I can't support any woman race car driver who I think has made it harder for other women race drivers to be taken seriously unless they willing pose for a men's magazine in a sexual way. She is overrated and I'll be happy when her fifteen minutes of fame are over. Danica is a well known snob. She could win 40 races and I still wouldn't respect her or think she is a good driver. I hate that the media wastes valuable space just to report about her. Let's be real here, if she was just a driver, didn't pose for men magazines or make sure to wear short skirts at every interview she goes to, no one would care if she won. Racing should be embarrassed that she is suppose to represent a "good" driver when she basically won the race on strategy by her team which any driver could do.
Team strategy is the way things work in team sports. Lance Armstrong's series of Tour De France victories were largely due to the strategies of his teammates that lined up to make sure he crossed the finish line first (watch them going up hills. His three teammates would take turns cutting the wind for him, one by one, taking him up - he would NEVER lead).
This doesn't make Lance Armstrong any less of an incredible cyclist.
Virtually every single victory in car racing history has been made through team strategy. The team decides at the beginning of the race which member will be the one to cross the finish line, and then they work together to set up the conditions for that to happen so that the team can win. It wouldn't make much sense for them to race against each other unless two members of the same team are so far ahead of everyone else that they have no competition other than each other (which doesn't happen much).
Sharapova posed for men's magazines. I guess that makes her a bad tennis player?
I don't really respect Danica Patrick, or Sharapova, for that matter. I don't appreciate their taking their clothes off for the camera. But I'm not going to contest that both of them are damn good at what they do. Every time a woman cracks into a men's field, it makes me happy.
harsh. She is driving about 200 miles mph or more and you say she's not a good driver, WOW!!! Dario Franchitti won Indy last year only because it rained and the race was stopped, what does that make him? I don't think she's a role model for women but come on she's a great driver.
It's just my opinion and I stand firmly behind it. I have heard worst things said about her. She's not a good driver.That's the reason why she could only win a race based on strategy by her team. She has a good team but she's not a good driver. Other people have said that as well or some avoided saying it for fear of being seen as a a " woman hater". I believe there are far better female drivers out there than her but since they aren't willing to pose in a sexual matter across a car for a male magazine, they are ignored. I don't think she deserves the respect she gets for being a so-called good driver.
Danica Patrick is a young accomplished and attractive young woman who has chosen to be seen as a sexual being by posing for so called men's magazines. So what!!! How does that change the fact that she is winning races. She's a pioneer for women in the racing world...let's not tear down her accomplishments by being petty or hypocritical. If any of us is gulity of objectifying a beautiful woman on the cover of a magazine of in any form of media - we are just as much a part of the problem. Not that I see enjoying beauty as a problem!
Danica may have an attitude, but seeing what people put her through, I really can't blame her. I might too if my every move was judged by someone who hadn't lived my life. Know how the straight community judges us - makes assumptions about things they don't understand. Well, we've gotta be better than that...
She should have thought of the consequences of doing those actions would be.I don't just have a issue with her but all female athletes that choose to pose for men's magazines. It sends the message out to young women that in order to be successful as an athlete, you have to please men's desires and I feel like that's not right. She's not a pioneer for women's racing. The women who first even attempted to try to driver in a all male racing world were pioneers. She has just had the chance at better equipment because men think she is sexy. To me she hasn't really accomplished anything but basically messing up future women's chances at racing. She's got one win, so what? She didn't work for it. Her crew worked for it and they deserve it more than she does. She doesn't impress me and probably never will.I find it sad that she will be in sports history books for something she doesn't even deserve.
The fact is I have a cousin who is a professional race driver - he would love to drive Indy...
It is his muscle and skill that wins the races he's worked for - also his team is an essential part of that, but it's his nerves and skill behind the wheel of that car, not the guys in the pit. Danica is a pioneer, she is the first woman in the sport who actually has a chance of starting to steal sponsors from the other guys...
And the sad but true fact, no matter what your gender or orientation, sponsors want good looking people on their ads and next to their product. Danica's posing for magazine's will only help her get more sponsorship money which will pay for her career.
Let's not slam her; in fact let's be sure to be extra supportive of women who are smashing through the glass cieling. Gay or Straight we all truly have a long way to go before there is a gender blind society...and fighting amongst ourselves for whatever reason is not helping the cause.
