Indy 500

Atomic Punk · Post by **Atomic Punk** » Sun May 29, 2005 7:28 pm

The best thing about it was the band 3 Doors Down playing before the race.

Race sucks ass and when Danica stalled out her car then it became unwatchable. What a boring ass type of racing. The Foyt family should pull the plug on any other offspring trying get get behind the wheel. :roll:

edit: Well now it's good since she stayed out.

rozy · Post by **rozy** » Sun May 29, 2005 8:08 pm

Wow!

Does she have enough gas...

rozy · Post by **rozy** » Sun May 29, 2005 8:14 pm

Nope, but poor Dan Wheldon. He will be an afterthough on this one...

Mike Backer · Post by **Mike Backer** » Sun May 29, 2005 8:27 pm

Great 500!

I gotta admit, I was pulling for the chick.

Cueball · Post by **Cueball** » Sun May 29, 2005 9:42 pm

So was I. I'll be pulling for her again in a couple of minutes, then again a few hours later.

trev · Post by **trev** » Mon May 30, 2005 1:20 am

Now that you boys have it all worked out, settle down now. :)

Danica was very impressive. What she's accomplished at 23 is amazing.

Roofer · Post by **Roofer** » Mon May 30, 2005 6:26 pm

Thing about Danica Patrick that separates her from the Lyn St. James/Janet Guthrie/Sarah Fisher category is she doesn't buy into the whole "girl in a guy dominated sport" business like those 3 did. They felt it a priviledge to be even in the same race as the men. Danica doesn't see it that way. She expects to win, every time out, and being a girl in the race isn't just a novelty. She's a driver and a competitor......nothing else as far as she's concetrned.......she kicks ass in my book.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Tue May 31, 2005 2:58 am

Rack Roofer.

I really, really, really wanted to watch this race and see how Danica fared.

At the same time, my daughter was playing in a softball tournament.

The decision wasn't all that tough.

I'm sure that Danica's father is very proud.

rozy · Post by **rozy** » Tue May 31, 2005 3:06 am

War Wagon wrote:Rack Roofer.

I really, really, really wanted to watch this race and see how Danica fared.

At the same time, my daughter was playing in a softball tournament.

The decision wasn't all that tough.

I'm sure that Danica's father is very proud.

I'll RACK Roof as well, but yours was the best post on T1B today. Very nice!

Rushville · Post by **Rushville** » Tue May 31, 2005 1:05 pm

Roofer wrote:Thing about Danica Patrick that separates her from the Lyn St. James/Janet Guthrie/Sarah Fisher category is she doesn't buy into the whole "girl in a guy dominated sport" business like those 3 did. They felt it a priviledge to be even in the same race as the men. Danica doesn't see it that way. She expects to win, every time out, and being a girl in the race isn't just a novelty. She's a driver and a competitor......nothing else as far as she's concetrned.......she kicks ass in my book.

This is true. It's also true that Danica has been brought into the big league by a strong team in Rahal/Letterman. Whereas Guthrie and St. James were there practically as novelties. I don't know who Guthrie drove for. But I know St. James ran her own team strictly for the 500 for several years which meant she had practically no resources compared to the Penskes and Ganassis and Andrettis of the world. Sarah Fisher came in during a time when CART was still trying to boycott and the IRL was set up to let the lower dollar teams compete. She drove for an average-at-best team with just the standard equipment.

Danica comes in driving for one of the upper echelon teams run by a former winner as a driver and a huge financial resource in David Letterman. And from what I hear, Rahal has been watching this girl and practically had this spot reserved for her since she was in her teens driving go carts. And now that most of what used to be CART has come back to run in what is now IndyCar racing. The tide has swung back to teams who have the huge jack running at the front. Andretti/Green has 4 drivers finish in the top 8. Rahal/Letterman has 2 finish in the top 4.

And it's good to hear the TV ratings were up about 40%. You may not see the bumping you get in NASCAR. But if you've seen some of the finishes over the last couple years, it is close racing.

