Danica Patrick takes historic pole position for Daytona 500

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by Diogenes

Sometimes when Dale Earnhardt's crew chief would suggest a 2 tire stop, Dale would tell him he wasn't leaving his pit stall until he got 4 new tires.

That happens when you are a 7 time Winston Cup Champion.

[Questfor6]

Originally Posted by ABQCOWBOY

It's interesting, I watched the race myself this weekend and I have a very good friend who was actually at the race this past weekend with a guy who used to run Busch National Cars some years back. He said two things that, at the time, I agreed with.

1. Was a mistake for Patrick to take on no new rubber in the last pit.

2. Drivers, throughout the race, took wind from the rear of her car.

[View Full Quote]Because she did not take on fresh rubber, she could not run in the corners. However, it was easy to see that she had enough car to run at the front because she would track the pack down in the straights. People were drafting with her but that's only because she would pull them along. It was not because they were trying to help her IMO. Every time she tried to move to the front, they would back off of her and she would lose the draft. She was afraid and she was right to be so. She new that if she tried to make a pass on the front runners, she would get freight trained. She absolutely would have and it showed. Number 1 is not her call really. That was a crew chief call IMO. They wanted to lead some laps and they did. I'm certain that they figured out that nobody was going to run with her towards the front and so, the crew chief (rightly so IMO) probably elected to make as many points as they could. The tires she had on the car weren't used up and so he probably elected to stay on the rubber they had and chance position gain on the pit stop. It didn't really help them but it didn't hurt them either.

At the end of the day, I don't really have a problem with what happened out there. She's new to the Series and you pay your dues. That means that people don't have to run with you and they didn't. Suck it up and run strong at the next race. In time, if you are able to run well, eventually people will run with you and you will have a chance to win that kind of race next time maybe. However, those of you who said she can't drive and all that other crap were dead wrong IMO. She has things to learn but she's got plenty of talent and she can drive.

Get used to it boys. Patrick, if she can stick it out, is going to be a top driver IMO.

Taking no tires had nothing to do with why she didn't win the race. The reason she didn't win the race was because her and Biffle were to afraid to move down in front of Junior when he made his run down the back. I applaud her effort this weekend because she shocked me but I'm still not a believer. She's gonna struggle mightily over the next 2 or 3 months because she has very little to no track time at any of the upcoming tracks in a Sprint Cup car.

[StanleySpadowski]

Many, many years ago I was a big NASCAR fan. Now I can barely stand it. The Great American Parade was embarrassing boring. It was like F1. No one passing except in the pits or when someone breaks down. They've chased away old school fans by pulling races from the Rockinghams of the world for the cookie cutters, moving the Southern... I wonder how many of the people who tuned in to watch their latest overhyped driver are going to become regulars after watching that snoozefest.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by Questfor6

Taking no tires had nothing to do with why she didn't win the race. The reason she didn't win the race was because her and Biffle were to afraid to move down in front of Junior when he made his run down the back. I applaud her effort this weekend because she shocked me but I'm still not a believer. She's gonna struggle mightily over the next 2 or 3 months because she has very little to no track time at any of the upcoming tracks in a Sprint Cup car.

Your wrong. She couldn't stay with the lead draft in the Corners for the last 50 laps. In the straights, she had enough car to catch back up to the draft. Those are not my words. Those are the words of a person who actually drove cars for a living. Now, everybody is entitled to their own opinions but I will say here and now that every time she tried to move up, she got left behind.

You can believe or not, doesn't really matter. At the end of the day, the only one that has to believe is her in herself.

[burmafrd]

Originally Posted by ABQCOWBOY

Only you are doing that in this thread.


I don't know why you are so caught up on Patrick but that's fine. It is the first race and there is a lot more racing to go. She is going to have good days and bad days and she will continue to learn. It is what it is.

I think the fact that a girl dares to challenge the boys really sticks in his craw

[WPBCowboysFan]

Originally Posted by StanleySpadowski

Many, many years ago I was a big NASCAR fan. Now I can barely stand it. The Great American Parade was embarrassing boring. It was like F1. No one passing except in the pits or when someone breaks down. They've chased away old school fans by pulling races from the Rockinghams of the world for the cookie cutters, moving the Southern... I wonder how many of the people who tuned in to watch their latest overhyped driver are going to become regulars after watching that snoozefest.