I agree with you-- her body, her choice. She didn't post nude or denegrade herself, she let it be known she's not just a race car driver, she's a whole woman. I'm not so quick to say she was objectifying women, she's objectifying herself, not the whole gender.
She's attractive? Even better! Unlike some who think a woman has to go out of her way to look unattractive so that only her skill in the sport shows, I think prejudice against women in general decreases faster when people think a woman can be succesful at whatever she chooses to do even when she can afford not to. Most people consider unattractive succesful women in sports no big deal since "what else they'd be doing otherwise?"
So what female drivers do you think the Media should pay attention to? Enlighten me. I don't know that many female drivers. Keep in mind Danica is probably following a publicist advice. I don't care what she does personally as long as she making her way for young womyn to pursue thier dreams in racing.
Also those female athletes like men so therefore they will pose for them. I disagree with you. I use to think that way and I stopped b/c now we imposing a heteroseuxal's womyn preference in her want of being sexy and desireable among men. Yet, when womyn pose sexy on Lesbian magazines it's not an issue. It's called sexism among womyn. I'm sick of womyn beating each other up. What one womyn does in personal or public life is her own right so stop infrigening on it. Danica's pose on a male magazine has nothing to do with you.
is all about the driver and the crew. Many of the men have won races because of the crew. I will admit this I watch NASCAR and the IRL and several times the crew is the reason the driver has won, but one has to have an excellent driver. Danica posing half naked on a magazine has nothing to do with her driving and what she complished yesterday. Unless you know her personally, you cannot say she is a snob or anything else rumors are not facts. Danica not a good driver get in a car and drive 200 mph, see if you can do it. shygurl99, I guess you will not be voting for the afterellen 100 top hotties because aren't we objectifying women.
I still disagree with all of you. I respect her as a fellow human being but I don't respect her as a driver and I still see her as damaging future women drivers' chances.Here are some other female drivers-Mikka Duno who has some sexy pictures out there but she was a model,Sarah Fisher , and Lyn. St. James who was a real pioneer for women racing. http://thundervalleyracing.com/index.html has a some good profiles on upcoming women in racing. I even have issues with some of those women as well. Phillips you have a point that racing has nothing to do with her sexy posing for magazines, so why did she do it? I'm not the only person out there who has an issue with her doing this. My point is that I can't respect a women who used her body, not her brains, to get good equipment while other female drivers struggle because they are not willing to please men. I agree it's her body,her choice but it doesn't mean that I have to agree with it or support it I still also think she has a bad attitude. I'm going by what I have seen in interviews on tv and in newspapers also. I have the right to my opinion, just like the rest of you do. You don't have to attack me just because I don't like her
Being the Rusty Wallace fan I am, I couldn't pass the opportunity to mention...
Wallace, 19, made her debut in the No. 03 Geico Tundra at Martinsville Speedway on March 29. She blossomed in the different divisions and became the first female in 57 years to win at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Having connections like Tony Stewart should open doors for Chrissy Wallace. ( Jason Smith / Getty Images)
Finally, Wallace's support from her family — including her mother Carla, father Mike, uncles Rusty and Kenny and former track champion Russ — cannot be denied. The Wallace clan was won at every stock-car level, and their knowledge of racing and NASCAR's machinations is priceless.
But Wallace has also earned the respect and backing of Tony Stewart, whose far-reaching tentacles touch many levels in motorsports. In racing, as in business, it's all about who you know. No, most rising racers don't have Wallace's contacts, but without her gift, it simply wouldn't matter.
Although Wallace didn't see Patrick's win, she's proud of what the IndyCar racer accomplished. One day Wallace hopes to accomplish the same feat in NASCAR.
"Danica got her foot in the door and showed that a female can go out there and win," Wallace said. "She proved that. She could very well be the first female to win the title.
"I think I could be the first female to win a race in trucks. That's my goal. That's my dream. I'm going to go racing!"
She doesn't seem to mind what Danica is doing for women in racing.
Not only did Danica win on Sunday, but so did Simona de Silvestro, who drives in the Mazda Atlantics.
Milka Duno sucks. Royally. She is always 4-5 seconds behind the leader. She should go into the Firestone Indy Lights series, and run a couple seasons there.
and BTW, Danica did those pictures before she got into the IRL. She was still racing in the Atlantics when those were taken. That can't be said about the SI spread but whatever.