Roofer · Post by **Roofer** » Tue May 31, 2005 7:51 pm

Rushville wrote:
Roofer wrote:Thing about Danica Patrick that separates her from the Lyn St. James/Janet Guthrie/Sarah Fisher category is she doesn't buy into the whole "girl in a guy dominated sport" business like those 3 did. They felt it a priviledge to be even in the same race as the men. Danica doesn't see it that way. She expects to win, every time out, and being a girl in the race isn't just a novelty. She's a driver and a competitor......nothing else as far as she's concetrned.......she kicks ass in my book.
This is true. It's also true that Danica has been brought into the big league by a strong team in Rahal/Letterman. Whereas Guthrie and St. James were there practically as novelties. I don't know who Guthrie drove for. But I know St. James ran her own team strictly for the 500 for several years which meant she had practically no resources compared to the Penskes and Ganassis and Andrettis of the world. Sarah Fisher came in during a time when CART was still trying to boycott and the IRL was set up to let the lower dollar teams compete. She drove for an average-at-best team with just the standard equipment.

Danica comes in driving for one of the upper echelon teams run by a former winner as a driver and a huge financial resource in David Letterman. And from what I hear, Rahal has been watching this girl and practically had this spot reserved for her since she was in her teens driving go carts. And now that most of what used to be CART has come back to run in what is now IndyCar racing. The tide has swung back to teams who have the huge jack running at the front. Andretti/Green has 4 drivers finish in the top 8. Rahal/Letterman has 2 finish in the top 4.

And it's good to hear the TV ratings were up about 40%. You may not see the bumping you get in NASCAR. But if you've seen some of the finishes over the last couple years, it is close racing.

Excellent point. Patrick's mentality and ability is only half the story. Put her in the same type of team as what Guthrie/St. James/Fisher were running and she'd be hard pressed to get that 4th place finish.

A definite good point that can't be overlooked. However, we must give her props for having ability that Rahal saw in order to give her a shot at driving one of his cars.

Either that, or she gives a pretty mean blowjob.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Tue May 31, 2005 8:11 pm

Roofer wrote:A definite good point that can't be overlooked. However, we must give her props for having ability that Rahal saw in order to give her a shot at driving one of his cars.

I'm pretty sure that her being 40 pounds less than the nearest other driver and being able to drive in city traffic for more than 6 years without a wreck qualified her for a position on Rahal's team.

These engineers look where they can save a pound or two on the entire car for a faster car. With her 40 pound differential, it was a no brainer. You watch now, either the rest of the IRL will start bitching about her weight and demand all racers have the same weight (not likely) or you will see female drivers being sought out in lower ranks of racing that are tiny in order to compete (very liekly). Kind of the jockey syndrome in horse racing...

Roofer · Post by **Roofer** » Tue May 31, 2005 8:20 pm

IndyFrisco wrote:
Roofer wrote:A definite good point that can't be overlooked. However, we must give her props for having ability that Rahal saw in order to give her a shot at driving one of his cars.
I'm pretty sure that her being 40 pounds less than the nearest other driver and being able to drive in city traffic for more than 6 years without a wreck qualified her for a position on Rahal's team.

These engineers look where they can save a pound or two on the entire car for a faster car. With her 40 pound differential, it was a no brainer. You watch now, either the rest of the IRL will start bitching about her weight and demand all racers have the same weight (not likely) or you will see female drivers being sought out in lower ranks of racing that are tiny in order to compete (very liekly). Kind of the jockey syndrome in horse racing...

Perhaps (albeit maybe a little far fetched), but at the same time, then one must consider her physical condition, i.e. stamina, if you're going to give her bonus points for weight. It takes alot out of a person to be subjected to those G forces over a 3-4 hour period of time. As much as her weight may give the car a miniscule advantage, it also gives her a distinct disadvantage as well.

