Then Gordon should go drive in one of the *other* racing series. Indy rules are different because...gasp...it's a different race!
Crying about the rules won't win him any friends. Go race where you like the rules.
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."
"Right off the bat, a guy my size is spotting her 105 pounds," Gordon said. "That's the reason she's so much faster."
No, Mr, Gordon; that's why you are so much slower. And if you want to take away a smaller driver's advantage, go on a diet instead of demanding a rules change.
The girl could just as easily complain that her larger-muscled male competitors have a strength advantage, and demand a rule change to "level the playing field" for her, but AFAIK she hasn't.
This has to be just about the most obnoxious lack of class on the part of a racer I've seen in a long, long time.
Then Gordon should go drive in one of the *other* racing series. Indy rules are different because...gasp...it's a different race!
Crying about the rules won't win him any friends. Go race where you like the rules.
It IS unfair. However, I think its amusing that Robby Gordon is only complaining about it now. Although Danica Patrick may be a more extreme case, there have always been weight disparities between drivers. Mark Martin, a very successful Nascar driver, weighs about 135lbs. You don't hear Robby whining about that. His argument is actually plausible, but the timing makes it extremely suspect.
For me, it all boils down to one thing: Robby is afraid of losing to a girl.
I wish her the best of luck and I hope she wins.
Well, that's the trick, isn't it?
If she goes fast enough, long enough, she will win! Fine by me. It'll shake up the old-boy network a bit. And you know, the real drivers aren't whining!
He is, so what's everybody's problem with him?
Well, the proog is in the pudding as they say but there are 3 rahal cars in the race so they're not relying on her. Besides, the ton of publicity they get for this is actually worth more than winning the race. So, as to your contention they wouldn't put her there if she wasn't a contender, read the papers and watch TV and see what gets more coverage, the race winner or her.
I believe in NASCAR the minimum weight is calculated with the driver's weight included, negating any weight differential between drivers.
Why hasn't Robby been complaining about Jeff Gordon for the last 13 years? Jeff's stats say he weights a good 50 pounds lighter than Robby. I guess that explains why he's won a few championships - the driving has nothing to do with it!
"I won't race against her until the IRL does something to take that advantage away."
Lose some of your own weight then you whiner.
I hope she trounces him.
My problem with Robby Gordon is that he is a man who is complaining about a little girl's legal, but "unfair" advantage in a sport dominated by testosterone-spouting male super-drivers.
Thus, Gordon makes race drivers look like crybabies instead of successful "real" men.
Danica isn't asking for special favors, yet she's competing with men according to male rules. In contrast, some of the men are crying to their mamas about little Danica beating them.
Tough. Such wimps get no sympathy from me.
To be honest, I haven't watched Indy car racing since they split the league. I wouldn't have even known the race was happening this weekend if it weren't for all this hooha over the woman driver so I guess putting her in the car is having it's intended effect becuse I'll tune in tomorrow to see how she's doing.
yup, all F1 cars have movable balance weight(some i think are even adjustable by the driver during the race) since they are all under dry spec weight without it. but there is no set weight for car and driver...
It's been moribund because Tony George is an awful promoter, a member of the lucky sperm club who wouldn't have a decent job otherwise. No matter who wins, the race will never have its original cache' as long as Tony George is running it and the IRL.
A PING for yer interest!
From the land of restrictor plates comes the cry for weight classes. I don't know the physics, and I'll bet Gordon doesn't know half of the factors either. Should we handicap the men because they have more upper-body strength?
Plus, even at similar weights, females have less upper body strength than males.
He gets beaten by a girl = no excuse.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.