Indy 500 ..........

[Pete]

One of my traditional passtimes on Memorial day weekend is watching the Indy 500. Haven't missed it since I got into open wheel racing around 1968. It's come a long way from back when I was just a little cuss. It's not as grand as it had been up to the split of CART and IRL, but it's gotten better over the past few seasons.

Today is kind of special for me. I get to see a third generation Andretti in his first 500. Added to that is ol Mikie commin out from the timing stand and driving again. I loved the days when Mario and Mike would be out there, and this is as close to that as you could ever get. Marco is on the rise, and Mikie, even though he hasn't driven in a few seasons, is a force at indy, still holding the record for alltime laps led. He's the same age as me, so of course I think he retired too soon

Here's to a good safe race, and with any luck, breaking the Andretti curse with a win by Mike or Marco.

[Teller]

I too hope for an exciting, safe race. But I have to differ slightly...ok a whole helluva lot...on who I want to see win. I'd love to see Danica Patrick parked in victory lane, and I could only hope her celebration would be similar to Brandi Chastain's.


Make no mistake, Danica's no Lyn St. James. She's a legitimate driver, with a legitimate chance to win, who just happens to be a woman. I got the impression that St. James' attempts were pretty much strictly novelty.

Heck, Danica could have won the thing last year if not for rookie mistakes and bad luck. She won't stall the car on pit road this year. And hopefully, she'll keep her nose clean and intact.

I haven't followed open-wheel racing as much as I did before the split. I used to spend this entire day watching racing...the 500 and then the 600. I still try to catch them both (though this year on TiVo, since I'm at work) but Indy car racing doesn't seem quite the same anymore.

Seeing as you still follow open-wheel pretty closely Pete, do you share my opinion that they need to find a way to re-merge CART and IRL to truly compete with the popularity of NASCAR? (Sorry for going off topic a bit.)

[Fergasun]

For some reason I thought the Indy 500 always happened on Monday... but I guess they wouldn't do that when everyone is traveling back home on Monday... so I just have poor memories.

I can't imagine Tony Stewart in open wheel racing either... was he much of a hot-head back then? (I bring this up because I remember his doing double duty sometimes...).

Nascar Race today is the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte?

[Pete]

For the life of me, I don't see what so many guys see in Danica. She's not bad looking, but surely nothing to right home about. I also can't stand all the hype over her. She hasn't done squat in actuallity, but hey, that's the marketing business.


EDIT: I only hope that we get the running order of Scott Dixin, Danica Patrick. It makes the anouncers get all flustered

[Teller]

For the life of me, I don't see what so many guys see in Danica. She's not bad looking, but surely nothing to right home about. I also can't stand all the hype over her. She hasn't done squat in actuallity, but hey, that's the marketing business.

Fourth in the 500 as a rookie, despite stalling the car on pit road and having the nose wing completely ripped off the car? I honestly think if that stuff hadn't happened, she'd have won it last year. I don't know that I'd quite call that "squat," but you follow the sport closer than I do.

Off the track, I know what I like, and I like this:

[cjcdaman]

For the life of me, I don't see what so many guys see in Danica. She's not bad looking, but surely nothing to right home about. I also can't stand all the hype over her.

The reason she is something to write home about is because she drives a racecar. Out in public, she doesn't compare to a lot of women. It's like some of the sexy women golfers. Most of the LPGA women look like muff divers, but when there is a few sexy women on that tour . . . they look amazing.

[Pete]

And you get what for placing 4th ? SQUAT............

She's a talented driver with a good team, and took rookie of the year. Many drivers have overcome a stall in the pits, and crash damage. In a long race as the 500 is, people have come from laps down to finish well.

Because of her gender she gets hyped. No driver I can think of has gotten so much recognition for doing so little. Like I said, marketing is a great thing, and she has brought attention to the series. Why is it so special that a women is doing the same thing as a man. She has an advantage over 2/3 of the drivers in the series due to her size and weight.

When she wins a race, any race, I'll give her the props due for that week. The following week, she's just another driver till the next win, or becomes a dominant front runner every week. If I see tears in her eyes as in the past after a loss, I'll puke. She wants to play with the big boys, and there's no cryin in racing.................

[Teller]

And you get what for placing 4th ? SQUAT............

She's a talented driver with a good team, and took rookie of the year. Many drivers have overcome a stall in the pits, and crash damage. In a long race as the 500 is, people have come from laps down to finish well.