Besides, you're not taking into consideration the 20lbs. of balls this chick carries around with her. :P

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Tue May 31, 2005 8:29 pm

What is far fetched? The weight differential or my assertion that small bodied driver chicks will be sought after?

The weight differential is true. She is only 97 pounds.

As for seeking out small chicks to drive, just wait. She will get better, more experienced. When she does, she will be winning damn near every week she doesn't crash.

You look at the mistakes she made in this race and the fact she was still in the lead with 7 laps to go is amazing. A lot of that has to do with her being able to not make that last pit because they calculate in her weight when making the decision to not pit. I didn't measure the gas remaining in the tank, but I would bet that it would have been a lot less, if any, left in the tank with that extra 40 pounds.

Roofer · Post by **Roofer** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 3:05 am

IndyFrisco wrote:What is far fetched? The weight differential or my assertion that small bodied driver chicks will be sought after?

The weight differential is true. She is only 97 pounds.

As for seeking out small chicks to drive, just wait. She will get better, more experienced. When she does, she will be winning damn near every week she doesn't crash.

You look at the mistakes she made in this race and the fact she was still in the lead with 7 laps to go is amazing. A lot of that has to do with her being able to not make that last pit because they calculate in her weight when making the decision to not pit. I didn't measure the gas remaining in the tank, but I would bet that it would have been a lot less, if any, left in the tank with that extra 40 pounds.

And the stamnia issue........were you gonna comment on that, or is this just "point, counterpoint, my fuckin point, I said"?

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 3:33 am

IndyFrisco wrote:What is far fetched? The weight differential or my assertion that small bodied driver chicks will be sought after?

Both are far fetched.

Just give Danica her due props and quit trying to disect it like she was an insect under the microscope.

The media has done a fine job of that, already.

At this point, she's a race car driver who finished 4th, period.

Qbert · Post by **Qbert** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:10 am

i have been scratching my head over this since Paul put up the Robby Gordon Thread.

i cannot believe that the IRL doesn't have their "Minimum Weight" include Car and Driver.

i didn't search the F1 site...'cuz they really don't matter as much as an unattended dingleberry.

what type of Racing Circuit doesn't include the Driver as The Weight of the Car?

this is NOT a SLIGHT on Danica Patrick at all.

i just want to point out that Robby Gordon isn't the "tempremental disgruntled, unsuccessful crybaby"...that most think that he is.

in NHRA Pro Stock Bike...Angelle--->whatever her last name now is...weighs like "nothing."

HER and her Bike must meet minimum weight.

SHE has WON Plenty...World Championship too boot.

BUT, her and her Bike = Gino Scali's weight + Bike...so, its equal.

why doesn't the IRL have the minimum weight EQUAL Car + Driver....when everybody else does?

as indyFrisco stated above...hell YES the engineers can do alot with that weight differential.

i honestly thought that this thread would turn to WHERE the Engineers could MOVE the "weight saved" from Danica being 100lbs...compared to somebody being 150-160lbs...with the CAR and Driver WEIGHT being the SAME...but the IRL doesn't HAVE that Rule.

Robby Gordon is right...its a HUGE advantage to have a Smaller Driver in the Car.

and this is NOT a slight on Danica Patrick.

RACK Danica!

we'll see Jockeys at Indianapolis soon....if they have the Skills and Stones to Drive.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 1:11 pm

Roofer wrote:
IndyFrisco wrote:What is far fetched? The weight differential or my assertion that small bodied driver chicks will be sought after?

The weight differential is true. She is only 97 pounds.

As for seeking out small chicks to drive, just wait. She will get better, more experienced. When she does, she will be winning damn near every week she doesn't crash.

You look at the mistakes she made in this race and the fact she was still in the lead with 7 laps to go is amazing. A lot of that has to do with her being able to not make that last pit because they calculate in her weight when making the decision to not pit. I didn't measure the gas remaining in the tank, but I would bet that it would have been a lot less, if any, left in the tank with that extra 40 pounds.
And the stamnia issue........were you gonna comment on that, or is this just "point, counterpoint, my fuckin point, I said"?

