR so technically, JR would still hold his position and as his car actually crossed the line he was in fact the winner and not Weldon.

No way could Weldon have NOT passed the wreck. They may have wanted to go back to the last lap (white flag lap) for the final scoring if the yellow had come out when it should have. Tough call. But I believe it did freeze the field by the time JR slid by the checkers.

By the same token, NASCAR's rule says that once the white flag is shown to the leader, any flag after that ends the race.

Is that true for INDY as well?

Think about the way things could have turned out if the yellow flag came out. Go back a lap and JR is the winner. Now bring that car to the winner's circle and then to tech. That would have been a mess, not that anyone had time to think about it.

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by milt

No way could Weldon have NOT passed the wreck. They may have wanted to go back to the last lap (white flag lap) for the final scoring if the yellow had come out when it should have. Tough call. But I believe it did freeze the field by the time JR slid by the checkers.

By the same token, NASCAR's rule says that once the white flag is shown to the leader, any flag after that ends the race.

Is that true for INDY as well?

Think about the way things could have turned out if the yellow flag came out. Go back a lap and JR is the winner. Now bring that car to the winner's circle and then to tech. That would have been a mess, not that anyone had time to think about it.

Something similar happened to Paul Tracy, (when exactly the yellow came out). He still claims he won that race.

[VaSteve]

Go look at the debate on whether a second caution should have come out in the coke 600. Folks were saying it didn't because Jr was leading, then he ran out of gas. Funny, there's controversy in every series.