Would It Hurt To Give Danica Patrick Some Credit Here?

by Diecast Dude on Apr 21, 2008 12:13 PM EDT

Given that the Talladega terrordome is this weekend, one would think said venue and race would be Topic A in these parts. Soon, yes. But not today. Instead, time to address the recent column by Bob Margolis at Yahoo which seeks to not so much throw cold water on Danica Patrick's victory at Twin Ring Motegi this past weekend as dump a monsoon on the victory celebration.

Apparently rather peeved over being deprived of that motorsports writer's most cherished fallback column on a slow day, namely how Patrick equals Anna Kournikova albeit at 220 MPH, Margolis assembles every hackneyed cliché there is in his effort to discredit Patrick. Unfortunately for him, the arguments disintegrate faster than summer snow. Shall we proceed?

Danica Patrick's first IndyCar win in the Japan 300 was more a triumph in public relations than auto racing.

Try walking into Talladega this weekend and saying the same thing about Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s next win -- "oh, this is just PR because he's the favorite driver in NASCAR." Then try walking out. You won't get far.

It didn't happen as the result of a final lap, wheel-to-wheel battle, one that many close observers of the sport feel she will never win.

By this logic, the final score of any baseball game not ending via a walk-off home run is invalid. Sure, last lap battles are great fun to watch. But not all races end that way. So what? It was still a race, and whoever won did so because they had the skill and the team behind them to be in a place where, when the window of opportunity came open, they could take full advantage.

As to the "many close observers" (got names?)... yeah, that zany Michael Andretti putting Danica in a car strictly for giggles and grins. What does he know about open wheel racing, anyway?

It instead was more a battle between the race engineer's computers on the Andretti Green team and that of her rival Helio Castroneves' Penske Racing team. It was a matter of who would get the best fuel mileage in the final handful of laps of the 200-lap race.

Which was precisely how Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus won the most recent Cup race at Phoenix. Was that something less than a genuine win? No. And neither was Patrick's.

Both drivers had made their final pit stop on Lap 148, and when race leader Scott Dixon was forced onto pit road for a final splash of fuel, it became an opportunity for both Patrick and Castroneves to win - in a fuel mileage battle.

The nerve of those two! Why couldn't they have had to pit like everyone else? Oh, wait, that's right... their teams made savvy calls and the drivers feathered the gas pedal to save as much ethanol as possible. I suppose next Danica will be accused of having an unfair advantage in this because she has less weight to put behind her foot.

Castroneves is the IRL points leader and was racing with that in mind.

Imagine that... points racing. Gee, when someone does that in NASCAR they're universally praised for their grasp of the big picture. But in IRL it's a crime? Besides, what was he supposed to be thinking -- how cool it'd look to run our of fuel on the last lap so he and Scott Dixon could commiserate? What he was going to have for dinner that evening? How many "so are you two an item" questions he'll have to deal with when Julianne Hough shows up to sing the national anthem at this year's Indianapolis 500?

Instead of gambling on running out of fuel or making a pit stop which would have had him finishing farther back in the field and scoring fewer points, Castroneves instead lifted his foot off of his gas pedal just enough to save fuel and reward Patrick with the victory.

Maybe it's me, bit I'm thinking "rewarding" Danica was the last thing on Castroneves' mind. He did what was necessary to secure the best possible finish. Last time I checked, that is on most driver's 'to do' list.

The win was the result of a well-calculated move - pure and simple.

Those evil cretins! Employing strategy and... um, what's that other thing... oh yeah. A driver with the wherewithal to use her head by laying back and saving fuel so when it was time to go, she was there.

However, to her and her team's credit, a win is a win no matter how you get it.

Thus explaining why you've spent you entire column denigrating it.

And Patrick did execute the team's strategy perfectly.

Way to insinuate she can't drive, Margolis. In case you haven't noticed, she doesn't run races wearing a swimsuit in a see-through car. She has skills. Why can't you accept it?

In a moment of postrace enthusiasm, team owner Michael Andretti, himself a winner in several fuel mileage battles over his illustrious career,

And far, far more that weren't.

referred to Patrick's win as being the first of many.

You were expecting him to say otherwise? "I cannot believe I hired this loose wheel," maybe?

Perhaps. Or maybe it will prove to be nothing more than an anomaly.

Kind of like what we're hoping misogyny among sportswriters will prove to be, although sadly I doubt it.

Patrick's win came against a shrunken field of competitors, one which was devoid of the last two series champions (who both left the open wheel series to race in NASCAR), not to mention lacking any of the Champ Car drivers, who were in Long Beach, Calif., competing in Sunday's finale for that series before the two - IRL and Champ Car - unite for good.

