Monday: “Drivers…and Danica”; Gas pumpers — now’s your chance!
“DRIVERS…AND DANICA, START YOUR ENGINES!” Yeah, that’s what the guy said. I’d never heard of Daytona 500 grand marshal James Franco — and that probably says a lot more about my lameness than his — but he got my attention with that line.
After all, only moments before, Franco had said this on my TV: “It’s only four words.” FOX was doing one of those promote-the-movie deals on the prerace show, and the host made some comment like “Grand marshal…big responsibility!” And fresh-faced Franco said: “It’s only four words.”
He’s right. It is only four words. Or at least it should be. “Drivers, start your engines.” That’s what you say when you have a woman in the field. If you want to go six words, you say: “Gentlemen…and Danica, start your engines.” While the former is preferable (at least to me), the latter at least gives a nod to Danica Patrick’s achievement.
Instead, he went with something that can only be described as condescending: “Drivers…and Danica, start your engines!” What’s that supposed to mean? That Danica Patrick isn’t really a driver? That the pole-sitter is nothing more than some kind of sideshow?
My conscience said this was appalling. My heart? Well, it said that Franco was crude but right. In fact, the longer I watched Sunday’s Daytona 500, the more I realized what a hypocrite I was. I was waiting for Patrick to screw up. I was expecting it. I was poised to pounce once the hype was proven to be nothing more than that — hype.
Patrick wouldn’t allow it. She stayed in the top 3 for much of the day. Favorites crumbled. Out went Harvick. Out went Stewart. Yet there was Patrick, the female rookie, competing like a veteran.
Patrick finished eighth. This is the story of the 2013 Daytona 500 to me. Jimmie Johnson might have won, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. might have finished second, but the story — hype or no hype — was Patrick.
Look, the results of the Daytona 500 guarantee nothing. This place is different. You can’t say Johnson is poised to win a sixth championship just because he won the Great American Race. Likewise, you can’t say Patrick is going to be any kind of factor in the Sprint Cup championship chase. Daytona doesn’t translate. The 1.5-mile tracks, so plentiful on the circuit, are the ones that tell you who’s in and who’s out. Martinsville doesn’t care how fast your car is; you’d better know how to hit the breaks and the gas at the right times while you’re negotiating heavy traffic. We’ll see all those venues soon enough.
But here’s what mattered Sunday: Patrick shut up guys like Franco and me. She showed she was a driver. Pretty cool.
HOW RICH ARE THESE FANS, ANYWAY? Moments after Virginia stomped Georgia Tech 82-54 Sunday to avenge an earlier loss, athletic director Craig Littlepage took the microphone and urged the crowd to come ready on Thursday when the Hoos host Duke.
“Bring your neighbor, bring your business partner, bring the person who pumps your gas,” Littlepage said.
Wait…what? OK, I know. He just meant “pack this place.” And Doug points out that Littlepage used to live in New Jersey, where there are no (or very few) self-serve stations. But the idea of 3,000 personal gas-pumpers being treated to the biggest home game of the year is pretty amusing. I’d encourage UVa students to wear oil-stained uniforms with their name stitched on the breast.
SPEAKING OF SHOWING UP, I argued on Twitter last night that the fans still showing up to Cassell Coliseum should receive some sort of voucher that allows them to make program decisions. Hyperbole, obviously, but I think the diehards during this trying Virginia Tech season deserve some recognition.
They were rewarded for their dedication last night when the Hokies beat Florida State 80-70 to snap a nine-game losing streak. Next up: at Miami on Wednesday.
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Andy’s doing a terrific job updating all the results of Tech players at the NFL combine. Check it out here….Tech women upset No. 19 FSU…All your high school state tournament pairings can be found here…Yankees’ Granderson breaks arm, will be out 10 weeks…Kuchar beats Mahan to win Match Play crown.
NAME THAT TUNE
Settle down, it’ll all be clear
Don’t pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble, it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found
February 24, 2013 - 9:57 PM
Danica is definitely the best looking driver out there, I had never watched a NASCAR event until today.
