[vincesanity82]

Congrats Danica!!

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Oh, absolutely. Now she's not just a pretty face. She's a legitimate driver who's proven she can win.

I'll be the first to bring it up now. Will this legitimize her chance to enter into NASCAR ??????

[NASCAR Gnome]

Taking nothing away from her win but... there are some small ironies to consider though...

Her first win came on foreign soil in Japan. The detractors will argue that she still has yet to win on U.S. soil. I agree though, like her or not, she won fair and square and that's really all that matters!

And... wasn't half the field racing in Long Beach Sunday?

The time this discussion gets put to rest will be when she wins on local soil and she's competing against the complete field. Until then people will nitpick - especially ones who may not be her biggest fans! JMO...

[NASCAR Gnome]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

I'll be the first to bring it up now. Will this legitimize her chance to enter into NASCAR ??????

Unless Champ Car and IRL racing completely dies - which now it appears they won't having merged - I don't see her WANTING to go to NASCAR at all! Of course, money is a great sound amplifier so if they throw enough of it to her, who knows? I just have this feeling after hearing her interviewed a few times about driving in NASCAR that she is perfectly fine spending her career in open-wheel racing.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by NASCAR Gnome

Taking nothing away from her win but... there are some small ironies to consider though...

Her first win came on foreign soil in Japan. The detractors will argue that she still has yet to win on U.S. soil. I agree though, like her or not, she won fair and square and that's really all that matters!

And... wasn't half the field racing in Long Beach Sunday?

The time this discussion gets put to rest will be when she wins on local soil and she's competing against the complete field. Until then people will nitpick - especially ones who may not be her biggest fans! JMO...

I'm far from her biggest fan but I won't discredit her for winning on foreign soil. My question is where would she have ended up if she'd stopped for a splash & go ? I again say that she won on strategy and taking a chance. It's all well and fine that she won that way but just as you talk about fans and non fans arguing over where the win was and who she was racing against I think this race was not won more by the ability of the driver.

[Phils20]

Folks can pick all they want. She won. If those other drivers wanted a chance to win, they should have packed the gear and gone.

And I would laugh in someones face that told me it doesn't count not being on US soil.

You are right, if someone doesn't like her, it doesn't matter what she does.

Look how folks treat the best driver of the last 15 years, Jeff Gordon. Some will never give him enough credit!

BTW, I'm on no way, shape, or form comparing Danica to Jeff, just making a point that folks dislike of someone makes them do dumb things!

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by DOF_power

Well it was kind of time.

Kind of?

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

I'm far from her biggest fan but I won't discredit her for winning on foreign soil. My question is where would she have ended up if she'd stopped for a splash & go ? I again say that she won on strategy and taking a chance. It's all well and fine that she won that way but just as you talk about fans and non fans arguing over where the win was and who she was racing against I think this race was not won more by the ability of the driver.

A win is a win...If I was driving...I don't care where and how I win...I am counting it......

As for the driver...regardless of strategy...you got to be good enough to position yourself in a spot to win...to take away from her for that is...well...bush league...

[Racer Duck]

Congrats to Danica on her WIN.

Not a fan of hers, but have to give credit where credit is due. She was driving won fair and square.

Here's some things I've heard that helps clarify the win:

• only 3 cars on the lead lap
• only 8 cars running
• the entire champ car field at Long Beach for the Long Beach Grand Prix 'cause the IRL/Champ Car merge couldn't get the Japan 300 and Long Beach Grand Prix people to budge on their race dates, so only the IRL cars that make the trip over the water were there.

Again, Congrats to Danica.

Now can we change the subject?

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Gotham Dark Knight

A win is a win...If I was driving...I don't care where and how I win...I am counting it......

As for the driver...regardless of strategy...you got to be good enough to position yourself in a spot to win...to take away from her for that is...well...bush league...

