Posted on 05/28/2005 8:03:38 PM PDT by freepatriot32
Robby Gordon accused Danica Patrick of having an unfair advantage in the Indianapolis 500 and said Saturday he will not compete in the race again unless the field is equalized.
Gordon, a former open-wheel driver now in NASCAR, contends that Patrick is at an advantage over the rest of the competitors because she only weighs 100 pounds. Because all the cars weigh the same, Patrick's is lighter on the race track.
"The lighter the car, the faster it goes," Gordon said. "Do the math. Put her in the car at her weight, then put me or Tony Stewart in the car at 200 pounds and our car is at least 100 pounds heavier.
"I won't race against her until the IRL does something to take that advantage away."
The Indy Racing League does not consider the weight of the driver in its race specifications. The car has to weigh at least 1,525 pounds before the fuel and driver are added, and teams in Indy have estimated that Patrick will gain close to 1 mph in speed because of her small stature.
Although her rivals in Sunday's race have said she doesn't have a huge advantage, pole-sitter Tony Kanaan told reporters he would like the Indy Racing League to look into the issue.
"Right off the bat, a guy my size is spotting her 105 pounds," Gordon said. "That's the reason she's so much faster."
Patrick has been among the quickest drivers since rookie orientation began on the famed 2 1/2-mile oval on May 5. Only a bobble on the first lap of her qualifying effort kept her from winning the pole, and she will take the green flag from fourth on Sunday, the best starting position for a woman at Indy.
Patrick was fastest with a lap of 225.997 mph to lead the one-hour "Carb Day" practice on Friday, the only time the cars got on the track during the week between the end of time trials and the start of the race.
She follows Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James and Sarah Fisher to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, needing only to finish eighth or better to improve on the best previous finish by a female - ninth by Guthrie in 1978.
Patrick, however, is not focused on simply finishing in the top 10 or just staying out of trouble.
"I think I have a great chance of winning this race," the confident Patrick said.
Driving the 650-horsepower IndyCars for the first time this year, Patrick has improved in each of the first four IRL races, culminating in an impressive fourth place last month in Japan.
At Indy, she has been nothing less than a phenomenon.
Patrick would not be the first rookie to win here, although certainly among the least experienced.
Juan Montoya was the defending champion of the rival CART series when he won here in 2000, and Helio Castroneves was a two-year regular in CART and winner of three races before he took the checkered flag as an Indy rookie in 2001.
Still, Castroneves, who also won the next year, said he has no doubt Patrick could win on Sunday, particularly since she is driving a Honda-powered Panoz for the powerful Rahal Letterman Racing team that won here last year with Buddy Rice.
"She is driving for a great team and she has been fast every day since she got here," Castroneves said. "If she can keep her nose clean, she'll be OK. The only thing that might be a problem is you have to have patience and, sometimes, rookies don't have much patience."
Castroneves, starting fifth, and Marlboro Team Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr., a two-time IRL champion and starting in the middle of the first row, also will be among the favorites Sunday as they try to give Roger Penske a record 14th Indy win.
Others to watch include all four members of Andretti Green Racing, including Kanaan, current IRL points leader Dan Wheldon, Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta.
If one of them can manage to get to Victory Lane, it would be a very big day indeed for team co-owner Michael Andretti, who led more laps than any other nonwinner at Indy. His father, Mario, won the race in 1969, then spent 25 frustrating years trying and failing to win it again.
The two had so many things go wrong here that the term "Andretti Luck" became part of the Indy lexicon. "We've done everything in our power to put ourselves in a good position," Michael said. "Of course, this feeling doesn't mean anything. I've been here before in this position. We'll see what fate has in store."
And don't forget perhaps the most heartwarming story of the month: Kenny Brack. The 1999 Indy winner, nearly killed in a devastating crash at Texas Motor Speedway in October 2003, was called upon just last week to replace Rice, injured in a crash here on May 10.
Brack responded by posting the fastest qualifying speed of the month, 227.598 mph. Since it came on the second week of time trials, though, he will start 23rd. Nobody has won from that far back since Johnny Rutherford started 25th in 1974 and charged to the second of his three victories.