Ladies and Gentlemen start your engines would been more fitting perhaps.She was the center of attention today and deservable so. Still a rookie! Had a good car and was racing all day like a savvy driver. Lots of races too follow and a long season. She certainly creates new found interest and new viewers to the sport.Congrats to Jimmie for his victory today.
Aaron- I am so happy that you are on the road to recovery. Life is very precious. Keep fighting and living everyday. I will miss this blog one day. But not just yet-God willing. I was supposed to be dead last month. Terminal stomach cancer. Found out in Nov 2012. But I keep positive and drive my new car everyday. Ha! Life is a gift my friend. Everyday I read your article is extra gravy for me. Thank u.
Danica Patrick ran a heck of a race. She led a fair number of laps, and was sitting in third place until the last lap, when everyone got goosey. She got pinched in with nowhere to go, so she got shuffled back to eighth place. If Greg Biffle hadn’t done such a horrible job of following Jimmie Johnson, she might have been able to follow him to a second place finish.
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Regardless, she acquitted herself well. She didn’t screw up herself or anybody the whole race. She admitted after the race in the sit-down interviews that she still had a lot to learn. She was poor getting out of her pit box, because of spinning her tires too much, but that is a rookie-type mistake, not a ‘girl’ mistake. She admitted she needed to learn when/how to make those end of race moves. She was very grounded in her assessment of her performance.
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Like you, AMc, I had heard the name James Franco, but I couldn’t tell you what movies he’s done. My guess would be one of the teeny bopper vampire movies that seem to be the rage now, or one of those Spartan/Gladiator movies. He’s supposed to be a heartthrob, I guess. My reaction after his intro was – ‘Well, he just proved himself an idiot…’
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Anyway, big congratulations to Danica Patrick. She had a very good race, and made strides toward being accepted as a driver, not just a celebrity. Lots more races coming up, none with so much spotlight. Perhaps she can contend in some others. Bristol isn’t far in the future, we’ll see how she does with the beatin’ & bangin’ down there. I’ll bet she surprises just as much as she did for many today.
I watched a fair bit of the race today, the first time I can really say that much for a race in years. And I found it pretty entertaining for a change. I’m likewise pleasantly surprised about Danica’s run and her top-10 finish. Not so much because I didn’t think she could do it, but given how rough Daytona can be, I figured one of the big crashes might take her out just by shear odds. A local track I grew up on featured 2 female drivers in the same class of race cars, and they battled it out ever season the two of them ran…usually contending for weekly wins, and for track championships. They were respected like any other driver, and proved they had what it took to compete.
My main concern was the transition from open-wheel to stock car. There’s usually a learning curve between the types of racing and the handling of the cars, given that stock cars weigh more than double an open wheel Indy or F1 car, plus the greater focus on oval track racing versus road courses. But she handled it very well. It’ll be interesting to watch the season going forward for sure, for a change.
In terms of other race numbers, I was also happy for the 9th place finish for Michael McDowell. My wife’s cousin is married to his gas man, so I’ve been pulling for him to do well, and unfortunately, he really has struggled with a low-budget team…so scoring a top-10 ought to help give them some momentum, and cash, going forward to hopefully have more success this year.
For this race, and just this race, I do think Danica deserved the “Drivers . . . and Danica, start your engines” treatment. I actually would have said “Danica and Drivers . . . .”
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At the same time, this guy was about the lamest Grand Marshall for a race. It was also pretty pathetic that Ray Lewis was the Honorary Starter, too. I’m fairly certain, Ray hasn’t been to all that many races, nor has this ‘whoever he is’ Franco guy that gave the command.
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If I were in charge, I’d have pulled two of the fans out of the stands that got hurt on Saturday, and came back to watch the Great American Race, to give the command, and wave the green flag – but that’s my world.
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But, from here on out, Danica is just one of the guys – she just happens to be the best looking of all the guys! If I don’t quit with some of the crude Danica jokes I’ve been flying around the house, my marriage may be hitting the red flag, though.
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What she did, just in getting on the pole, was pretty extraordinary, not just for her, but also her team, and Tony Stewart (he’s rocketing to the top of being a dominant team owner), and just for the sport, in general. NASCAR needs her.
