What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

Oh, it's just NASCAR that is making a big deal over Danica Patrick (I'm personally happy that she got a ride by the way). The same weekend she is getting all that press, two women pull down wins in Phoenix (SS and TAD). Oh yeah, over here in drag racing, a woman winning is not a big deal because it happens all the time-take that you circle track Janey-Come-Latelies!

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

Here Here! Well put Dave.

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

I thought we did make a big deal out of Courtney Force (Ashley and others) - when they are a PRO racer as Danika is

Don't kill me but I think it takes guts to run in a 20 car pack of 200 MPH 3500 lb cars - bumper to bumper and door to door

Come on guys give here just a little credit

Just because she is good looking and leveraging her looks dose not mean she can't drive

It is not her fault - good looks (sex) sells


:-) peace

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

if ya will notice there were several ladies that attempted to qualify for the 500----Now if Danica was just another pretty face in the crowd and had no attachments to Go Daddy.com but was either unsponsored or had say Wallys Fish Mkt as her primary sponsor do ya think she would be getting the coverage/exposure she is??? GoDaddy is spending a ton of money in racing and they are doing all the PR they can to not only promote Danica but if ya notice she has GoDaddy all over her uniform so even if ya do not like or care for Danica their logo is splattered all over the TV screen ---its called advertising folks---we will see how this all plays out over the course of the season but remember you're gonna see lotsa GoDaddy .com logos wether she wins or finishes last---sorta like John who???---they show him spending time withe grand kids,riding his bike ,whatever. It takes time away from the other advertisers/racers and focuses more on Castrol/Ford

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

There were four women IN last year's 500. Danica Patrick, Ana Beatriz, Pippa Mann and Simona de Silvestro. There have only been women in drag racing for what, 50 years now?

But Patrick gets all the attention. It's not because of her sponsorship. It has more to do with her looks, her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, etc. The GoDaddy sponsorship is because she gets so much attention.

Jim

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

She's doing something right. Apparently the third highest income for a female sports person at 12 million bucks! (Forbes magazine 2011)

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

You're comparing apples to oranges, kids. Danica Patrick is an INDUSTRY. She has been groomed to be Danica Patrick since she started racing and has always had the marketing staff to make it happen. Her exposure is not an accident.

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

It's all about the money, particularly with the pro racers. If truth be told, most of today's pro racers could care less about the actual racing. They are more concerned about being in the spotlight...and be sure and show their "good side". Look at Force's daughters...they would rather be at a shopping mall than racing. Would Danica Patrick or Courtney Force still be driving if it was mandatory that they had to do some actual WORK on the car?

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

I think that the day of Hot Rod guys like Carrol Shelby, Don Garlits, Lee Petty to go from wrench to driver are long gone. Sponsorship is all about money not driving skills but you cannot take away the heart and drive it takes to make it to the top that Danica Patrick has shown. Like Bret said, she is becoming Nascar, I love it, now my better half will have someone else to cheer than Junior who by the way hasn't shown much to show for his popularity, except to have had a father born before him. Funny cars are just a Rockets with a clown driving it, remember the space race when Chimpanzee were strapped to a V2 rocket, well that's what racing in the pro camp have come to. CR

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

Okay, let me see if I can do this without upsetting someone. Bret you are correct, racing nowdays is about promoting and she came up through open wheel into the position of chief spokesperson for Go Daddy. Now she is the top of all media representing NASCAR.

Now Force. Within the last year I have seen write-ups about Force which have stated that Force is the "face of NHRA drag racing, including in National Dragster. His daughters are not new faces around dragstrips around the country. I personally think Ashley has correctly set her priorities. If you have every talked with Courtney you will realize this girl is a drag racer and will beat you if you slip up.

Bret there was no internet back then, but does this ring of comments around Englishtown and other tracks when a girl named Shirley got into a fuel dragster.

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

As I said, I'm REALLY happy for Danica-good for her and I really hope she has lots of success. My point is that women doing well in drag racing is nothing new!

BTW, get off the looks bit-studies show that in lots of professions, looks influence success and that goes for both men and women. Hell, studies have shown that professors who are ranked as better looking get better student evaluations! But my boss won't take that as an excuse for my evaluations-damn-it-all!

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

She's Sponsored by "Big O" Tires!
Congratulations Jackie Alley the 2011 SS World Champion.........

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

I think people are answering a question...but not the question asked.

What's the big deal about women in racing?
I agree, what is the big deal? In dragracing women have been around "forever" and are considered just another driver. There is certainly no slack given or taken just because their female.
In nascar as well as any other autosport, WOW, LOOK IT'S A WOMAN!!!! Really? Perhaps this just proves how sexist the other sports are?

Regardless whether Danica is good looking or not, the hoopla over her being a woman is what is demeaning. "wow you race cars..like a guy?"

How many on here have watched the win light come on in the other lane and it was a woman driver, and thought "crap, I lifted to early or got a bad light etc? Now who of you in that situation thought "aww gee I was beat by a girl" Seriously, who the F$%^ cares what sex the person is in the other lane. Anybody seriously think a person can't hit a light or drive the stripe....because they're a woman? REALLY? I didn't think so.

And yes the females promote this sexism just as much if they are not autosports savy.
"wow, a woman driver? she must be crazy, I wouldn't go out there with those guys"

Yeah, whatever.

Female drivers for me is a non issue. It's like asking what hair colour a driver has...who cares?

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

I think the big deal, in NASCAR anyway, has been an almost total lack of gender or ethnic diversity in their Professional series! It's always been a male-dominated sport at that level, much like drag racing used to be. NASCAR recently hired a Vice-President of Diversity and started a program for bringing more ethnic minorities and women into the sport, starting on the local level.

Re: What's the big deal about women in racing?
 

Women or men, if you have a great PR firm you can make any blemish disappear, just look at Denica:

(Danica Patrick Marries Paul Hospenthal)

Recently, Liz Mellott of NATIONAL SPEED SPORT NEWS followed up on Hospenthal’s sordid professional past - which actually goes beyond his reprimand for underage sex with a patient:

Under the Pennsylvania Department of State Health Licensing Boards Disciplinary Actions in October 2007, the story continues.

“Paul E. Hospenthal, license no. PT001940E of Scottsdale, Ariz., agreed to a permanent, voluntary surrender of his license because he had a license disciplined by the proper licensing authority of another state.” (09-27-07) So, now no longer on probation, he has no license.

Then, to add more soap to the opera, “The Board then discussed ordering Mr. Hospenthal to submit to a psycho-sexual evaluation. The motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote.” Wow, when the whole Pennsylvania State Board thinks you need a psycho-sexual evaluation, you would think it would be hard to get a date, much less marry an IRL star.

Mellott also reports that Hospenthal had another complaint lodged against him by a young patient in Arizona:

In the Arizona State Board of Physical Therapy records, there is another complaint that in 2000 he seduced another woman while she was his physical therapy patient and that they had a consensual sexual relationship for four years during which time she “periodically received physical therapy care from Mr. Hospenthal both in and out of his clinic. Boy can you hide things with money!