Danica Is A Real Driver

[HandyNZL 1]

She didn't move to F1 because it wasn't important for her. She makes more money here in the States and this is home. She likes racing here. With all the anti-American crap out there I can understand her desire to stay at home (Look what abuse Scott Speed had to take and he won two European championships and was pretty quick). Remember, here in the States, F1 is perceived as a novelty...a fringe, if you will...sport. Some talk of American arrogance, but ignore the hypocrisy of their own arrogance. Not everyone thinks F1 is the pinnacle.

The hype is earned. She's a fast, solid, gutsy racer that has earned the respect of her fellow drivers. To them, she's not a piece of tail; she's competition. As more and more females enter the sport, better and bigger talent will emerge, but it all has to start somewhere, with someone, and Danica is among the forerunners who are good enough to make men realize that women can, indeed, compete on the same track.

She still has a damn fine tail though, you have to admit

[BradSpeedMan 6]

She turned down the chance to race for Virgin right? Sir Branson was mighty displeased

[JHS 1]

I'll be blunt. You arrogantly believe that *everyone* shares your view that F1 is the top of the heap and that every driver, in every series want to be in F1.

You are quite wrong, but possibly too young to realize it.

Never did I say anything about F1 being "the top of the heap", I just said she'd have a much tougher time of it seeing as Formula One is very, very different from Indycar. I just don't think she's all that she's cracked up to be. As I say, she's won 1 race. You listen to some people talk and it's like she's the greatest Indycar driver that ever graced this planet.

Oh well, I think a lot of drivers are over-talked, and Danica is certainly one of them. As I say, good driver but not a great one.

(TBH, I do believe Indycar espacially is very weak currently, but I don't see that as a reason for my dislike of Danica, just she hasn't proven to be anything amazingly awesome yet and has to resort to doing mini-strip offs of those stupid Go daddy adverts just to get some attention).

I believe she turned down US F1 and Virgin, yes.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

I believe she turned down US F1 and Virgin, yes.

2 teams? WOW

[Quiet One 15]

She turned down the chance to race for Virgin right? Sir Branson was mighty displeased

Danica a Virgin driver? No way. *cough cough*

[Schumikonen 2]

Danica a Virgin driver? No way. *cough cough*

probably that's the main reason why she did turn it down about US F1 noone is really sure that this team will make it, I honestly think they are even behind Campos so I don't see them as they can make it, had she compromised to that team and she will be doing nothing right now.

[Schumikonen 2]

Never did I say anything about F1 being "the top of the heap", I just said she'd have a much tougher time of it seeing as Formula One is very, very different from Indycar. I just don't think she's all that she's cracked up to be. As I say, she's won 1 race. You listen to some people talk and it's like she's the greatest Indycar driver that ever graced this planet.

Oh well, I think a lot of drivers are over-talked, and Danica is certainly one of them. As I say, good driver but not a great one.

(TBH, I do believe Indycar espacially is very weak currently, but I don't see that as a reason for my dislike of Danica, just she hasn't proven to be anything amazingly awesome yet and has to resort to doing mini-strip offs of those stupid Go daddy adverts just to get some attention).

I believe she turned down US F1 and Virgin, yes.

I can tell you that winning even just a single race it is a really big step for a woman, no other woman has ever done that, she is the only one and if you think that she manage to actually lead Indy 500 and finish 4th, look how she did in her last race, she is an amazing woman driver and she is faster that any other woman, she is not the only one in Nascar but she is doing a lot more better than the other one, that says something about her, yesteday commentators were impressed that she was giving feedback to the team she is doing great in that series and those are stock cars so she do have something besides her good looking she is a better than male average driver, I do agree with you that she is not the best driver ever but she is a very good driver and definitelly the best female driver to ever drive in Indycar/IRL and probably Nascar (I am not sure about that one) and to finish I would repeat that she is a lot better than some F1 right now, you may disagree but then I will have to disagree with you in that.

[Rainmaster 7]

Are people impressed with her because she's a good driver? Or because she's a good female driver?

Personally I think gender shouldn't come into it when we are assessing driving ability; only age, experience, results and the strength of the competition.

Therefore the question is, would a male driver of Danica's age, experience, results and strength of opposition be rated the same way?

Sorry, just posting out loud.

[Quiet One 15]

Are people impressed with her because she's a good driver? Or because she's a good female driver?

Personally I think gender shouldn't come into it when we are assessing driving ability; only age, experience, results and the strength of the competition.

Therefore the question is, would a male driver of Danica's age, experience, results and strength of opposition be rated the same way?

Sorry, just posting out loud.

Of course he would! At least from my side, provided he has the same curvy figure, and functional female reproductive organs (and no male reproductive organs) I would rate him the same.

[Autumnpuma 0]

Never did I say anything about F1 being "the top of the heap", I just said she'd have a much tougher time of it seeing as Formula One is very, very different from Indycar. I just don't think she's all that she's cracked up to be. As I say, she's won 1 race. You listen to some people talk and it's like she's the greatest Indycar driver that ever graced this planet.