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I did get a kick out of the command to fire ‘em up. A couple of years ago, my father got to do that at Bristol, for a Busch/Nationwide (whatever it was) race, and part of the process was shaking hands with every driver during the introductions, so all 40′some came by, shook his hand during driver intros (pretty cool, because a lot of these guys were in that bunch).
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I got to be there with him (and ride in the pace car – one of the coolest experiences of my life), and after the driver intros, we’re standing there, on the front stretch, getting ready for hm to give the most famous words in motorsports, and he looks over at me and asks “there weren’t in women in there, were there?”
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‘Nah, Dad, it’s gentlemen, not drivers,’ or something to that effect.
Really have none of you seen spider man…Franco plays Peter Parkers friend and the son of the Green Goblin.
As far as Danica she ran pretty good, but come on she’s really not that pretty at least to me. If she wasn’t famous and passed me on the street I wouldn’t give her a second look.
As for what Franco said I caught that as well and I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he just made a mistake and meant to say gentleman and Danica but was thinking drivers and just slipped up.
As for the race Jr. ran good and Kyle Busch blew up so I was happy, I really think Jr. is going to run great with this new car I believe he is poised to have a great season.
Media over saturation. The Daytona predicts nothing. The season is long and grueling (and that’s just for the fans!). Add to that the boredom factor of NASCAR and of course Danica is going to be the hot meal ticket until Kurt throws a temper tantrum. Kyle wrecks someone or Junior wins a pole. Here’s to wishing her well she has already surprised me I had a side bet that she would trigger a big one before 25 laps were completed Sunday. I am happy to pay that one. NASCAR and Baseball could both do with a shorten season. IMHO
CR
She led a fair amount of laps?
Per ESPN
Kenseth 86 laps led
Hamlin 33
Gordon 31
Patrick? 5
I’ve never been into auto racing, but sometimes, like yesterday, I see snippets while channel surfing. Seems like the only time the leaders change position is during the frequent ads. A question for the group: why is a veteran driver who moved into the NASCAR circuits in 2010 called a “rookie”? That would not apply in any other sport.
Glad you’re back Aaron and hope that you are feeling well.
OJ & Rick H, very good observations by both of you. I saw an interview with Michael McDowell post-race. He had a smile on that was bigger than the Joker’s. You could tell he had just set a new standard for his greatest racing moment ever. Very nice to see that in a guy that has worked hard, but met a few unfortunate twists of the business along the way. He probably will never drive for an elite team, but here’s hoping he mkes it with one of the smaller teams.
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As for James Franco, he is such a forgettable guy that I might have seen several of his movies and not noticed him. As for the Spiderman franchise, I stopped watching after the first one because of the aggravatingly wimpy nature of the Peter Parker actor and of his girlfriend. I forget their names, but they were annoying. I guess Franco was in that. I do know Willem Dafoe played the Green Goblin, if that helps my cause.
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As to the other poster RE: laps led & the significance – Danica led laps under a green flag, and there were dozens of other drivers who never came close to leading even one lap. So, yeah, even ‘only’ 5 laps led is a pretty fair amount. She ran a really good race, which I’m sure irritated several of the ‘haters’ that paid attention. That doesn’t mean she’ll be great, but it means that she at least is doing things the right way, laying the foundation for future success.
Fight on, Giles. All the best to you and your family.
While Daytona may be the “Super Bowl” of Nascar, at the end of the day, it is ONE race and it really counts no more than any other race in the points and the chase. An awful lot gets put into that race that doesn’t get put into the other weekly races. And, to top it off, it is also a restrictor plate race which are very much different than the majority of races, which also can tend to allow a driver to “super” perform (google Trevor Bayne) in that venue where they seldom do anywhere else.
Given there is more to be proven (on the track) than speculation and giddiness over the performance of somebody who finished 8th (quick-without looking it up- tell me who finished 8th LAST YEAR at the Daytona 500, ok you get my point), I, for one, will be much happier when something happens on the track that merits mentioning the name Danica Patrick.
