Indy 500 Not Won By Danica Patrick!

[sblake01]

I meant no disrespect to Danica Patrick (in the shout box). My comment was pointed at the media. She did a fine job. For a woman, for a rookie, for anybody, period! "Winning car to a fourth place finish?" If she had the only car out there capable of winning the race , then why even run the race?

[panchovisa]

Sopwith, I guess you must have been getting snacks when DP had a wheel banging with a back marker at speed, and unlike Bruno she drove through it.

If we can't compare a five race rookie bringing a "winning car home forth" to M.Andretti's number of winning cars that never finished (your rules), then how about Michaels first Indy? How did he do? He didn't get any extra media attention his first year at Indy without results I hope. How about Al Unser Jr, his rookie result and number of media blurbs?

Did either of them finaly end up deserving the attention they received as INDY ROOKIES before winning forty races (or retirement)?

Actually I believe that could you could have correctly stated that she brought a forth place car home in forth. It was Kaanan that brought a first place car home , well somewhere less than forth.

[sopwith21]

She did a fine job. For a woman, for a rookie, for anybody, period!

Well said; couldn't agree more.

"Winning car to a fourth place finish?" If she had the only car out there capable of winning the race , then why even run the race?

I did not say that she had the "only" car capable of winning the race. I said she had a winning car, and she did. She had absolutely top flight equipment, crew and engineers on a top flight team and a car capable of winning the 500. She finished fourth. That's a fact.

[sopwith21]

Sopwith, I guess you must have been getting snacks when DP had a wheel banging with a back marker at speed, and unlike Bruno she drove through it.

Bruno had no chance whatsoever to survive his incident. His car was clipped from the rear and spun. He's now in the hospital with his back broken in two places. Bruno did not wreck due to his lack of skill, and Danica did not avoid a wreck because of her skill. The accidents were completely different in nature, and using someone else's serious misfortune and injury to prop up our favorite driver is shameful.

If we can't compare a five race rookie bringing a "winning car home forth" to M.Andretti's number of winning cars that never finished (your rules), then how about Michaels first Indy? How did he do? He didn't get any extra media attention his first year at Indy without results I hope. How about Al Unser Jr, his rookie result and number of media blurbs?

No one is really following that mess, but please feel free to make any point you like. Mine is that Danica is getting more press than she deserves or than is good for the sport and that other drivers are being shortchanged because of it.

she brought a forth place car home in forth.

No, she drove a winning car to fourth place. Had she not stalled the car on pit row (twice), been penalized for entering the pits when they were closed, spun her car on cold tires and caused a crash that took out two other drivers, she had a car that was more than capable of winning the race.

Danica is a good driver and I enjoy watching her, but she is not God. Despite the media's best efforts to cover them up, she does make mistakes, and those mistakes probably cost her team the race. That is the truth, though admitting it in the media would be the end of your career.

BTW, another media note: The Indianapolis Star - locally nicknamed "Danica's Daily Digest" - ran an 18-page special on the race on Monday. Bryan Herta, drove from 18th to 3rd in one of the best rides of the season and finished ahead of Danica, had a grand total of exactly one sentence written about him. Danica, finishing behind Herta, had a two-page double-truck special feature eulogizing her, plus another full page ad on page 15. That was more than double the space devoted to race winner Dan Wheldon.

[26th-Z]

You guys are too much. Geez, Beaver, give it a rest! Indy is Indy and it always will be. Yes, racing capital of the world as well as greatest spectacle in motor racing. No justification required - that's just the way it is. Good on the young lass. She gave excitement and controversy to what was otherwise another boring roun-D-round. Very few spin at Indy and survive. For all the bumping and bashing that went on, I would say it was a very good show. Best Indy show I have seen in recent memory.

[Mike]

I had a similar situation like this in high-school. A girl joined our football team and it was the biggest media blitz in town. Reporters were at our every game and they interviewed her every move. The coach had to put her in every game because it would have been bad press to not do so. Eventually the populartity wore off and she quit the team.

I guess we'll find out how good of a racer this girl is when the hype wears off.

[panchovisa]

Sopwith, So now you did see the wheel banging. You don't seem to understand my point in bringing it up. The racers on the track all faced individual make or break moments, some came thru the fire and some did not.

Bruno was unfortunate, Danica had racing luck during the wheel banging and caution spin. Racing luck is that thing that either makes you a Scheckter or a Patrick.

It goes back to my statement that pre-race hype is as usefull as post race snivelling. The race is run and the results can not be changed by any amount of post race chatter.

Your main point seams to be that many drivers have not gotten their fair share of attention.

I think Alan (HS30-H) made it clear that Indy is only a poor copy of what it once was, and hardly rates attention outside the USA. I'm afraid that goes for most of the drivers in this years race also.

Of the 33 starters this year I can really only find 11 that could have made the race years ago (and DP isn't one of them).