Whether you like her or not, her winning was great for females in male dominated sports.
No one could get to where she has gotten without being great. SHe has not acheived all this by simply being hot, or racing would be full of strippers and bimbos. Do not discredit her, her teammates, her crew, or her marketers(and various "people") because they have all had a share in making her POPULAR, though her own skill is the main factor in making her a great DRIVER. Racing does require all those factors, and as previously mentioned, yeah she has used many to her advantage, LIKE EVERY OTHER RACER.
Other Racers have deals and endorsements with who ever, so can she. Helio can win dancing w the stars and "objectify himself" to millions of housewives, straight women and gay men. He is a public figure, its building his public image. Danica can pose for who ever she wants as its building her public image. Which is a great driver WHO IS ALSO HOT! DOnt take away her being a pioneer cuz she poses for maxim or whoever.
My first INdy ever was the 1st one she drove in, and you should have seen the support for her in the stands. Not soley a bunch of horny straight dudes as its assumed shes pandering to, but from the families, the kids, the women and minorities like me, who were not only proud to see her there, but exstatic to see her actually in contention! FOr a rookie to finish fourth and have even led in the last 10 laps is astounding for a male or female!
She is a driver who puts up solid results. Even the "Kournikova" title is BS because like AK, she actually has won, and getting better. She won the 300 in Japan the way Indy races are won, through calculations as well as teamwork but most importantly, driving the hell out of a world class race car at 220+ miles per hour.
Sundays indy 500 had 4 female drivers posed to run at once. THere have been women before them, but that is still historical. Each and every one of those women is a pioneer for being there. I saw Milka Duno wipe out. Jessica Fischer who bust her ass with less endorsements for her own JEssica FIscher Racing get taken out by Kanaan(andretti's fault tho), and toward the end of the race I really thought Danica would have a shot. She hadnt fallen anywhere lower than 13th, and had ran at 6 or 7th thru several coutions. at the very last pit stop a rookie (i think) jumped in front of her and blew her suspension. Like many other frustrated drivers before her she got out of her car to have a "discussion" with the guy that crashed her (earining deafening cheers and ovation from the crowd of 400 - 500 thousand spectators before the head of security and her PR led her away from him!)
I'm rambling , but DP is a HELL of a driver. My money is on her for next year's Indy 500, but I'm sure she'll get more wins before that comes.
Still not impressed
I can't support any woman race car driver who I think has made it harder for other women race drivers to be taken seriously unless they willing pose for a men's magazine in a sexual way. She is overrated and I'll be happy when her fifteen minutes of fame are over. Danica is a well known snob. She could win 40 races and I still wouldn't respect her or think she is a good driver. I hate that the media wastes valuable space just to report about her. Let's be real here, if she was just a driver, didn't pose for men magazines or make sure to wear short skirts at every interview she goes to, no one would care if she won. Racing should be embarrassed that she is suppose to represent a "good" driver when she basically won the race on strategy by her team which any driver could do.
Team strategy is the way
Team strategy is the way things work in team sports. Lance Armstrong's series of Tour De France victories were largely due to the strategies of his teammates that lined up to make sure he crossed the finish line first (watch them going up hills. His three teammates would take turns cutting the wind for him, one by one, taking him up - he would NEVER lead).
This doesn't make Lance Armstrong any less of an incredible cyclist.
Virtually every single victory in car racing history has been made through team strategy. The team decides at the beginning of the race which member will be the one to cross the finish line, and then they work together to set up the conditions for that to happen so that the team can win. It wouldn't make much sense for them to race against each other unless two members of the same team are so far ahead of everyone else that they have no competition other than each other (which doesn't happen much).
Sharapova posed for men's magazines. I guess that makes her a bad tennis player?
I don't really respect Danica Patrick, or Sharapova, for that matter. I don't appreciate their taking their clothes off for the camera. But I'm not going to contest that both of them are damn good at what they do. Every time a woman cracks into a men's field, it makes me happy.
Wow that was
It's not harsh at all
It's just my opinion and I stand firmly behind it. I have heard worst things said about her. She's not a good driver.That's the reason why she could only win a race based on strategy by her team. She has a good team but she's not a good driver. Other people have said that as well or some avoided saying it for fear of being seen as a a " woman hater". I believe there are far better female drivers out there than her but since they aren't willing to pose in a sexual matter across a car for a male magazine, they are ignored. I don't think she deserves the respect she gets for being a so-called good driver.