#10 ML, actually the ‘rookie’ status does apply in other sports. You can participate in a limited number of races without using up your rookie status. For example, if a driver (notice I didn’t say ‘guy’?) races at Bristol & Martinsville but nowhere else, then they’re not considered to be fully engaged and aren’t counted as a full time driver. I think the minimum number of races to have a full season count is six, but I might be incorrect.
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In golf, you can do the same thing, be a member of the junior circuit & play a few tournaments on the top circuit without being considered a rookie.
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The most obvious example is baseball. Baseball has, for decades, followed the example of bringing up promising players from the minors in September to finish the season with the club. Again, they look at a minimum number of games played to establish rookie status. If you look back at many of the baseball Rookies Of The Year, they had played some games in previous seasons.
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Hope that helps…
#10 ML, I hate to be a Danica apologist, but leading 5 laps under green, particularly when those laps cannot be attributed to a fuel strategy, is still an accomplishment. She led more than Dale Jr, Stewart, Harvick, or any number of other ‘big’ name drivers, and was consistently in the top 5-10 all day. I was among those who expected her to run in the middle-back of the pack all day, but she impressed me with her ability to stay at the front of the pack from start to finish.
I am sorry, but, I just don’t get it!!??………Yes, Danica Patrick is a beautiful woman, but, I don’t see why she gets so much media attention???
She has NEVER won a race??………The best she has done is win the pole position at yesterday’s Daytona 500 and ended up coming in “8th” place!!!?
So what!!??……….In the real world, “WHO CARES”…………”Hey, Danica”!!…..”Win a race first and “then” you may get some respect”……..Until then, I don’t get it???
I agree that the lap-leading matters. Also, the way she got to eighth place — dropping a few spots near the end — matters. At Daytona, you might be able to sit in 29th all day and get a lucky break at the end to move into the top 10. As RP noted, she was near the front from flag to flag.
I also agree with those who’ve said we have no idea what any of this means for Phoenix, Bristol, Vegas, etc.
I kind of thought he meant to give a nod to Danica Patrick’s achievement, but he’s an odd one. Maybe he thought it was clever, whatever he meant.
I’m not necessarily a fan, but James Franco has been in a lot of good movies and has been nominated for an Oscar. Where have you people been?
I wonder of Doughty ever tires of defending overt elitist statements by UVa people. I checked on the ‘He’s used to buying gas in New Jersey’ excuse, because it sounded flimsy. Littlepage has been at UVa since 1988, which is twenty five years. You’d think he would have recognized in that time that most people pump their own gas. Then again, he has been living of the university siphon, so he may be one of those few under-70 yr olds who still pays twenty cents extra a gallon to have it done for him.
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As for predicting Danica’s production this season? AMc is correct, Daytona is an entirely different beast. As are Bristol, Martinsville, Darlington, etc. She got through the hype event. Now she’ll have to compete with the boys.
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I think the unwritten story of the week(s) was how solidly Tony Stewart has built his program. He has really developed a strong organization. He’ll be a dominant player as an owner for a long time to come in NASCAR.
I acthally thought Fox’s intro segment was more in bad taste. They had the computer graphic cars racing on the front stretch at Daytona and the cars spun and wrecked with at least one car going airborn exactly where the wreck happened Saturday. Now that was some serious bad taste and I am surprised nobody at Fox caught that. Still not convinced on Danica. Let’s wait until she has some success on the other tracks. And what is the deal with her not wanting to run Martinsville? That track takes a ton of skill and control and nobody gives the credit due to those drivers that are so good there.
4 words? Pssh, I can top that with 3 words, “Start your engines!” Short, sweet, and to the point.
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I don’t get the appeal of NASCAR. It’s like when my dad watched Bill Dance and Jimmy Houston reeling in bass after bass, and whenever I try to go fishing, I manage to snare a fish on the first cast, but afterward, the fish must have decided to swim away from me, thus, fostering a hatred toward fishing because of the false promise from watching the fishermen on TV make it look so easy to bring in the fishes.
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To each his own, I suppose.