Oh yeah, those über-talented Champ Car drivers... the ones Sebastién Bourdais used as a doormat the past two years. Oh, in case it escaped your attention, in attendance at Motegi were Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon and Tony Kaanan as well as Castroneves. You might have heard of them -- winners of multiple races, annual contenders for the championship? Rumor has it they can drive a little. What, did Sam Hornish Jr. put you up to writing this in an attempt to take the heat off of him for both taking out Adrian Fernandez yesterday at the Nationwide Mexico City race and being an on-track doorstop at every Cup race? Now there's some mighty fine driving for you...

Only 18 cars took the green flag in Japan - six to eight fewer than will be competing when the two series are reunited at Kansas Speedway next weekend - and just seven were running on the lead lap at the checkered flag.

So when ten or less cars are running on the lead lap at the end of a Sprint Cup race, it's less of a win?

Despite her having only won in go-karts and not while driving in a professional auto race, Patrick has been able to command a legion of fans, perhaps for no reason other than she is a woman participating in what most regard as a man's sport.

How dare she not be born with a Y chromosome! Can't believe she hasn't sued her parents. As to the "she's never won anything" argument, if she wasn't able to drive she wouldn't be in the IRL. Period. You don't always blow everyone away on your way up the ladder.

And after tiring of fending off questions about when she would win, she distracted her detractors by posing in swimsuits and making suggestive ads for her sponsors.

Wife caught you looking at this year's SI swmsuit issue, huh?

Sarcasm aside, Margolis could not be more in error. The magazine photo shoots and ads did not placate Danica Patrick's critics. They energized them all the more as the Anna Kournikova comparisons grew in number and intensity. How this could have been missed is quite the mystery.

Patrick's victory may temporarily quiet her critics,

With one obvious exception.

and likely will help draw much-needed attention to a sport that at one time in its history was more popular than NASCAR and didn't have to rely on a pretty face to garner headlines or cash in on the notoriety of a driver who is known more for winning a dancing contest on television than his two Indy 500 wins (see Helio Castroneves).

Jimmy Carter used to be President, which has as much application to today as this statement by Margolis. Of course the lengthy and bitter split in open wheel deeply hurt the sport. News flash: it's history. IRL is on its way back into the American sports mainstream Certainly free publicity such as what has been provided by Castroneves and Patrick helps. But in the end, it's all about the racing. If Helio and Danica couldn't drive worth a lick, and if the racing was dullsville week in and week out, nothing they did off the track would matter a lick. Fact is they're two top-tier drivers in an extremely demanding league. Mere dancers and models need not apply.

To her credit, Patrick remains a model for young women everywhere.

So all of a sudden Margolis is giving Danica credit for something? Naah. Merely a setup for...

It may be a model of how persistence, a pretty face and the willingness to take the heat can pay off in the end.

Nice. Not a word of genuine credit for her driving skill. Not a hint of authentic credit for winning a race. Just further insinuation it's all abut her looks I bring information: looks are for leaning against a car while posing for a magazine. They can't drive for anything.

Her skills and courage behind the wheel of an Indy car is not in question. It takes considerable amounts of both to enter Turn 1 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with your foot to the floor.

This is the journalistic equivalent of the "some of my best friends are..." line of defense when one is accused of bigotry. Margolis spends a entire column sliding between insinuations Patrick is something other than the real deal behind the wheel and flat-out "that wasn't a real win" accusations. And now she's skilled and courageous? Make up your mind.

And cast no doubts about it. Her victory is the first ever by a woman in Indy cars.

Thank you for stating what we already know.

But not the first in auto racing.

Thank you for again stating what we already know.

Women have been winning at the highest levels of professional auto racing for years.

Once more, thank you for stating what we already know. Now, do you have an actual point here? Men have also been winning at the highest levels of professional auto racing for years. Not seeing any guys getting slammed here because they were born with a Y chromosome.

Drag racers Shirley Muldowney, who is now retired, and more recently Melanie Troxel have shown that women can compete and win in what is presumed to be a man's game - driving race cars capable of speeds well over 300 miles per hour.

Not to knock Muldowney or Troxel (or Angelle Sampey or Ashley Force or Hillary Will or Karen Stouffer, etc); their skill and courage is unquestioned. But drag racing requires a whole different skill set than oval racing. There is very little common ground. Trying to put Danica Patrick down by lifting successful female drag racers up is both making a fallacious comparison and incredibly condescending to both Patrick and the aforementioned drag racing drivers.

For now, Patrick's lone victory is more a marketing executive's dream. She can now be identified in her product endorsements as IndyCar "race winner" Danica Patrick instead of just Indy car driver.

According to Margolis, she should refuse to be identified as such because she's unworthy. There are many things Margolis can be identified as after this column, but I'll be nice... sort of.

In some ways, the pressure is off. Now Patrick can focus on scoring a more "traditional" victory and establishing herself as one of the series' top drivers.

As opposed to before Motegi, when she was spending her time working on her tan and hanging out with the A-list?

