Will Danica ever win a race?

[nycuk]

She's had a few good runs during her career, Michigan this weekend she looked pretty strong too - but will Danica ever win an IRL race?

[drdisque]

She's signed up to AGR for a few years and I think they should stay up towards the front at least for the length of her contract. I don't see how she couldn't win driving for a front-running team for 3 full years.

[NAC]

If you were AGR you would hope so

[luke]

She had the potential last weekend however when Franchitti, the Penske's the Ganassis were ahead she didn't stand a chance in terms of winning IMHO.

I was predicting her to wish after the crash fest but she had a puncture but I doubt she could have beaten her AGR team mates.

She has the potential to win some time it could happen but we'll see.

[luke]

http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news?sl...ov=st&type=lgns

Danica has a go at Wheldon for accident.

Firstly she should forget about her problem with Wheldon the former champion and Indy 500 champion. IMO if it was anyones it was Dario's but both seemed to want the same bit of asphalt.

Until she has won a race and led a race for more than 3 laps she isn't in the position to blame or still dig at Wheldon.

[BootsOntheSide]

I don't think Danica's got the talent to back up the hype. Being the lightest driver out there helps in qualifying but not in the races. It's a shame she got the puncture so late in the Michigan race, but I doubt she'd've been a real threat to Tony or Marco, other than maybe running into them or having the team gift her the win.

[Andrew Kitson]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think Danica has ever won a race period (in cars). Best was 2nd in the FF Festival final at Brands in 2000.
Karts yes, but not cars! So why the hype?

[luke]

Originally Posted by Andrew Kitson

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think Danica has ever won a race period (in cars). Best was 2nd in the FF Festival final at Brands in 2000.
Karts yes, but not cars! So why the hype?

The IRL trying to get ratings. If her hype was based on talent she would be a multiple champion.

[drewdawg727]

To be completely honest, no. I don't think she will in a race, and I will back up what Boots said. She has no race wins in any series to help complement this series. She is the best out of the females currently in the sport, and I believe she is a front runner...but she needs to be consistently up there to win.

I think we should be more concerned about Vitor winning a race than Danica. He has finished up front more often and more consistently than Patrick. If Meira were to go to Andretti Racing, he would probably win one, if not more, races.

[Jimmy Magnusson]

She might, if enough people fall off the road, which is not impossible.

[deejay]

Originally Posted by Andrew Kitson

So why the hype?

Because she's a woman competing well against men at the highest level in a male-dominated sport. Because she's good looking and charismatic. And because both those things make her interesting and marketable.

If she's such a non-entity, why do people keep starting threads about her?

To answer the initial question, I think she CAN win a race, and she could do it without others dropping out as well. She's shown this year she has the pace to run at the front consistently - and with a bit of luck she could get a win. Until he got a bit of luck at Indy this year Dario wasn't looking like much of a winner in IRL either. Danica has been steadily improving since being at AGR. Like has been pointed out, there will be plenty of chances for her to win over the next few years.

Saying she WILL win is obviously impossible. I mean, at this point it's unknown whether guys like Wheldon and Castroneves will even win again.

It's really beside the point though as she has clearly accomplished a hell of a lot as it is, and is already worthy of note.

I'm not sure why people complain about the "hype" in this way though. I don't see a lot of (or any in fact) print out there claiming she is the best driver in the series or anything. People are just interested in her, that's all. This thread is yet more proof.

[Andrew Kitson]

Fair comment deejay. I did know her when she raced in the UK, lovely girl.
But her 2nd place in the FF Festival aside ( after three of the top drivers ahead of her fell off in the closing stages), I saw nothing that indicated she would go to the top of the sport. But fair play to her and if she does win an IRL race, it would be remarkable to win her first ever race period at such a high level. But as you suggest, if it was a guy, no-one would be taking any interest.

[Dutton]

I think she appears better than she is often given credit for, but, certainly , she is not an outstanding talent.

Will she ever win a race? If I had the ability to predict the future, then I would be the richest man in the world (well, not man, at least not in mind...what does 25 make you...a kid that has to work full-time, pay taxes, bills, and such?).

Either that or I will have killed myself having previously foreseen my suicide.