The Men's Magazine Thing
Danica Patrick is a young accomplished and attractive young woman who has chosen to be seen as a sexual being by posing for so called men's magazines. So what!!! How does that change the fact that she is winning races. She's a pioneer for women in the racing world...let's not tear down her accomplishments by being petty or hypocritical. If any of us is gulity of objectifying a beautiful woman on the cover of a magazine of in any form of media - we are just as much a part of the problem. Not that I see enjoying beauty as a problem!
Danica may have an attitude, but seeing what people put her through, I really can't blame her. I might too if my every move was judged by someone who hadn't lived my life. Know how the straight community judges us - makes assumptions about things they don't understand. Well, we've gotta be better than that...
I'm not saying it's bad to be a sexual being but..
She should have thought of the consequences of doing those actions would be.I don't just have a issue with her but all female athletes that choose to pose for men's magazines. It sends the message out to young women that in order to be successful as an athlete, you have to please men's desires and I feel like that's not right. She's not a pioneer for women's racing. The women who first even attempted to try to driver in a all male racing world were pioneers. She has just had the chance at better equipment because men think she is sexy. To me she hasn't really accomplished anything but basically messing up future women's chances at racing. She's got one win, so what? She didn't work for it. Her crew worked for it and they deserve it more than she does. She doesn't impress me and probably never will.I find it sad that she will be in sports history books for something she doesn't even deserve.
Sorry...gotta disagree
The fact is I have a cousin who is a professional race driver - he would love to drive Indy...
It is his muscle and skill that wins the races he's worked for - also his team is an essential part of that, but it's his nerves and skill behind the wheel of that car, not the guys in the pit. Danica is a pioneer, she is the first woman in the sport who actually has a chance of starting to steal sponsors from the other guys...
And the sad but true fact, no matter what your gender or orientation, sponsors want good looking people on their ads and next to their product. Danica's posing for magazine's will only help her get more sponsorship money which will pay for her career.
Let's not slam her; in fact let's be sure to be extra supportive of women who are smashing through the glass cieling. Gay or Straight we all truly have a long way to go before there is a gender blind society...and fighting amongst ourselves for whatever reason is not helping the cause.
I agree with you-- her
I agree with you-- her body, her choice. She didn't post nude or denegrade herself, she let it be known she's not just a race car driver, she's a whole woman. I'm not so quick to say she was objectifying women, she's objectifying herself, not the whole gender.
She's attractive? Even
She's attractive? Even better! Unlike some who think a woman has to go out of her way to look unattractive so that only her skill in the sport shows, I think prejudice against women in general decreases faster when people think a woman can be succesful at whatever she chooses to do even when she can afford not to. Most people consider unattractive succesful women in sports no big deal since "what else they'd be doing otherwise?"
To shygurl99
So what female drivers do you think the Media should pay attention to? Enlighten me. I don't know that many female drivers. Keep in mind Danica is probably following a publicist advice. I don't care what she does personally as long as she making her way for young womyn to pursue thier dreams in racing.
Also those female athletes like men so therefore they will pose for them. I disagree with you. I use to think that way and I stopped b/c now we imposing a heteroseuxal's womyn preference in her want of being sexy and desireable among men. Yet, when womyn pose sexy on Lesbian magazines it's not an issue. It's called sexism among womyn. I'm sick of womyn beating each other up. What one womyn does in personal or public life is her own right so stop infrigening on it. Danica's pose on a male magazine has nothing to do with you.
That's what driving
Interesting comments but....
I still disagree with all of you. I respect her as a fellow human being but I don't respect her as a driver and I still see her as damaging future women drivers' chances.Here are some other female drivers-Mikka Duno who has some sexy pictures out there but she was a model,Sarah Fisher , and Lyn. St. James who was a real pioneer for women racing. http://thundervalleyracing.com/index.html has a some good profiles on upcoming women in racing. I even have issues with some of those women as well. Phillips you have a point that racing has nothing to do with her sexy posing for magazines, so why did she do it? I'm not the only person out there who has an issue with her doing this. My point is that I can't respect a women who used her body, not her brains, to get good equipment while other female drivers struggle because they are not willing to please men. I agree it's her body,her choice but it doesn't mean that I have to agree with it or support it I still also think she has a bad attitude. I'm going by what I have seen in interviews on tv and in newspapers also. I have the right to my opinion, just like the rest of you do. You don't have to attack me just because I don't like her
Chrissy Wallace
Being the Rusty Wallace fan I am, I couldn't pass the opportunity to mention...