Still, Brack is confident he can be competitive in basically the same Honda-powered Panoz in which Rice won last year.
"Maybe I'll be a little rusty in traffic, but it's a long race," said Brack, who hasn't raced an IndyCar since his crash. "I think we'll be just fine after the first pit stop."
The third Rahal Letterman entry, Vitor Meira, making his fourth Indy start - from seventh - could be the dark horse in the race.
"Vitor also has great equipment and he's been flying all month," Kanaan said. "I think maybe he's a little under the radar."
Hornish has been perhaps the IRL's biggest star since winning his first series title in 2001, but he has struggled mightily at Indy. In five starts here, he has yet to finish better than 14th or even complete all 200 laps.
"The big thing is to make it to the end, which I have not done yet," Hornish said. "But we have a great team and two great cars and we've got as good a shot as anybody.
"If I do win here, it would be my 14th (career) win and it would be Roger's 14th at Indy," he added. "I think that would be very nice."
The big question going into Sunday, though, remains: What will Danica do?
Castroneves was asked if it bothers him that most of the questions he and other veterans have fielded this month have been about Patrick.
"It's good for the series, it's good for the sport," he replied. "When I came here they gave me the nickname 'Spider Man.' Maybe they should call her 'Wonder Woman."
Petty starts: 155
Earnhardt starts: 676
Petty wins: 30
Earnhardt wins: 76
Extrapolate the number of starts for Petty to equal Earnhardt and he wins 120 races. Hmm.
The way I see it is that it is all PC bs. That is all it is. That said, if there is no weight rule, there is no rule, and she should race and try to win.
I feel the same way about this whenever there is a story out of Iraq or from one of the Military Academies...The overwhelming majorities of the stories are of men, but they find one of the women to interview.
Look at the CNN story of the graduates of West Point today. Perfect example.
CD, she's not hard on the eyes I'll say. But I just wish anyone but Robbie Gordon would have brought this up. Can't stand that guy. That being said, I don't think she's got the skills. And Lord help her if she ever tries to make the transition to real racing in NASCAR
what are these numbers? Petty won 200 NASCAR races:
http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016403.html
**but his basic point is totally valid.**
Prove it, until and unless someone sits down with the statistics of the past races of the Indy 500 and determine if previous winners and top finishers had a statistical higher chance of winning if they was lighter weight than the average driver it is all therory and nothing else.
LOL! I can't believe I fell for your BS!
The undisputed "King" of stock car racing with 200 NASCAR Winston Cup Series wins, Petty won seven series championships during his 35-year career. In the most remarkable season in NASCAR history, Petty won 27 of 48 races -- including a record 10 straight -- and finished second seven times in cruising to the 1967 title.
This Week's Installment
Rookie driver Danica Patrick looks at her bracelet during the annual drivers meeting at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday, May 28, 2005, on the eve of the Indy 500. Patrick will start from the fourth position on the grid.
Indy hasn't been the same since they got rid of roadsters.}:^)
You clearly didn't read the article. By her weighing 100 pounds less, they estimated her car is about 1 mph faster. This is a 500 mile long race, where weight is extremely critical. 100 less pounds on one of these cars is not something that can be overlooked if it is suppose to be a fair race.
Question: Just imagine for a minute, two cars, identical in horse power and weight, traveling straight ahead for 15 miles. The only difference being one driver weighs 100 pounds less than the other driver. Who would you bet on winning the race? Would you consider this a fair race?
Exactly. It affects everything. All critical.
"Crying about the rules won't win him any friends. Go race where you like the rules."
Meanwhile, back at "Rainbow Racing," Pit Chief Jesse Jackson has been WORKING on those rules....just not necessarily in Gordon's demographic....
;^)
NASCAR NEWS - Saturday, July 17, 2004
Willy T Ribbs drove in Winston Cup and was fired
Good article.
What ever happened to the MC HAMMER Top Fuel Car?
She may be lighter, but her center of gravity is probably higher!
LOL, It probably ended up like his personal adventures :-)
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