IIf it wasn’t “Drivers…start” then it shouldve been “Danica, and Gentlemen, start your engines, since she was on the freakin’ POLE !
Keep up the good fight, giles…cancer is a tough beast to slay, but it can be done.
As for Danica, going forward if she can compete at tracks like Charlotte, Darlington, Michigan, Atlanta, Richmond, Fontana, etc and have top-10 type success, then I think we’ll have a better sample size to work from. Honestly, if she can finish in the top-20 in points with a decent number of top-10′s and maybe a couple top-5′s, it will be hard to say she didn’t have a successful rookie season.
VT notched nice wins for both programs yesterday, to help break skids for both (the women’s team has lost 13 of their last 14, and the previous 4 straight). It remains questionable as to whether either one of them can win another game, but at least for one day, they both did something good. But don’t worry, they probably won’t let it go to their heads though.
Song is Home, I think. Not sure of the name of the performer/singer?
Home- Phillip Phillips
Danica proved she belongs there. NASCAR is an ass. Sad but true.
Regarding gas pumpers…unless you’re from New Jersey or were a driver pre-dating the Kennedy administration, how many people have actually gotten gas via a full-service gas station? I’ve seen a handful, literally, of stations offering full service, but never used it. I’m quite capable of pumping my own gas without driving off with the nozzle still in the car, and for checking and topping off my own automotive fluids without confusing transmission fluid for cranberry pancake syrup.
Hokie Gal and Desert Hokie with the song nailage. Nicely done.
I always make sure to top off the tank at the Delaware line whenever venturing to Atlantic City. Frustrating to sit there and wait 10 minutes for always-courteous Jersey attendants to get to your car when the pump is sitting right there, teasing you. Come on, brother! I’ve got tolls to pay!
Never understood that whole statute, assuming it is one.
Honestly, if you think the guy was trying to make a differentiation between “drivers” and “danica” as if she wasn’t one… It’s more of a reflection on your own beliefs in gender identity within NASCAR. I’m sure he was trying to highlight the accomplishment she made by qualifying for the pole.
In a good ole boy sport like NASCAR, sadly, it is remarkable that anyone outside of a tradtional “stock” car racer makes the pole. It would have been the same sort of treatment if Travis Pastrana had taken the pole, just like it was when Juan Pablo Montoya started.
Does Danica Patrick deserve the extra media coverage? Ask that same question of Dale Earnhardt Jr. who hadn’t won a race in god knows how long yet still was interviewed every single race ad nauseum during his slump. Then ask people like JJ Yeley and others who never have any media attention whatsoever.
The media coverage is all about the NASCAR product, and the NASCAR product is all about advertising. They are going to put up the people who bring in the ratings and highlight the heck out of them. Danica is doing that, and it also opens NASCAR to an entirely different market segment, which will bring in more money for NASCAR.
I watched the whole race, and she did great, was basically in the top 10 for a large portion of the race, and handled herself well, as did many others.
It’s funny, I knew as soon as Franco said it, that all the good ole boys would be chuckling to themselves about that comment. Thanks for not letting me down!
I agree with #30 (Scott) — Danica is basically the “new” Dale Jr. She will get way too much media coverage than she deserves if purely based on racing talent. And fans will cheer for her because of things other than her racing talent (just like Jr). But that’s okay with me —— if they only based things on racing talent, we’d see nothing but Jimmy Johnson and Matt Kenseth all day, and neither of them tilt the ‘excitement’ lever in a meaningful way.
I saw a post on facebook yesterday that said “If any other driver in contention at the end of the race had won, this would have been a fantastic race. But since Jimmy Johnson won, it felt like a waste of time.” I agreed with that sentiment. Dynasties are boring, particularly when NASCAR spent the winter trying to brand itself as the “new” NASCAR, with the Gen 6 cars, etc.
It’s funny — I watched an old video the other day of the final laps of the 1990 Daytona 500. Earnhardt Sr., of course, was leading on the final lap before cutting a tire, opening the door for longshot Derrike Cope to win it.
