Danica Patrick discusses what the Indy 500 means to her

[knightryderrwn]

Well, Indy must not mean that much to her.....since she's abandoning the IRL series to race stock cars.

[lipevolcom2]

Bring it on Danica, ... , Don't think I can stear left better than you?

[spooky78]

hey danica we at last I want to see you in F1..

[GreenVPL]

She is like a vacuum cleaner, she sucks.

[tableconnect]

i wish tony stewart, dale earnhardt jr were racing in this race then it would be fun to watch and throw in kevin harvick and it will be a heck of race at the indy 500

[gmcjetpilot]

@tableconnect

Dear Red Neck: Go back to your trailer and your 250 lb toothless wife. This is not NASTY CAR.

[CookieDude1178999]

@gmcjetpilot Hey you stupid fuck tard. expand your racing knowledge. Besides what the fuck are you talking about? The Dallara chassis is the ugliest butt-fuck Indy Car ever. I would rather drive NASCAR stock car COT platform than a butt-fuck Dallara.

NASCAR and IRL are both very good.

[gmcjetpilot]

@CookieDude1178999

Why are you cursing me? I expressed my opinion as someone who has been following motor sports and racing myself for 35 years. Don't like it? Sue me. Who the F was talking about the "Dallara chassis"? Yes ranting raving lunatic stranger, that doesn't know me, NASCARAP & IRL are both good. One is good if you have no teeth and weigh 300 lbs. The other is for sophisticated connoisseurs of motor racing. Ha ha. I'm pulling your chain Bubba. Now go french kiss your dog and FU!

[CookieDude1178999]

@gmcjetpilot All right. *Kisses Dog*

[hybanks2000]

danica who?

[dragoonjohn]

gooooooooo danica

[knightryderrwn]

Well, I'll have to check your Twitter account out - I do use it, although not that often. I've enjoyed the discussion, and like I said, maybe this is the year that Danica wins the 500! We'll find out on the 30th!

[BigBob8824]

I WOULD LOVE to TICKLE HER SEXY BODY AND GIVE HER A FULL BODY MASSAGE!!!!!!!! SHE IS SO SEXY!!!!!

[Brantoc]

Good interview.. As time goes by, and she has gotten used to the spotlight, she does better interviews.

GJ Danica!

[knightryderrwn]

Well, I wonder what her excuse will be THIS year when she doesn't do well!

[cch2142]

@knightryderrwn What the hell are you talking about?! She's finished in the top 10 in 4 out of 5 Indy 500 starts, and the only time she didn't was 2008 when she got taken out on the pit lane by Ryan Briscoe. Have you ever even watched an Indy 500?

[knightryderrwn]

@cch2142,

I've been watching Indy 500's since BEFORE YOU WERE BORN. Matter of fact, I've never missed one in 30 years. As to what the hell I'm talking about - how many Indy 500's has she WON?? Answer: NONE. ZIP. ZERO. Come to think of it, she's NEVER won a race in the US!! Her ONLY win came in JAPAN, for crying out loud!! And, when she doesn't do well, she seems to make more excuses than most drivers! THAT'S what the hell I'm talking about!

[cch2142]

@knightryderrwn First of all, how do you know when I was born? Secondly, races in Japan don't count? The laws of physics are different there or something.

Only winning counts as doing well in the Indy 500? 2 top 5s and 2 more top 10s in 5 years isn't good enough for you. Mario, Michael, and Marco Andretti have only won the thing once in all of their careers combined, and you criticize Danica for not winning it in 5 years? WOW! What's your excuse for that?

[knightryderrwn]

@cch2142,

All I did was look at your profile - it shows your age. A little simple arithmetic told me that I watched my first 500 before you were born. Secondly, I'm not saying races in Japan don't count.

As far as the Andrettis go, I agree with what you say about only Mario winning it in 1969. HOWEVER, Mario has a career's worth of WINS (and championships) other than Indianapolis. Unfortunately, society seems to value winning more than just doing well.

[cch2142]

@knightryderrwn

Ok, I didn't realize my profile showed that.

I'm a little confused now. Do you put the Motegi race on equal footing with all the other IndyCar races or not?

I thought you were doing exactly what you now say is unfortunate. You said DP hadn't won Indy, therefore she hadn't done well. I was annoyed by your previous posts, but your last one sounds intelligent, and I can't find anything in it to disagree with. So now I'm just confused.

[knightryderrwn]

@cch2142,

Okay, let me try to explain myself better. As I said in my last post, "society seems to value winning more than just 'doing well.' " However, DP seems to get a lot of attention, maybe more than she deserves, without a lot of wins. And hey, a race is a race is a race - I know I couldn't do what she and the rest of the Indy drivers do!!

