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Danica Mania
Topic Started: Jul 24 2005, 05:45 PM (93 Views)
Dewy9
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7X Raceski Cup Champion
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Quote:
 
Danica? Good or bad for the racing game?

By MICHAEL HUNT

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - At least for the moment in the Indy Racing League, the only story that matters is the Duality of Danica.
There is the Danica Patrick who casts an enormously popular presence on a sport that needs all the attention it can get. She is young, beautiful, poised, seriously skilled and the primary reason IRL's TV ratings have increased 125 percent for its last four races since the rookie sensation drove into America's mainstream consciousness May 29 in the Indianapolis 500.

There is also the Danica Patrick who deflects attention from the other drivers on the series.

When she led 19 laps at Indy and was in front with seven to go, you might've never known that Dan Wheldon had actually won by the outpouring of DanicaMania in the media. Her own racing partners have worn T-shirts reading, "Danica's Teammate" and "Danica's Other Teammate."

"I was thinking about that this week," said Dario Franchitti, the defending champion of Sunday's ABC Supply / A.J. Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile. "They asked me in a press conference last week, 'What did you think of Danica today?' I got my back up a bit and said, 'You know, I thought there were people on the track that did a much better job than Danica. (Patrick) Carpentier, for instance.' And I took a bit of shot in one of the papers about me saying that.

"And it got me to thinking. I think the problem is, as drivers, we see Danica as another driver, which is what she wants, first of all, but it's the way it should be. I see her out on the track exactly as I see everybody else. What's happening is the press is sort of differentiating between her and the rest of the drivers. I'm kind of puzzled by that."

Of course, it is not just the media making a distinction between the men and the woman. During an autograph session after qualifying Saturday, promoters established a separate line for Patrick and cut it off at 300 adoring fans.

The IRL acknowledges the Duality of Danica, but for it to say that it is anything but a tremendous asset for the sport would be like the PGA dismissing Tiger Woods as a distracting element.

"That's out there," said John Griffin, IRL's vice president for public relations, "but when she draws people to us, it's a chance for every driver to shine. And what she does for us that a lot of athletes can't do is she touches every demographic. She's attractive to young females and moms if dad likes racing. And the 18-to-34 guys are all over her."

When the Beloit-born Patrick walks into a room, as she did Friday for a news conference at the Mile, she commands immediate attention with unmistakable star power that belies her 5-foot-2, 100-pound stature. It's not just her looks, of which the IRL takes full advantage with its media-guide photos, but also the sense that a serious athlete is in your presence.

Anyone who dismisses her as a distraction who has yet to win forgets that today will be her ninth race on a circuit where it takes an average of 33 starts to be victorious. She has also finished more laps than any driver this season.

"I think it's fabulous for the sport," Franchitti said. "It's bringing in so many people, and I think she's doing a bloody good job. She's finishing races and being smart. And that's what I'm saying. On the track, there's no distinction."

http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/12207885.htm


I thought I'd post this since on ESPN the breaking news box just said "Danica Patrick Unhurt in Wreck". I know no wreck feels good, but she hardly wrecked. :rolleyes:
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COOLJOE54
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meh...she's the new Jr. of racing
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ElDonkey
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:o that was a hard hit :rolleyes: the media can go fuck themselves
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