Because of her gender she gets hyped. No driver I can think of has gotten so much recognition for doing so little. Like I said, marketing is a great thing, and she has brought attention to the series. Why is it so special that a women is doing the same thing as a man. She has an advantage over 2/3 of the drivers in the series due to her size and weight.

When she wins a race, any race, I'll give her the props due for that week. The following week, she's just another driver till the next win, or becomes a dominant front runner every week. If I see tears in her eyes as in the past after a loss, I'll puke. She wants to play with the big boys, and there's no cryin in racing.................

I realize we're talking about two different series, but case in point: Matt Kenseth. He won the NEXTEL Cup without a single victory. But he led the series in Top 5 finishes, if I'm not mistaken. Sure, winning races is great. And DP's star will burn out quickly if she doesn't post a "W" this season or next. But I would argue that if she learns to consistently posts top 5's that she's having a successful career.

As for her size, you have a point...kind of. Mark Martin is by far the smallest NEXTEL Cup driver, has been driving for 20+ years, and has never won a championship. Tony Stewart, one of the heavier drivers on the circuit has won two. I understand HP-to-weight ratio and it's effects on racing, but the driver's weight doesn't seem to have the impact you'd expect. Why? I don't know.

Also, with all respect, I think you're missing an important point. It IS noteworthy to see a female driver competing against men and being successful. There has never been a woman driver in any major American racing series (to my knowledge) who's had much success. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Shirley Muldowney, but drag racing is a whole different animal.

I really didn't mean to hijack your thread, Pete. I know you wanted to talk about the race. Sorry for getting off on a tangent.

[Park City Skins]

Okay. So I admit it. I've watched some of this. My brother and his family are huge race fans and since I'm visiting them here in Vegas, I'm prisoner to their interest in the 500. Been a good race so far anyway.

[DieselPwr44]

As for her size, you have a point...kind of. Mark Martin is by far the smallest NEXTEL Cup driver, has been driving for 20+ years, and has never won a championship. Tony Stewart, one of the heavier drivers on the circuit has won two. I understand HP-to-weight ratio and it's effects on racing, but the driver's weight doesn't seem to have the impact you'd expect. Why? I don't know.

In the Nextel Cup Series, all the drivers are weighed and they balance the car weight out by adding or subtracting weight so that no driver has an advantage to their size and weight.

EDIT: Looks like the Andretti curse lives on at the Indy 500. Unbelievable finish with Hornish taking it away from Marco.

[Teller]

In the Nextel Cup Series, all the drivers are weighed and they balance the car weight out by adding or subtracting weight so that no driver has an advantage to their size and weight.

No kidding? I didn't realize that. Thanks.

[Pete]

No problem HH, you didn't hijack anything. We're talking about some points on racing. Bobby Rahal won a championship with only 2 win that season, but ran in the top 5 most of the year. Lets see where Danica ends up at the end in her sophmore season. Right now, Marco is the talk of the series..........

Congrats to Hornish. He had a great car all day, overcame a major screw up in the pits getting the drive through.

Marco is going to be a force to deal with for some years. He was about as perfect as he could be. Concidering he had a problem breaking half shafts three times this year from luanching the car to hard on pit stops, he impressed me a great deal with his control. I give him a ton of credit. Not just for his drive today, but for the maturity he showed at the end. He said it himself, he could have dona a blocking move on Hornish as they came down the stretch, but didn't, knowing he could have caused both of them to crash.

He's smarter then his dad was at that age no doubt. Mikie ran a very good race in a car that didn't have much to offer most of the day. The curse still stands, but second and third is fun. Father and son on the podium......... doesn't get much better short of the win.


As for Danica...... she had some bad luck today. Catching the yellow twice right after pitting killed her. After watching her for a little over a season now, I can say that she's talented, but not as good as billed. Two things tell me that. Two years in a row, she had bad fuel milage at the 500. They are setting her car up with so much down force for her to be able to control it, it's causing her to use more fuel. The second is, she said she was taring up her right rear tire all day.

No other driver had tire problems brought up. This comes from how she drives into the corners, and the added down force. If she can learn to control a car that's set up with less down force, and change her line a tiny bit, she's going to win some races.

Overall, it was a great race today. I was standing, yelling at the TV the last 50 some odd laps. I was so fired up by the finish, I had to have three Appletinis to calm me down