What surprised me was the way the final lap was covered by the TV announcers. They were going on and on about Cope, saying very little about Earnhardt. Earnhardt was a three-time Cup champion already by that point, immensely popular/polarizing, and was seeking his first Daytona win (which he wouldn’t get until ’98). Seems to me his rotten luck was the big story of the day.
But they went with Cope, the winner, the underdog story, the guy who had a minute fraction of the fan base as Earnhardt. Maybe this says something about the way things have changed.
Or maybe not. Just throwing that out there.
In a good ole boy sport like NASCAR, sadly, it is remarkable that anyone outside of a tradtional “stock” car racer makes the pole.
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What exactly would qualify today as a “traditional” driver? Someone from the south, the traditional Nascar hotbed?
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For the Sprint Cup drivers, I found a listing for 53 drivers…2 of whom are from foreign countries (Montoya, Ambrose). Of those 53, drivers hailing from the “traditional” southern states where Nascar was originally rooted totals a relatively puny 13, including drivers from Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. 11 drivers hail from the west coast…California, Oregon, Washington…with another 4 combined from Arizona and Nevada, for 15 total from west of the Rockies. 14 more come from Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, New York, and New Jersey. Yeah, those are traditional Nascar hotbeds. It’s become a fairly widespread sports with drivers literally hailing from all over the country, in places where many natives still think of everyone in the south as having buck teeth and playing a banjo.
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And very few of the drivers remotely resemble the physical nature of the drivers who were around from the sport’s beginnings through say the 80′s and early 90′s. Remember when Days of Thunder rolled around? The mocking that occured because Tom Cruise’s character was from California? That actually used to be the way of things. Anyone from outside of the south was seen as an outsider, someone to be viewed with skepticism and a distrusting eye. Now? It’s commomplace. More drivers in the Sprint Cup hail from California than any other single state.
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Truth is, what Nascar once was is long gone. It started going by the wayside when Petty, Allison, Yarborough, and others retired. It accelerated as the sport got widespread TV coverage and live broadcasting. The brash and brazen southern drivers didn’t convey the kind of homogenized corporate-friendly image that drew appeal from around the rest of the country. As traditional southern tracks were laid to rest on the schedules and replaced by tracks in Texas, Illinois, California, Nevada, etc, it signaled that the roots of the sport, while important, were not the future.
AMc, I agree that Dale Sr would’ve been the bigger story over the years (and on talk radio the next day, if it existed back then, for sure). But that’s one reason why I dislike the general “ESPN-ization” of sports. Anymore, the media sometimes cover their specific angles or storylines at the expense of whoever actually performs and wins. Other examples include the 2012-2013 LA Lakers, the 2012 New York Yankees, etc.
Jay – learn racing or hit the road. Danica won a Formula 1 race in Japan. Those cars are faster(quicker anyway) and lighter than NASCAR. Her basic skill level and courage are not in question. She has raced since she was about 8 and was formally trained in England before becoming well known. I do not consider pretty or sexy. I have met her face to face (in France during ski season when racing was on hiatus – she was walking around town with her now ex-husband).
What Danica is, is tiny. I mean really petite. The idea of her wrestling those cars blows me away, but then, power steering does allot for all of us.
The race yesterday showed she can run with the big dogs if she has the car. A weak pit stop, not her fault, cost her team.
The real telling point was post race when she said she “Could not see a way to win” when she was sitting in 3rd entering the last lap. This is probably an experience thing at this level of racing.
You may know that she has a rep for causing crashes. One might say she has run a fair number of drivers off the track.
It looked to me that she was suffering from an abundance of caution right at the end and that is why she got cut off and dropped from 3rd to 8th in the last 5 seconds. I think, but don’t know, that this is as much a problem of the guidance she got from her crew boss as her own failure. If she had musceled in and a wreck ensued some would be saying now she can;t drive.
I thought she did well and I think she is a hell of a driver.
I think Franco meant to honor her but it came out goofy. Sometimes that happens.
Wow, a lot of commenters think this was Danica’s first race in a stock car. They should really do some research. Danica has been in NASCAR for three years. This was one of the few times when she has not wrecked. Good job.