And if Andretti is correct, and this is her first of many victories, then her impact on the sport could be historic - especially if she can duplicate it in the Indy 500, when actual open eyes will be watching, not just the bloodshot ones that witnessed her graveyard hour win in Japan.

Hey, thanks for insulting all of us who are open wheel fans and actually watched the race! So sorry I wasn't spending my Saturday night out shooting up the town or something.

Until then, this win leaves itself subject to scrutiny.

As your sad sack of a failed attempt to denigrate Danica Patrick and her first IRL win leaves you, Margolis.

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Comments

... well

As to the "she's never won anything" argument, if she wasn't able to drive she wouldn't be in the IRL. Period.

Sure, she can drive. So can Milka Duno but that doesn't mean she belongs in the IRL, does it?

Anyways, the simple fact is this is great historically/PR-wise but meaningless in the long-run for the sport. Danica winning is going to do nothing for any of the other women coming up or going through it right now.

Hell, the second headline I read today is how Chrissy Wallace "is looking for a Danica-like break-through." That seriously denigrates what Chrissy has already done in her sport. And it certainly doesn't help that Danica has set the benchmark for how a woman has to market herself to get sponsorship in the sport.

Honestly, do you think Danica would have gotten as far as she has with her track record without 1) being hot and 2) being willing to exploit it?

Is it really any different for the guys? Only on the level that, as a woman, Danica has had to flash the goodies while the guys can slide with being cute and good talkers. But Margolis is 100% correct when he states, "It may be a model of how persistence, a pretty face and the willingness to take the heat can pay off in the end." Everything about Danica's career so far has proved it.

by Bobbleheaded on Apr 21, 2008 1:39 PM EDT 0 recs

There is no comparison between...

... Danica and Chrissy Wallace. The latter has a resumé any driver trying to break into NASCAR would cheerfully kill for. She doesn't need cheesecake to advance her career.

Which is a roundabout way of saying I agree with you that Danica has employed her appearance as part of her career maintenance. But she's also shown sufficient promise to warrant her continued employment. Looks or no, if she was a garden slug out there I very seriously doubt she would have kept her ride this year given the number of freshly unemployed Champ Car drivers.

As to Ms. Duno, true story: last year when she made her IRL debut, during the pre-race show when they interviewed her Mrs. Dude, who had never seen her before, took one look and said, "Wow! Danica's in trouble." Certainly she's struggled in IRL, although I don't believe she has a car capable of doing anything. What puzzles me is why she isn't entered in all of the road course races, since that is her forte.

by Diecast Dude on Apr 21, 2008 1:53 PM EDT up 0 recs

Your moniker is spot on Guy

Bobbleheaded, congrats it fits to a "T."

"Is it really any different for the guys? Only on the level that, as a woman, Danica has had to flash the goodies while the guys can slide with being cute and good talkers."

Really? Is that why Carl Edwards was splashed all over the covers of magazine bare-chested and buff?

Cute, I guess but I don't roll that way, but sorry Carl don't seem to display any form of good talking in those photo spreads.

Pfft! I've said enough, you're not worth any more effort.

by Marc on Apr 21, 2008 9:13 PM EDT up 0 recs

Info needed

"Really? Is that why Carl Edwards was splashed all over the covers of magazine bare-chested and buff?"

Um, what magazine was that again?? :P

by Crazy20fan on Apr 21, 2008 11:46 PM EDT up 0 recs

What...

you have an interest but too lazy and want things handed to ya?

Nope, ain't gona do it, but here's a teaser then you can scamper off and find it. Goggle is a wonderful thing, should try it.

" Edwards arrived at the photo shoot fresh from a morning workout, unaware he'd be asked to disrobe. The presumption was the typical fire-suit garb; long underwear at the very least.

"They were like, nope, we want to really show you're in shape," Edwards said, "so I took my shirt off. A girl sprayed some stuff on me, it wasn't much. Then they just said they wanted something athletic. So that was my athletic pose, I guess."

by Marc on Apr 22, 2008 12:42 AM EDT up 0 recs

Marc...

Carl appearing shirtless on two magazine covers (one cover being for a men's health magazine that featured an article about Carl's physical fitness) after multiple professional career wins vs. Danica appearing a$$ up and spread eagle over the hood of a car in her leather panties and bustier with basically no professional career to her credit.

Sorry you don't see the difference but it must be hard for you what with your head being firmly jammed up your butt, "guy".

by Bobbleheaded on Apr 22, 2008 12:24 AM EDT up 0 recs

Horse shit

"Danica appearing a$$ up and spread eagle over the hood of a car in her leather panties and bustier with basically no professional career to her credit. "

She didn't show anything more in the photo shoot than you you'd see on every beach in America and a lot less on some.

It's just used as handy excuse for some to cast racks at her, like you.