[NAC]

Off topic

Dutton I think you have officially lost the plot

Hang in there. Lifes not that bad

[Dutton]

Oh, my current life is alright. I was more meaning being able to see the future could drive you up the wall: seeing yourself getting driven up the wall would drive you more up the wall, and so on...

It could get messy...

[NAC]

Oh Dutton, you are still nuts, , , , but very entertaining

Back on topic

Obviously some here doubt Danica's potential.

Question. How do you feel she would go in the Indy Pro Series?

[luke]

Originally Posted by deejay

Because she's a woman competing well against men at the highest level in a male-dominated sport. Because she's good looking and charismatic. And because both those things make her interesting and marketable.

Sarah Fisher scored a 2nd place finish at Homestead in 2001. Better than what Danica has ever done as Danica is probably a 1/3rd or 2/3rds lighter than Sarah.

And IMO she isn't good looking. Here is what she looks like without the IRL marketing her the way they do getting her to pose in all the mens mags:

If she's such a non-entity, why do people keep starting threads about her?

Because the IRL even tries to expose all her hissy fits when she never wins. She believes her hype so when things don't go her way she stamps her feet in a huff or blames over drivers like Wheldon the 2005 champ and Indy 500 winner. No one has ever had any problem with him before.

To answer the initial question, I think she CAN win a race, and she could do it without others dropping out as well. She's shown this year she has the pace to run at the front consistently - and with a bit of luck she could get a win. Until he got a bit of luck at Indy this year Dario wasn't looking like much of a winner in IRL either. Danica has been steadily improving since being at AGR. Like has been pointed out, there will be plenty of chances for her to win over the next few years.

Dario has always been good this year. His worst was 7th among other top 3s before Indy. Danica won't win unless nearly the whole field has crashed out. She could have won Iowa but she kept on weaving at the restart when she should have lifted out but caused that 5 wide wreck but that was her arrogance again...

Saying she WILL win is obviously impossible. I mean, at this point it's unknown whether guys like Wheldon and Castroneves will even win again.

At that point that Wheldon and Castroneves will never win again? Castroneves won at St.Pete and should have won at Milwaukee but his rear wing failed and also he spun on a bump at Watkins Glen in the lead. If it wasn't for those dnfs he would be right up there.

Wheldon won a few races at the start and was dominant but at the moment he is having a bit of bad luck and a down patch but he will be back.

It's really beside the point though as she has clearly accomplished a hell of a lot as it is, and is already worthy of note.

She hasn't accomplished a hell of a lot. Until she wins Sarah Fisher still will have achieved a high scoring position than Danica. By that logic we can say Sarah has accomplished a hell of a lot more but that isn't true once again Danica's hype is so bad we have to keep tags on reality.

I'm not sure why people complain about the "hype" in this way though. I don't see a lot of (or any in fact) print out there claiming she is the best driver in the series or anything. People are just interested in her, that's all. This thread is yet more proof.

I complain about the hype because when she came 4th and lead only because she didn't pit and tried to run the race with low fuel she would never have won the Indy 500 as she didn't have enough fuel at the end. She was fastest for like 2 laps because the other leaders had pitted and fell down the pack and were heavier on fuel. I complain about the hype because for that one little burst she got featured everywhere yet Wheldon the winner didn't even get interviewed first or feature on the front of magazines etc, everything.

Sometimes I wonder if the series is called the Danicar series.

[JohnSSC]

Well, I was going to post here using some pictures of Dario and Dan Wheldon in their underwear to make my point but I seem to have misplaced them.

Once again, Danica being female becomes the subject rather than her ability as a driver. The Hornish vs Kanaan kerfluffle is not described as a "hissy fit" now is it? Of course not.

So right off, let's cut off the sex appeal crap. Marketing is one thing and driving ability is another. Good looking male drivers are preferred for marketing reasons just as female drivers are. That street goes both ways.

So Danica "hasn't accomplished a lot." Really. Even a cursory examination of her race results shows that she has done a decent job. No, she has not won a race yet, but then again a number of folks thought Dario was washed-up just a season or so ago and all of a sudden he is fighting for the Championship. Does that mean he lost and then found his talent or does that mean his talent has been complimented by the work within the team?

So far, Danica, like a number of other drivers in the past is an intriguing "what if" sort of proposition: she has had some good races where a break or two may have netted a win. My observation is that restarts are her weakness and once she improves that part of her game then race wins will start to happen for her. Saying that, I do not agree that the restart at Iowa was her fault. She got caught in something she should not have were she better at that but she was not the root cause of the incident.