You are correct.

And the sport has never recovered from the loss of Dale Earnhardt either.

Most of the new tracks suck. The racing really lacks good side by side, lead changing action.

There is a reason why there are a lot of empty seats at tracks now. The economy has been a factor, but also the cost for attending races just isnt worth it for the product.

I had 2 seats for speedweeks in the best seating area and the cost was $1300 for 2 seats for 4 days of racing. Add in parking for the 4 days - $30-$50 a day, food, fuel, lodging, etc and it just isnt worth it for the kind of racing now.

I had 4 seats, best seating area at $250 each for the July Daytona races and let those go as well. My brother-n-law had the 4 seats next to us. We had 8 seats together. We would take the families. All the same expenses.

Its still fun to go, but its not the same as it used to be when the racing was better - and it costs more. Just a bad combo.

NASCAR is trying to appeal to the masses and be a bee bop top 40 kinda sport. In the long term they have hurt themselves and will continue to do so unless some changes are made. #1 change is to improve the quality of racing.

[WPBCowboysFan]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

I think the fact that a girl dares to challenge the boys really sticks in his craw

As usual you have no clue. And as usual your posts indicate that you are living in your own fantasy world devoid of any reality.

Congrats, you are poster #2 to make my ignore list.

[jimmy40]

Originally Posted by WPBCowboysFan

You are correct.

And the sport has never recovered from the loss of Dale Earnhardt either.

Most of the new tracks suck. The racing really lacks good side by side, lead changing action.

There is a reason why there are a lot of empty seats at tracks now. The economy has been a factor, but also the cost for attending races just isnt worth it for the product.

I had 2 seats for speedweeks in the best seating area and the cost was $1300 for 2 seats for 4 days of racing. Add in parking for the 4 days - $30-$50 a day, food, fuel, lodging, etc and it just isnt worth it for the kind of racing now.

I had 4 seats, best seating area at $250 each for the July Daytona races and let those go as well. My brother-n-law had the 4 seats next to us. We had 8 seats together. We would take the families. All the same expenses.

[View Full Quote]Its still fun to go, but its not the same as it used to be when the racing was better - and it costs more. Just a bad combo.

NASCAR is trying to appeal to the masses and be a bee bop top 40 kinda sport. In the long term they have hurt themselves and will continue to do so unless some changes are made. #1 change is to improve the quality of racing.

but how do they improve the quality of racing?

[jimmy40]

Danica not so good qualifying at Pheonix, hopefully she doesn't wreck any good drivers Sunday.

[WPBCowboysFan]

Originally Posted by jimmy40

but how do they improve the quality of racing?

In all seriousness, that is a good question.

All these new cookie cutter tracks appear to be some of the problem I would think. The cars are too spread out so it tends to be like an Indy Car race.

What made NASCAR so good was the side by side racing lap after lap. Much of that is gone.

[WPBCowboysFan]

Originally Posted by jimmy40

Danica not so good qualifying at Pheonix, hopefully she doesn't wreck any good drivers Sunday.

Are you saying that starting 40th amongst the boys isnt very impressive?

Somehow, in some amazing fashion her teammates (boys) both qualified in the top 10.

Maybe Super Danica just didnt have a good car for this race. Must be the shop's fault. Or the team's fault. Maybe the dessert head winds were blowing against her when she ran her time.

[big dog cowboy]

Originally Posted by WPBCowboysFan

And the sport has never recovered from the loss of Dale Earnhardt either.

Correctamundo.

[jimmy40]

Originally Posted by WPBCowboysFan

Are you saying that starting 40th amongst the boys isnt very impressive?

I'm thinking it kind of sucks.

[WPBCowboysFan]

Originally Posted by jimmy40

I'm thinking it kind of sucks.

Ha Ha,

Well, Super Danica was having a spectacular day, driving an amazing race until that right front blew . . . . . . . .

[jimmy40]

She's so small whenever I see her walking with her helmet on I can't help but think of this