Let me put it this way, I don't know you from adam, you say she's more fluff than talent, good for you.

Andretti, and Rahal before him are multiple Indy 500 winners who have both placed confidence in her talent.

Hard decision, multiple 500 and other Cart, IRL and sports car winners against...

Against a non-driving, no race team owning, misogynic cheap shot artist.

I think I and most would select the first option.

Pffft!

by Marc on Apr 22, 2008 12:53 AM EDT up 0 recs

Marc, some clarification for you.

One, this isn't every or any other blog. We play nice with each other here. That means no personal attacks.

Everyone is free to disagree, and may oppose someone's position on any given subject with as much vigor as they can muster. But that is all.

I've more than had my fill of attacking people, and I deeply regret having done so over the years. There will be no more of that from me, and I will not tolerate it from others in this space. Period.

Take the post that brought this about as an example. Do I strongly disagree with Margolis? Obviously. Do I rip on his column? Thoroughly. Do I say anything about him personally? No. Why should I? I've never met him. His comeback from cancer is a genuine inspiration. He's not the issue. It's his column. Again, that is all.

Argue the point until your fingers are bleeding on the keyboard if you wish. But there will be no more personal attacks. Am I clear on this?

Second, I do not appreciate the use of profanity, and it is not acceptable. Again, do I make myself clear?

by Diecast Dude on Apr 22, 2008 2:34 AM EDT up 0 recs

Sufficient

I think that's the rub for some people, Jerry. Sure, she's doing sufficient enough work as a driver but, without all the marketing, I think she'd have been booted a long time ago. Nor do I think she ever would've gotten hooked up with Rahal in the first place to set the whole thing off. That sticks in a lot of craws and reasonably so.

by Bobbleheaded on Apr 21, 2008 2:55 PM EDT 0 recs

I've already fought this battle

On another blog. I believe Danica's good looks have helped get a foot in the door, and also it doesn't hurt with sponsorship. But, I also believe she has to have driving talent to retain her job.

Like most situations like this, I or anyone else isn't going to change someone's mind. It is a matter of belief that we have each interpreted what we see in the correct manner. The only way to settle this, as I see it, is time. If Danica continues to win - eventually the issue of her looks will go away to a thinking person.

All that being said, I don't want to come across as a Danica fanboi. I'm not really a fan for a number of reasons, one of which I prefer to focus on Nascar. I've also heard her personality is less than sparkling. That also applies to many in any sport, much less racing. It doesn't mean I have to like her, but I certainly can respect her efforts. I will continue to believe she is in her position because the talent is the bottom line.

by Jeffro on Apr 21, 2008 4:55 PM EDT 0 recs

Jerry

I thought of tearing Margolis a new one but passed. Had enough of that last week ripping a piece of garbage put out by Mulhern about the Mexico event.

That said, I don't believe it, but found it very interesting his hit piece made the wires and his website so soon after Danica crossed the finish line.

That combined with the tone of the piece nearly had me thinking it was pre-written and waiting. Again, I don't believe that just found it surprising it was turned out so fast.

by Marc on Apr 21, 2008 9:20 PM EDT 0 recs

Past -tense

Why does it seem as if the bloom is off the rose?

I guess the Danica win is so very anti-climactic, it no longer matters what she's done, either in cheese-cake or behind the wheel.

I guess winning is important only in the moment and for the moment only.

Margolis needs to ease up on the testosterone. He looks foolish.

Motegi is a physically demanding track. She did a skillful driving job.
Strategy is everything in the IRL, That's why team leaders are called 'strategists'
A win is a win, and nothing else matters.

If you ask me, Danica's done OK for herself.

Bram the Racin' Guy

by Bram on Apr 22, 2008 7:28 AM EDT 0 recs

Marc...

Against a non-driving, no race team owning...

Funny but I haven't seen your name on any racecar as an owner or driver, Marc. Yet you use that argument to denigrate the opinion of someone you don't agree with like it somehow enforces your own opinion? Oh-kay. And seriously, take Michael Andretti's opinion over mine. I don't care. I can hack it when people don't share my opinions. Apparently, you can't.

As far as not knowing me from Adam, that's a relief. I was starting to think I'd done something to tick you off. I should have realized, after seeing you cop the same attitude with other commenters and blog writers all over the NASCAR world, that the problem is with you.

Now have some respect and stop peeing all over the Dude's blog by flaming me. We were all having a nice discussion until you came along and started showing your butt.

by Bobbleheaded on Apr 22, 2008 9:22 AM EDT 0 recs

Um, no

Sorry guy, I offered the choice between you and far more experienced and knowledgeable people on the subject of Danica's qualifications.

Put another way, me, and you look at the subject on a level ground. Neither drive or own an IRL team so the end result is the selection of who's opinion to place more credence in is very simple to make.

by Marc on Apr 22, 2008 6:21 PM EDT up 0 recs