Your point is weak this time Goth. Yes a win is a win and she will get credit for being the first female to get that win. Because she is a woman she will come under far more scrutiny than any male driver. I won't argue your point that you do have to position yourself for a win under all possible circumstances but the odds were probably more in her favor this time than most any other time. Fewer cars in the race and even fewer on the lead lap. Kudos to the entire team for the strategic moves they made to get her that win and congrats to her for doing everything she needed to do to get that win. I don't care that much for her as her overall record isn't that good and my long standing argument is that if her name was Daniel Patrick and she were a he, this discussion would never happen. Media hype has made a much larger star of her than she really is. There are all kinds of drivers in other series who have had one win and their notoriety is significantly less. When she raises her stats to a higher level I'll be more than willing to give her all the credit she deserves at that point. Until then I'll give her all the credit she deserves as of today based on her real stats ... not the media hyped up stats.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by NASCAR Gnome

Taking nothing away from her win but... there are some small ironies to consider though...

Her first win came on foreign soil in Japan. The detractors will argue that she still has yet to win on U.S. soil. I agree though, like her or not, she won fair and square and that's really all that matters!

And... wasn't half the field racing in Long Beach Sunday?

The time this discussion gets put to rest will be when she wins on local soil and she's competing against the complete field. Until then people will nitpick - especially ones who may not be her biggest fans! JMO...

Like you, I don't count the fact she won in Japan as a negative.

Some might claim she won only due to fuel strategy. BS! Every season at least three or four drivers win in Cup on fuel mileage. I don't see any asterisks after their names.

Yes, the field was smaller than they had in Homestead or St Pete. But, it was roughly the same size field they've been running in IRL the past few years.

You are 100% correct, the ABD group (Anyone But Danica) will pick nits until the cows come home but, as far as this fan is concerned, she won it fair and square and deserves the congratulations due her.

On point in her favor... She, at least, took a swig of the champagne before she became an alcohol abuser and sprayed it on the crowd. Now I hope she wins again, soon. But, if she doesn't she won't go down in history as just another female who tried but failed. She'll always have that win.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

Your point is weak this time Goth. Yes a win is a win and she will get credit for being the first female to get that win. Because she is a woman she will come under far more scrutiny than any male driver. I won't argue your point that you do have to position yourself for a win under all possible circumstances but the odds were probably more in her favor this time than most any other time. Fewer cars in the race and even fewer on the lead lap. Kudos to the entire team for the strategic moves they made to get her that win and congrats to her for doing everything she needed to do to get that win. I don't care that much for her as her overall record isn't that good and my long standing argument is that if her name was Daniel Patrick and she were a he, this discussion would never happen. Media hype has made a much larger star of her than she really is. There are all kinds of drivers in other series who have had one win and their notoriety is significantly less. When she raises her stats to a higher level I'll be more than willing to give her all the credit she deserves at that point. Until then I'll give her all the credit she deserves as of today based on her real stats ... not the media hyped up stats.

Come on man...the sword cuts both ways...if a male driver was her age and racing on par to what she has been before the win...there would not be all the negative comments she is getting either...it would be a none story both ways...

Show me how many drivers compete under the type of scrutiny she is getting...or take the flak she is getting as well...and still win a race, any race...

No matter what the girl does it becomes a "yeah but..."...and that is silly...I mean who can compete with a moving bar???...what next?...she needs 5 or 10 wins?...she needs to win state side?...she needs to win on three wheels instead of four?....she needs to finish the race racing backwards?...where is this imaginary bar set at?

It's like all the flak Anna Kournikova took... yeah, she was hype...she helped the hype a lot... she won no singles titles...but she was playing well and taking doubles titles...and to hear people talk, the girl might as well have been a starlet that had no business being on the court...which was also far from the truth...

[simple simon]

she is no better the Ricky Craven ..... some of you may be thinking, who

my point exactly

[Phils20]

Originally Posted by simple simon

she is no better the Ricky Craven ..... some of you may be thinking, who

my point exactly

I was gonna use someone like Reed Sorenson.

I don't know that she is no better than Ricky, who wasn't a bad driver! If folks don't know who he is, that is thier loss!

But the Reed Sorenson thing works for me. You don't see every race with the press surrounding him, or any other male racer that hasn't won.

But I also don't find fault with her in that. It's not like she has ZERO talent, or hasn't run some good races.

Time will be the big judge, and I look forward to her proving she is talented enough to do it.

She has top notch gear now, unlike the beginning of her career, so it is now or never.

[ThrowinElbows]

Originally Posted by simple simon

she is no better the Ricky Craven ..... some of you may be thinking, who

my point exactly

Haha! Agreed