I'm not trying to take away from what the girl did. I'm not even a racing fan so I could care less. I was talking physics of the car. You want to talk stamina, well, yeah, props to her for being able to withstand those kinds of G-forces. I agree that is an accomplishment for her just as it is for any other driver. I am sure I’d be puking my guts out if I was out there doing the same kind of thing.

Of course, I’m twice her weight so there is no way I could get my car to go as fast as hers legally. If you still contend this is not true then you need to drop the myopia and quit “pulling” for the chick so hard.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 1:15 pm

KC Paul 3.0 wrote:Excellent take Qbert....my point merely was the fact that if Danica wasn't breaking any rules then Roberta Gordon didn't have a leg to stand on to BITCH about.

Yes Q, excellent take. I wish someone else would have brought up that point! :roll:

As for Robby Gordon, I'm not defending the dude that it is unfair. It is just a calculated advantage that, for now, is legal. More power to the Rahal team for taking advantage of this! Until the rule changes, that's why I say watch out for smaller drivers, like I referred to before as well as Q with the jockey comments.

I swear...some people are either so hard-headed or just plain ignorant to actually think that her weight differential isn't a huge advantage. Oh yeah, and Shaq's body mass isn't a huge advantage either. :roll: I'm sure he'd be as dominant as he was in his career if he was 6' 9" and 270 lbs. :roll:

Rushville · Post by **Rushville** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 1:27 pm

One point about the weight issue.

A.J. Foyt is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 (4 times), the Daytona 500, and the 24 hours of Lemans.

A.J. Foyt was one stocky sumbitch.

Driver weight an advantage? Sure. If it comes down to Danica and a 150 pound driver coming down the final straight toward the line and both cars have the same amount of fuel left and neither one gets an advantage from a draft or other momentum off the turn, then yes Danica's weight gives her an advantage in that instance. But the engineers and pit crew and driver skill and a lot of luck still have to work together to get the car to that point. "Huge advantage" might be pushing it.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 1:33 pm

Rushville wrote:One point about the weight issue.

A.J. Foyt is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 (4 times), the Daytona 500, and the 24 hours of Lemans.

A.J. Foyt was one stocky sumbitch.

Driver weight an advantage? Sure. HUGE advantage might be pushing it though.

As I recall, steering systems back in Foyt's day required a significant amount of brawn just to keep the car on the right line.

Also, I'd love to see Danica take a crack at Le Mans. That would certainly answer any remaining durability questions.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 12:37 am

IndyFrisco wrote:
I swear...some people are either so hard-headed or just plain ignorant to actually think that her weight differential isn't a huge advantage.

It might be a small advantage, but not a huge advantage. It's easily counterbalanced by the fact that women don't ordinarily have the durability, strength, and endurance of men. It might be an advantage in qualifying, but over 500 miles, that's insignifigant.

Oh yeah, and Shaq's body mass isn't a huge advantage either. :roll: I'm sure he'd be as dominant as he was in his career if he was 6' 9" and 270 lbs. :roll:

So, now you're comparing the IRL and Danica to the NBA and Shaq?

Quite a reach.

Sorry Frisco, but your take really sucks.

JiT3 · Post by **JiT3** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 10:21 pm

Since I guess I am the only one here that was actually a the race, plus having inside access let me shed some light here.

Yes it may be an advantage that she only wieghts in at 100 lbs but, there have been races in the past where drivers came in at not much more than that weight. Jimmy Kite for example, when he first came to Indy he couldn't have been more than 120 lbs soaking wet right after a big dinner. Eddie Cheever won the race in 99 and he probably tipped the scales at better than 175, there were drivers that came in way below that weight.
The drivers weight may be a slight, and I emphisize SLIGHT advantage but, in the grand scheme of things it isn't that much.