What you said was that Danica didn't want to try F1 because she knew she didn't have the talent for it. She was afraid of damaging her image. All of that implies what I've said. I'm glad, however, that you've abandoned that viewpoint for a more balanced one of 'I think'. She's not the greatest driver on the planet but she gets so much hype because she's a pretty good driver and she's a female competing in a traditionally male dominated sport. Other females have gotten the same press when they've competed recently. As it become more of the 'norm' to see females on-track, the hype will die down. Don't do what so many Brits do and confuse hype for lack of talent. Hamilton has tremendous talent, yet is roundly hated by Brits because of the hype. Learn to separate those and judge a person by their abilities. You keep pointing to her one race win and ignore her solid, non-wining drives. Her win/points ratio is probably better than quite a few F1 drivers.

Oh well, I think a lot of drivers are over-talked, and Danica is certainly one of them. As I say, good driver but not a great one.

Since when do you need to be a great driver to enter F1? If that were the case there would be a grid of 3.

(TBH, I do believe Indycar espacially is very weak currently, but I don't see that as a reason for my dislike of Danica, just she hasn't proven to be anything amazingly awesome yet and has to resort to doing mini-strip offs of those stupid Go daddy adverts just to get some attention).

Indy car is a good product but America is in love with stock car racing at the moment. I've been to a few oval races and they're pretty fun and put on a good show. It's the opposite of a road race. In a road race, you sit at one corner, see the cars go by, then watch a huge TV; At an oval you can see all the track and you miss nothing. You get the constant sound of the cars and the smell of a race assaults you non-stop. Sure, the racecraft is different, but still fun to watch. The problem is that an oval is boring to watch on TV.

So Danica isn't amazingly awesome. You realize that there are a few ex-F1 drivers in her series...and she's beaten them quite a few times. Again, F1 isn't filled with 'amazingly awesome' talent. Perhaps 3 or 4 drivers are amazing and perhaps 1 is amazingly awesome.

I believe she turned down US F1 and Virgin, yes.

I would have liked her to go for USF1. Not because she is 'amazingly awesome' but she's very patriotic and would have represented America pretty well. Also, the hype surrounding her would have, perhaps, increased interest in F1 here in the States.

[JHS 1]

I can tell you that winning even just a single race it is a really big step for a woman, no other woman has ever done that, she is the only one and if you think that she manage to actually lead Indy 500 and finish 4th, look how she did in her last race, she is an amazing woman driver and she is faster that any other woman, she is not the only one in Nascar but she is doing a lot more better than the other one, that says something about her, yesteday commentators were impressed that she was giving feedback to the team she is doing great in that series and those are stock cars so she do have something besides her good looking she is a better than male average driver, I do agree with you that she is not the best driver ever but she is a very good driver and definitelly the best female driver to ever drive in Indycar/IRL and probably Nascar (I am not sure about that one) and to finish I would repeat that she is a lot better than some F1 right now, you may disagree but then I will have to disagree with you in that.

To be honest, I don't buy into this crap about "She's good because she's doing well as a female driver". What an absolute load of rubbish. Sure, she's a front running female driver, there is no getting away from that fact, but I don't judge male drivers and female drivers as different. That's just silly. They all fall under the same umbrella for me. They are all racing drivers, irrespectible of gender, size, age, race, etc. That said, I compare drivers directly. Danica is a racing driver no? Michael Schumacher's a racing driver. So too is Jason Plato for example. You compare her to those sorts of guys and I see nothing that special.

Sure, she's good for a woman, but as I say, at the end of the day, she's a racing driver. Excuses of being a different gender to most of your competitors is just complete rubbish to be honest. Instead of comparing her to other females, let's compare her other racing drivers as a whole. She's won 1 race. Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen both have too. I don't see anyone bigging them up to be something they are not though...

[Rainmaster 7]

Of course he would! At least from my side, provided he has the same curvy figure, and functional female reproductive organs (and no male reproductive organs) I would rate him the same.

The closest match I can find is Nico Rosberg.

[Schumikonen 2]

To be honest, I don't buy into this crap about "She's good because she's doing well as a female driver". What an absolute load of rubbish. Sure, she's a front running female driver, there is no getting away from that fact, but I don't judge male drivers and female drivers as different. That's just silly. They all fall under the same umbrella for me. They are all racing drivers, irrespectible of gender, size, age, race, etc. That said, I compare drivers directly. Danica is a racing driver no? Michael Schumacher's a racing driver. So too is Jason Plato for example. You compare her to those sorts of guys and I see nothing that special.

Sure, she's good for a woman, but as I say, at the end of the day, she's a racing driver. Excuses of being a different gender to most of your competitors is just complete rubbish to be honest. Instead of comparing her to other females, let's compare her other racing drivers as a whole. She's won 1 race. Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen both have too. I don't see anyone bigging them up to be something they are not though...

Ok let's do that and you will find out that that she have been doing great in tha area too as she is finishing in a very good position every year and right now being a rookie in Nascar is doing amazingly awesome, so I don't see you point and I don't se why you compare her with F1 driver when the right thing to do is compare her to the other drivers in her series if you realy want TBH.