Wallace, 19, made her debut in the No. 03 Geico Tundra at Martinsville Speedway on March 29. She blossomed in the different divisions and became the first female in 57 years to win at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Finally, Wallace's support from her family — including her mother Carla, father Mike, uncles Rusty and Kenny and former track champion Russ — cannot be denied. The Wallace clan was won at every stock-car level, and their knowledge of racing and NASCAR's machinations is priceless.
But Wallace has also earned the respect and backing of Tony Stewart, whose far-reaching tentacles touch many levels in motorsports. In racing, as in business, it's all about who you know. No, most rising racers don't have Wallace's contacts, but without her gift, it simply wouldn't matter.
Although Wallace didn't see Patrick's win, she's proud of what the IndyCar racer accomplished. One day Wallace hopes to accomplish the same feat in NASCAR.
"Danica got her foot in the door and showed that a female can go out there and win," Wallace said. "She proved that. She could very well be the first female to win the title.
"I think I could be the first female to win a race in trucks. That's my goal. That's my dream. I'm going to go racing!"
She doesn't seem to mind what Danica is doing for women in racing.
Another female winning
Not only did Danica win on Sunday, but so did Simona de Silvestro, who drives in the Mazda Atlantics.
Milka Duno sucks. Royally. She is always 4-5 seconds behind the leader. She should go into the Firestone Indy Lights series, and run a couple seasons there.
and BTW, Danica did those pictures before she got into the IRL. She was still racing in the Atlantics when those were taken. That can't be said about the SI spread but whatever.
Whether you like her or not, her winning was great for females in male dominated sports.
GREAT at what she does
No one could get to where she has gotten without being great. SHe has not acheived all this by simply being hot, or racing would be full of strippers and bimbos. Do not discredit her, her teammates, her crew, or her marketers(and various "people") because they have all had a share in making her POPULAR, though her own skill is the main factor in making her a great DRIVER. Racing does require all those factors, and as previously mentioned, yeah she has used many to her advantage, LIKE EVERY OTHER RACER.
Other Racers have deals and endorsements with who ever, so can she. Helio can win dancing w the stars and "objectify himself" to millions of housewives, straight women and gay men. He is a public figure, its building his public image. Danica can pose for who ever she wants as its building her public image. Which is a great driver WHO IS ALSO HOT! DOnt take away her being a pioneer cuz she poses for maxim or whoever.
My first INdy ever was the 1st one she drove in, and you should have seen the support for her in the stands. Not soley a bunch of horny straight dudes as its assumed shes pandering to, but from the families, the kids, the women and minorities like me, who were not only proud to see her there, but exstatic to see her actually in contention! FOr a rookie to finish fourth and have even led in the last 10 laps is astounding for a male or female!
She is a driver who puts up solid results. Even the "Kournikova" title is BS because like AK, she actually has won, and getting better. She won the 300 in Japan the way Indy races are won, through calculations as well as teamwork but most importantly, driving the hell out of a world class race car at 220+ miles per hour.
Sundays indy 500 had 4 female drivers posed to run at once. THere have been women before them, but that is still historical. Each and every one of those women is a pioneer for being there. I saw Milka Duno wipe out. Jessica Fischer who bust her ass with less endorsements for her own JEssica FIscher Racing get taken out by Kanaan(andretti's fault tho), and toward the end of the race I really thought Danica would have a shot. She hadnt fallen anywhere lower than 13th, and had ran at 6 or 7th thru several coutions. at the very last pit stop a rookie (i think) jumped in front of her and blew her suspension. Like many other frustrated drivers before her she got out of her car to have a "discussion" with the guy that crashed her (earining deafening cheers and ovation from the crowd of 400 - 500 thousand spectators before the head of security and her PR led her away from him!)
I'm rambling , but DP is a HELL of a driver. My money is on her for next year's Indy 500, but I'm sure she'll get more wins before that comes.