How can you expect people (or the press) to praise Giafone for starting 33rd and finish 15th (six laps down) when he finished ahead of 17 DNF'S? He actualy passed one car for position!!!!

Ed Carpenter started 26th and after being spotted 17 spots dropped two positions (one lap behind).

Maybe they haven't received attention based on results? After all they have had more than five races to get noticed, and most of those have been pre-Danica, so who is to blame now?

You know very well that DP's attention at Indy was on a par with M. Andretti's and little Al's rookie hype. You also know that her result in the race and qualifing was better.

Nobody but you has said that she was the second coming.

Can't help but feel that behind all your arguments is the itchy bit that she is a "chick".

[sopwith21]

I had a similar situation like this in high-school. A girl joined our football team and it was the biggest media blitz in town. Reporters were at our every game and they interviewed her every move. The coach had to put her in every game because it would have been bad press to not do so. Eventually the populartity wore off and she quit the team.

I guess we'll find out how good of a racer this girl is when the hype wears off.

Exactly. And she is good... no doubt about that. The sooner the media gets their first female winner, the sooner we can get back to recognizing other good drivers in the field as well and enjoying the races. Win-win for everybody.

[Zpeed]

Im from australia guys, not sure what coverage we got, but it was all danica patrick this danica patrick that, be it,she did run a fantastic race, but comon there were another 20 runners out there they didn't get a a quater the airtime she did....

Australias Ryan Brisco came from 24th to 10th as well, he is a rookie and the only other rookie other than Patrick to finish,so he did a good job, did get some small mentions in the news here in aus, yes he has crashed out of all his other races this season, but he is a good driver, and hopefully see him finish some more and get some better finishes in the target car...

Also the race was only showed at 4am in the morning, live, and no day replays, and only a small snippet in the 6pm news about the race etc, champ and indy cars arn't as big as F1 in australia, only untill it indy comes to the gold coast in october. does it get good coverage, other than that weekend we only get it replayed at 1am in the morning..

[sopwith21]

The racers on the track all faced individual make or break moments, some came thru the fire and some did not.

How can you expect people (or the press) to praise Giafone for starting 33rd and finish 15th (six laps down) when he finished ahead of 17 DNF'S?

Compare your two statements above. Danica comes through her "make or break moments" and she deserves all the attention, praise and glory in the world. Giaffone comes through his "make or break moments" (without wrecking anyone) but he merits no attention or credit whatsoever?

If the press received by Danica is deserved because she drove a winning car from fourth place to fourth place, then surely Giaffone would rate more press by driving a last place car that wasn't even supposed to be in the race to 15th.

You are holding the drivers to different standards. Its your opinions which are being swayed by gender, not mine.

[HS30-H]

....Indy is Indy and it always will be. Yes, racing capital of the world as well as greatest spectacle in motor racing. No justification required - that's just the way it is.....

Hi Christopher,

Sorry - I don't agree. The INDY 500 these days is nothing like the leviathan it used to be. I can't point a finger and show you exactly when it ceased being as important and significant as it used to be ( probably more of a slow fade than a jump cut ) but in 2005 it hardly registers on the radar here in Europe. That wasn't always the case. I used to tune in on a small radio in the middle of the night when I was a kid, but now it doesn't even make the sports news on the radio let alone a full news report.

I don't know how anybody could quantify exactly what would make any single place the .."racing capital of the world"... let alone justify that statement. Looking at it from over here, it seems folly to make such a definitive statement.

"Greatest spectacle in motor racing" I would have thought was a subjective issue, and again personally I'd shy away from making definitive statements on subjective issues. I'd expect the promoters / organisers to come up with huge overstatements like that, but I wouldn't expect people to actually believe it. Surely the Monaco Grand Prix and the Le Mans 24hr race would be in with a shout should somebody be foolish enough to try and decide a "Greatest" event ( whatever that means )? If you want to include the two words "all time" you might have an even bigger contest on your hands, with the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Carrera Panamericana and many other long-dead events joining the fray.

No justification required? Why not? I'd have thought it would be easy to justify it to an unbeliever like me if you just trot out a few of the good reasons that I've obviously missed. Nobody seems to be able to come up with any reasons at all, so I'll just have to file it under 'hyperbole' rather than 'speed bowl'.....

Just the way it is? Just the way it was more like. How can anybody seriously believe that the 2005 INDY 500 ( no disprespect to drivers, engineers, entrants or organisers ) ranks at anywhere near the level it did in its heyday? The Indy 500 is just another emasculated motor racing event living off its past reputation.

If only Indy's ghosts could come back and put all this into perspective.

[MikeW]

Australias Ryan Brisco came from 24th to 10th as well, he is a rookie and the only other rookie other than Patrick to finish,so he did a good job

He actually did get mentioned here in the US during the live television broadcast. Unfortunately it was only because the media was busy interviewing Russell Crowe who was at the race ...