Wow, exciting finish. But a wreck under yellow? That's not going to win any friends.

She knows it, too. But she showed a lot of class in the post-race interview deflecting all the "gosh you did well for a girl" stuff and tried to establish herself as "a rookie who screwed up but shows a lot of promise."

 

You have to admit she is one great driver. She paid her dues and deserves to be where she is at. After winning all of the carting national championships, going over seas at 16 on her own to race Formula 3000 and then proving herself to Bobby Rahal to have a shot in Toyota Atlantic is very respectable!! Now Rahal-Letterman recognized her talent and moved her up to the elite series definelty means that she didnt make it there because she is a women, she is a good talented driver. Her beauty only enhances charm. Ill admit, she defiently turns me on. Her skill, 600HP Honda, personality, and looks works for me. I just hope everything continues to go well for her and she becomes champion someday!!

 

Yea they pulled that line on the CBS morning show and you could see her "wince" once the question was asked.

If Tony George plays his cards right she could be the "poster child" for the IRL much like Dale E. is for NASCAR. Right now is when to stike while the race is still fresh in everyone minds. A total media blitz.

 

This is the IRL. They just HAD their one total media blitz for the year. How many people can name three other IRL races without either guessing or looking it up?

The Champ/IRL split really destroyed what little interest there was (beyond the Indy 500) in open-wheel racing in the US. And even the Indy 500 has been slipping in popularity.

If there is anything that NASCAR understands, it is that most fans don't really come out to "watch a good race". They come out to root for and against DRIVERS. Or teams, sometimes.

The interest in sports is all about people, not machines.

 

I'm a Danica fan, (And Angelle, btw... met her many times, but she's married now ) but I got sooooo sick of all the hype over the month. Were there actually 32 other drivers in the race? You'd never have known it. Even the post race coverage was Danica this and Danica that... oh and btw, some guy named Dan won the thing. Wheldon showed great skill and classs coming up from 16th to win, and never once showing any sour grapes about running a distant second to Ms. Patrick in the lineup for post-race interviews.

Despite the hype, it was actually a pretty good race.

 

He can afford to be gracious. Whatever you think of the IRL and its relative status, he just won the Indy 500! Probably the most famous car race in the world.

 

Oh I don't think so. I think the Monaco GP and the 24 hours of Le Mans are much more famous worldwide...you know, those places on the other side of that big blue stuff

 

Since Wheldon ran out of fuel on the lap after the checkered flag, doesn't that mean:
1) if it weren't for the yellow/white on the last two laps he probably would have ran out of fuel before the end of the race since running full throttle instead?
2) He actually had less fuel than Danica since she made it back to the pit after the race?

 

Oh, I considered the Monaco GP. It has more flash, but I think Indy has more historical value and overall beats it out for most famous car race in the world. The Monaco race was first run in 1929.

The Le Mans 24hr race did slip my mind, and that might well beat out Indy. It was first run in 1923. It's definitely the summit of sports car racing.

But Indy was first run in 1911. It was almost 20 years old by the time Monaco started. And Indy was more significant in terms of the development of cars and motor racing.

Furthermore, Monaco is really only the "first among equals" in F1, while Indy is more of a case where a race series is tacked onto a race.

 

.......as much as I hate to admit it the Daytona 500 has to rank in there somewhere