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Originally Posted by Ronzi
I don't think Danica does herself any favors in terms of being taken seriously as a driver when she uses things like Grizzly's laydown pose as part of her publicity portfolio.
It's an old racer's saying that "When the green flag drops, the bull**************** stops" and Danica has yet to prove that she can be a winner at the top levels.
Keep your eye on Liz Halliday. She's got the goods.
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Hi,
While I do believe that in the Public's eye, Danika needs 1 in the Win column to be given her props, she is nonetheless definitely the Real Deal, as anyone in Racing knows. She was IRL Rookie of the Year and has more Top Ten Finishes than not, and has even captured a few Poles.
I think that there is definitely some Gender-base bias where she's concerned. There are lots of recognized and respected male drivers, perennially in the middle-of-the-pack, and no one questions their credentials. There's nothing inherently gender based which makes a woman any less capable than a man in today's racing, in fact, physiologically, a woman's body is slightly more G-tolerant than a man's.
So far as the
Sex Kitten image, for such a personality, it's about endorsements and exposure. Would she have even appeared in those same publications if she was wearing her FireSuit and Helmet? I don't blame her a bit. But, she married her chilhood sweetheart (who also happens to be a Surgeon), so I expect to see
less of her as time goes on.
In 1994, I had a chance to take Newman-Hass's 1989 Lola on a couple Hot Laps at Indy - it was Speed Restricted to 180MPH, and I know the Team and was there for their off-season testing. I gotta tell you, even though I have raced open-wheelers for almost 20 years (Formula Ford, Formula VEE), that car (even with the restricted speed) and that Track were a handful, the Mental focus alone, not to condescend, but most of you cannot imagine. Going 500 miles
at speed in one of those things is one of the most grueling things I can imagine.
Liz Halliday is also a great driver, but I don't believe that she's better than Danika, only time will sort that one out. It'll be interesting to see what Danika does with her new Team, now that Rahall-Letterman has jumped to NASCAR. Maybe she'll stand on the top of the podium and maybe not, but she definitely deserves to be in top tier racing, she's already proven that...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99