PCLoadLetter
Well-Known Member
murphyc said:Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!! said:Wow this is incredible!!! ... We all know qualifying at Daytona has as much impact on the race as the first game of the season has on the NCAA Tournament.
Wake me win she wins the pole at Bristol, Charlotte or The Glen.
The amusing thing to me is both the anti-Danica and pro-Danica crowd probably figures they gained ammunition. The pro-Danica crowd sees it as proof positive Danica is as good as anyone, and those making mean comments just can't stand a woman doing well. The anti-Danica crowd sees it as proof Danica has a fast car (pointing to teammates Newman and Smoke also being in the top five) and smugly waits to see how Danica does in traffic on Thursday.
I agree with this. It's strange to me how much people need to choose a side and stick to it when it comes to Danica, but I guess that's just the way of the world these days.
The reality is she gets more attention than she deserves as a driver, and takes a lot more shirt than she deserves as a driver.
She's pretty good. She's not great, but she's a fully competent driver. Yes, she has a fast car, but she's a good qualifier. There are plenty of fast cars in the field, but she's the one who got the pole. She was the same in IndyCar -- a better qualifier than racer.
The detractors just seem so silly to me. I've repeatedly seen her one IndyCar win dismissed because it was a "fuel mileage" win -- like a race that involves strategy somehow doesn't count. People used to squawk that she was only in the series because she was a girl, ignoring that (a) she was, at times, the top American in IndyCar, and (b) she was routinely beating respected drivers on her own team.
The detractors will also gleefully point out that she's an asshole, like that somehow makes her stand out. If it weren't for her uterus, she'd just be ""fiery" and a "competitor."
She was a middle of the pack driver in IndyCar, and I suspect she'll be roughly the same in NASCAR. She's good enough to take a fast car and put it on pole, which is a heck of an accomplishment. I suspect she'll come in around the top 20, which would be a solid result for her.
I do find it kind of odd that's she's pretty inept at the road courses, given the time she spent in Europe. You would think it would be one of her strong points.