Is Danica a good driver - yes. You don't get 2 top 5's and 2 top 10's at Indy if you're not good!

[cch2142]

@knightryderrwn ....And I just wish people would give her a break sometimes and not criticize every little thing she does or says. I don't know Danica. I've never even met her. But I do know what it's like to be expected to be very good at something and then not meet people's expectations for a variety of reasons, and not do as well as you want for yourself either. The last thing you need is for other people who don't really know what's going on to pile more criticism on you.

[knightryderrwn]

@cch2142,

See, we can find things to agree on!! :) I basically agree with everything you said in your last two posts - it's kinda like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Don't know if you follow NASCAR or not.) - he's got ENORMOUS amounts of pressure on him, like DP does, but for a different reason (his last name). Unfortunately, these last couple years haven't been too good for him.

And, you're right about Danica's place in racing history (to be continued).

[knightryderrwn]

@cch2142,

(Continuing my last post) - Danica's place in racing history is guaranteed, right alongside Janet Guthrie. I mean, let's face it - she did earn the best finish @ Indy of ANY female racer last year, she's led the Indy 500, and, the wins will come. Heck, it took Dale Earnhardt Sr. 20 YEARS to win the Daytona 500!

And I understand about having high expectations placed on yourself and then not meeting them - it's frustrating!!

[cch2142]

@knightryderrwn

I do follow NASCAR, although not as much as I used to. Yeah, I think Danica and Dale Jr. are in very similar situations. It's ironic that DP is driving for Dale Jr's NASCAR team. Of course, as an IndyCar fan I hope that's temporary. I don't want her to leave. But it is fun to watch.

I think we've reached a reasonable conclusion to this discussion, so I'll just say that I've enjoyed the discussion and wish you a happy Indy 500. But before I go...

[knightryderrwn]

@cch2142,

It's VERY ironic that DP Is driving for Jr's NASCAR team! You should see some of the comments on the FOX Sports website forums about that!  And, I don't think she should quit driving IndyCar either. :)

[cch2142]

@knightryderrwn

....Do you use Twitter? If so I post some IndyCar (and occasionally F1) commentary there that you might find interesting or want to disagree with. I'm a mathematician (Phd student) so I approach it from that angle, which I think is unique and I hope people might find interesting sometimes. Anyway my Twitter name is IndyCarMathGuru, for anyone who's interested. Sorry for the shameless plug, but I had to take the opportunity. Enjoy the 500 !

[gmcjetpilot]

@knightryderrwn

She'll be forgotten as many other female drivers are coming down the road. Danica will never be a champ. Part of IRL is road course. She'll never be competitive on road courses; she's does not have the stamina. Woman have less muscle & stamina. I was rooting for her, thought her fiery temper was cute and competitive. Now it's annoying. She threw her crew under the bus this year at Indy and got booed. When the car is not right don't whine.

[knightryderrwn]

@gmcjetpilot,

Well, I hate to completely disagree with you - but, I watched her at Texas last night, and she ran pretty well. I mean, I agree with you about the road courses, but this new format - an oval course championship, road course championship, AND the series championship, JUST MIGHT (caps for emphasis only) be good for her - IF she got out of Nationwide and focused SOLELY on the IRL.

[gmcjetpilot]

@knightryderrwn

Look there are many GOOD drivers. She's a GOOD driver. Great? She had so much attention because she has a vagina. It was great for IRL. The novelty wore off. I'm no Danica hater, but blaming her Indy crew, then the non apology explanation, was an exercise in embarrassing insecurity and self center narcissism. To paraphrase: “I am still Great as usual, so it's the car, not my fault.” It's a team prima donna, you win and lose together. If she won again I'd be happy for her.

[knightryderrwn]

@gmcjetpilot,

Hey, you're preaching to the choir, gmcjetpilot! I agree - she's GOOD. That's it. But, like you said, blaming her crew for the problems she had, that was just flat out WRONG. And, she gets WAY too much attention for a driver that has won ONE race, on fuel mileage, that wasn't even here in the U.S. Like you said, she gets the attention she gets because she's female. She needs to learn the old "There's no I in TEAM" axiom!!

[knightryderrwn]

@cch2142,

(Continuing my thought from my last post) - my beef is that DP seems to get more attention than most WINNERS of the 500, even though she hasn't won one yet. Of course, this could be the year she does, and makes me look like a complete idiot. Who knows.

[cch2142]

@knightryderrwn I think you're basically right about that. However, I would say that while the attention that she gets might be disproportionate to her performance at times, you also have to consider her place in the sport's history. Whether she has any greater success or not, 40 years from now I think Danica will be seen as a transformational figure who opened the floodgates for female drivers to become a substantial percentage of the IndyCar field.

[Rdwomack]

Go Andretti Autosport!

[Matt007b]

hope she does well!