PS: you forgot to reply to Puma

[Jean Todt 4]

Of course he would! At least from my side, provided he has the same curvy figure, and functional female reproductive organs (and no male reproductive organs) I would rate him the same.

[JHS 1]

Ok let's do that and you will find out that that she have been doing great in tha area too as she is finishing in a very good position every year and right now being a rookie in Nascar is doing amazingly awesome, so I don't see you point and I don't se why you compare her with F1 driver when the right thing to do is compare her to the other drivers in her series if you realy want TBH.

PS: you forgot to reply to Puma

To be honest, I think it is very hypocritical the way that some people view Danica's success. Let me guess, if she was a minger, hardly anybody would give two ****s about her. But because she has got the looks, well, MY flppin' heck, she's the best damn driver that has ever lived!!!!! There ARE other female racers State side, you know, and even though they don't get as much attention (simply because of their looks) they do infact have a much better junior formula record than Danica.

[Schumikonen 2]

To be honest, I think it is very hypocritical the way that some people view Danica's success. Let me guess, if she was a minger, hardly anybody would give two ****s about her. But because she has got the looks, well, MY flppin' heck, she's the best damn driver that has ever lived!!!!! There ARE other female racers State side, you know, and even though they don't get as much attention (simply because of their looks) they do infact have a much better junior formula record than Danica.

All I can tell you know is that Danica is shining already, if they are so good let them shine too, I know that Danica is beating the other female in Nascar right now and she was up to 5th in the second Daytona practice beating all those guys and the other girl was 49th position and there was a total of 57 drivers 55 of them are male and she beat them, Danica have a lot of talent and I don't think she made that time just because of her look and keep in mind that she only have one(1) race in that series.

[Schumikonen 2]

The closest match I can find is Nico Rosberg.

[JHS 1]

All I can tell you know is that Danica is shining already, if they are so good let them shine too, I know that Danica is beating the other female in Nascar right now and she was up to 5th in the second Daytona practice beating all those guys and the other girl was 49th position and there was a total of 57 drivers 55 of them are male and she beat them, Danica have a lot of talent and I don't think she made that time just because of her look and keep in mind that she only have one(1) race in that series.

That's the thing, they can't! Why? Because they are not as aesthetically pleasing as much as Danica, so they get no mention. Nice work for getting round my question too. I bet most the attention she gets is simply because of her looks and she happens to race cars. It seems to me like her looks get more respect from many people than he true talent.

To be honest, i find the overall overhyping you and others do of her is stupid. There is no 100% solid proof to me that she is anything other than average at best. Not only do I find the overhyping stupid, but I find this thread stupid too.

[Autumnpuma 0]

To be honest, I think it is very hypocritical the way that some people view Danica's success. Let me guess, if she was a minger, hardly anybody would give two ****s about her. But because she has got the looks, well, MY flppin' heck, she's the best damn driver that has ever lived!!!!! There ARE other female racers State side, you know, and even though they don't get as much attention (simply because of their looks) they do infact have a much better junior formula record than Danica.

Again the arrogance emerges. Junior formula? Everything is not a junior formula to F1. Drop that attitude and whole worlds of perspective will open up to you.

[Schumikonen 2]

That's the thing, they can't! Why? Because they are not as aesthetically pleasing as much as Danica, so they get no mention. Nice work for getting round my question too. I bet most the attention she gets is simply because of her looks and she happens to race cars. It seems to me like her looks get more respect from many people than he true talent.

To be honest, i find the overall overhyping you and others do of her is stupid. There is no 100% solid proof to me that she is anything other than average at best. Not only do I find the overhyping stupid, but I find this thread stupid too.

You already read the answer but you don't acept it, Danica was 5th while C. Wallace was 49th, she will never shine that way and you won't find an average driver in the top five and finishing 6th like Danica even when she was sent to the back of the field after running out of the track because of NPJ, this means that she could have ended up higher, once again she have the talent to be far ahead of those who are in her series and not shining like her.

EDIT:I admit that her look will help her to gain some extra fans too, like in my case I rather watch her than watching Nico Rosberg but I won't say that she is an average driver, average driver do not shine in Nascar.

[JHS 1]

Again the arrogance emerges. Junior formula? Everything is not a junior formula to F1. Drop that attitude and whole worlds of perspective will open up to you.

Maybe you should stop jumping down mythroat and take a chill out pill? Again, i didn't mention Formula One in junior formula and didn't intend do. I mean, junior formula in which Danica competed in that are directly under the umbrella of F1. Junior Formula to Indy car, junior formula to NASCAR for example. Maybe it is YOU that needs reminding that not everything in a junior formula to F1, you seem to make it sound like I am refering to Formula One by saying junior formula, but I am not. There are numerous other female drivers racing currently that are securing better results in championships Danica competed in before, but simply are not making the headlines, because as I say, looks, rather than talent, seem to be the only way to create headlines if you are as female driver.