Now as to why she lost the race well, she was lucky to even be in position to lose it. Had she not hit Tomas Enge on her rookie mistake restart, she would have made contact with the wall and ended her day. What happened was the leader who was controling the field and didn't acclerate as much as the back of the field had expected. The whole back end began laying on the throttle coming out of turn 3. They caught up to Wheldon and Kanaan and Meria and were forced to back off. Patrick was still in the throttle when she realized traffic wasn't moving as fast as she was and she plain pinched the car whle still in the throttle. The back end came around and she hit Enge which straightened her out.

Then when she did have the lead at the end the team told her to dial the fuel down. Wheldons crew told him on the same yellow lap to turn the fuel all the way up. He was running as rich as the car would allow and she was as lean as the car could go. He had more HP and was able to take the lead with relative ease.
She asked if she had the fuel to make it and they replied she did but only on a lean setting. Do the best you can do and make it hard for anyone to pass was the advice she was given. LOL They also said that if an incident happened while she was still in the lead this late in the race, she could go back to a rich setting and probably hold off any attempts at a pass.

It was a great race, watching various drivers making their way up through the field was great. I had Meria inthe Photographers pool so I was really watching him with great interest LOL.

I have a gallery up if anyone is interested Indy 500 gallery not many but the Patrick spin is one of them. Most are the day after at the winners shoot. Hopefully ESPN Mag will pick up 1 or 2 of them haven't heard anything yet but who knows....

Oh and whoeve said the Foyts shouldn't be in the race at all, you are very correct on that. If Foyt 4 was grandson, he would have been shit canned a long time ago. It will be interesting to see if Foyt fields a car at thenext race. When informed they were being black flagged and wouldn't be allowed to return, A.J. Foyt's reply was "If were done for today then tell them we ar done for the season." Might not be a bad thing altogether That kid is nothing more than a moving chicane.

trev · Post by **trev** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 10:41 pm

Very good pics Jeff!

Atomic Punk · Post by **Atomic Punk** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 2:54 am

JiT3 wrote: Oh and whoeve said the Foyts shouldn't be in the race at all, you are very correct on that. If Foyt 4 was grandson, he would have been shit canned a long time ago. It will be interesting to see if Foyt fields a car at thenext race. When informed they were being black flagged and wouldn't be allowed to return, A.J. Foyt's reply was "If were done for today then tell them we ar done for the season." Might not be a bad thing altogether That kid is nothing more than a moving chicane.

That was me Jeff. He is like a lot of legacy NASCAR drivers that shouldn't have a ride. Nice pics, as usual.

I request more Waltrip pics at the Brickyard August 7th..... please. :D

trev · Post by **trev** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 2:58 am

Jeff needs an avatar.

:D

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:09 am

trev wrote:Jeff needs an avatar.

No, he doesn't.

But if someone wants to whitch up a pic of a gigantic asshole awaiting a sammitch...that might be appropo.

JiT3 · Post by **JiT3** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:33 am

War Wagon wrote:
trev wrote:Jeff needs an avatar.
No, he doesn't.

But if someone wants to whitch up a pic of a gigantic asshole awaiting a sammitch...that might be appropo.

Bwhahahahahaha

Thats about all I can say Wags, I feel the love brudah.

JiT3 · Post by **JiT3** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:37 am

trev wrote:Very good pics Jeff!

Thanks Trev and anyone else who liked the shots. Oh and Trev thanks again,this time for finding my old avatar. I used that one on TNW for a long time and forgot where it was.

JiT3 · Post by **JiT3** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:52 am

BTW, if you like racing be sure to watch the Texas race. Off the top of my head I think it is June 11 or 12. 200 MPH side by side, and it don't get much better than that. I would love to shoot that race, was offered a chance to last year but no expense money and I can't run that far on a spec job.

trev · Post by **trev** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:08 am

JiT3 wrote: Oh and Trev thanks again,this time for finding my old avatar. I used that one on TNW for a long time and forgot where it was.

Oh, ChargerMike put it on the board today. I never would have found it. But you're welcome anyway. :)