But please, for a change could we confine this discussion to what she drives like rather than what she looks like?

[luke]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

Well, I was going to post here using some pictures of Dario and Dan Wheldon in their underwear to make my point but I seem to have misplaced them.

Once again, Danica being female becomes the subject rather than her ability as a driver. The Hornish vs Kanaan kerfluffle is not described as a "hissy fit" now is it? Of course not.

So right off, let's cut off the sex appeal crap. Marketing is one thing and driving ability is another. Good looking male drivers are preferred for marketing reasons just as female drivers are. That street goes both ways.

John it has nothing to do with her being a female as I complimented Sarah. Facts are facts. And drivers do have arugments but to the extent of everytime Danica always seem to have a hissy fit.

So Danica "hasn't accomplished a lot." Really. Even a cursory examination of her race results shows that she has done a decent job. No, she has not won a race yet, but then again a number of folks thought Dario was washed-up just a season or so ago and all of a sudden he is fighting for the Championship. Does that mean he lost and then found his talent or does that mean his talent has been complimented by the work within the team?

No she hasn't accomplished a lot at all. She has never won a race in anything. (unless a kart race I don't know). You can't say Dario was washed up as he has always won 1 or 2 races a year, a winner previous to this year something Danica isn't. And all the AGR drivers the younger ones are saying how much of an advantage Dario is to them (marco and danica) because of his set up and experience.

So far, Danica, like a number of other drivers in the past is an intriguing "what if" sort of proposition: she has had some good races where a break or two may have netted a win. My observation is that restarts are her weakness and once she improves that part of her game then race wins will start to happen for her. Saying that, I do not agree that the restart at Iowa was her fault. She got caught in something she should not have were she better at that but she was not the root cause of the incident.

Iowa was her fault. It ended up being 5 wide because she had a poor restart. She saw people passing but she still kept her foot in and weaved around when she should have backed out. That is how the accident happened.

[deejay]

Exactly what are you upset about again?

[JohnSSC]

If it has nothing to do with her being female, why are you posting pictures of her in her underwear?

Tell you what, see if you can't get some hot Sam Hornish in his underwear pictures...

I disagree with your protestation that it has nothing to do with her being female - imho, for some folks, it has everything to do with her being female.

[runshaw]

I hope she wins a race so then all this hype will be justified because it's annoying! But i'm actually thinking, I can't remember her EVER winning a race and here she is racing in the IRL. She raced in British Formula Ford and couldn't even hack it at that, she was a complete backmarker but got a lucky podium in the festival IIRC.

[luke]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

If it has nothing to do with her being female, why are you posting pictures of her in her underwear?

What are you on about? This was a photo that was previously posted on this IRL forum. And she is wearing a top, you are the one that keeps on going on about her looks and pretending she is wearing underwear.

Tell you what, see if you can't get some hot Sam Hornish in his underwear pictures...

You just don't let things drop do you?

I disagree with your protestation that it has nothing to do with her being female - imho, for some folks, it has everything to do with her being female.

For 'some folk' yes it is to do with her being female that's why they like her to cheer her on. I don't like Danica because of her attitude towards pretty much everyone and the fact that she is way over-hyped. It has nothing to do with her sex which I made clear by posting Fisher's achievements. You are just saying I do to try and undermine my opinion.

[deejay]

If it has nothing to do with her being female then why are you comparing her to another female driver?

And what exactly IS that photo supposed to prove?

[NAC]

I did some quick numbers for Duno on the other post and thought I’ll get Danica’s stats while I’m there.

Have to say she is improving. All 2007 figures are year to date. The interesting thing is in 05 she had 3 poles and got more winnings. You do have to take into consideration though that in 05 there were 17 races plus both Target and Penske had crap motors back then. Sorry for the way the numbers look, forum doesn’t like formatting.

Year 2007, 2006, 2005
Rank 7, 9, 12,
Points 323, 302, 325
Behind -171, -173, -303
Starts 13, 13, 17
Finishes 11, 12, 12
Poles 0, 0, 3
Wins 0, 0, 0
Top 5 3, 2, 2
Top 10 9, 8, 7
Winnings $904,605, $920,505, $1,098,755