“My wife`s cousin is married to the gas man.” Never figured you for a name dropper O.J.. Just kidding you, my friend. With those pre-race luminaries, Fox must have been trying to save on some of the money they lost out on when hockey was on strike. To me, Frank-o and 50 cent barely add up to a dollar`s worth of star power. Plus, the Zac Brown band sang the Anthem without Zac Brown; and Ray Lewis honorary starter? They should have stuck him where the gopher used to be. Good job, Tech. Erick Green spends most of the first half trying to get everyone involved and still scores 26.
ACC is releasing the football schedule at 3 p.m. I’ll get Tech’s up here at that point.
Tech’s win was ugly but a win nevertheless. I knew Danica would do well for several reasons: Daytona is a major speedway just like most open wheel tracks so it’s an interstate drive, she had a fast car, she was up front away from trouble and everybody who’s watched racing knows she’s not afraid to drive fast. Like she said, she would have made a move but throughout the race no one really showed an interest in partnering up so she protected her top 10 finish. I was hoping she would pull a Kyle Busch and drop down in front of Jr when he and Martin came up. That would have been risky and not endeared her to the others. She doesn’t like Martensville and other short tracks because of the physical toll those tracks take on a driver. They are more like a demolition derby. HANG IN THERE GILES, WE ARE ALL ROOTING AND PRAYING FOR YOU. ENJOY THAT NEW CAR. I HOPE IT’S A CORVETTE CONVERTABLE SO YOU CAN PUT THE TOP DOWN AND DRIVE THROUGH THOSE BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN ROADS.
I’m pretty sure most folks know that Danica was a full-time driver in the Nationwide series last year, her first year as a full-time driver in a stock car. And, she didn’t do all that badly. 33 starts, 10th in points, 1 pole and 4 top-10′s. Not exactly tearing it up, but not terrible either. In her previous 2 seasons doing part-time with Nationwide, she also ran Indy full-time…and didn;t particularly excell in either. She slipped a few rungs in her Indy performance with double-dipping, but actually posted slightly better results in 2011 vs last year for her Nationwide effort, in a third of the races.
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Combined though, across Indy, Sprint Cup, and Nationwide…she has 187 total combined starts, 1 win (Indy), 4 poles (2 in Indy), 21 top-5′s (20 in Indy), and 71 top-10′s (63 in Indy). Her Indy driving was pretty solid, she finished top-10 in points all but her rookie season (12th). Then again, Indy race fields are typically 26 or so drivers, vs Nascar’s 43…
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But, probably the biggest reason she moved to Nascar is the money. If you want to have name recognition as a driver in the United States, you have to be in Nascar. American racing fans simply do not follow Indy, F1, or other series with the same gusto, and as a result, outside of a handful of pretty famous drivers who win a lot, it’s hard to name more than 3-4 drivers in either series for most folks. Honestly, the only ones I k now are Andretti, Castroneves, Rahal, Franchitti, Hildebrand, Schumacher, and that’s it. But I can name probably 25-30 Nascar drivers, and I barely follow it.
On a related note, I can confirm that I was in Charlottesville this past weekend and had to pump my own gas.
Full-service gas stations may be the one thing that New Jersey has on the rest of America.
Related to full-service gas, I had heard that the only reason New Jersey still has that in place is because of a law passed to protect union jobs there. But I did some research, and it appears that both New Jersey and Oregon have similar laws, originally passed out of concern for the environment and the risk of inexperienced persons spilling gasoline and other fuels. Now, with higher gas prices, station owners have lobbied to keep the laws in place to help with the rash of drive-offs experienced by self-service stations in other states. I suppose there’s good and bad to be said about either way…I just prefer doing it myself for convenience. That, and I don;t rightly know how a full-service (or mini service as it technically is in NJ and OR, where they only pump gas) would react to myself and my wife pulling into a pump station simultaneously to pump gas at the Kroger discount, while I also fill up the 5-gallon can for the mower, or a mid-week top-off later. (Yes, I am that cheap, and besides…they allow 35 gallons at the discount, which we usually get 50 cents, so why not fill my 12 gallon Focus, her 15 gallon Escape, and my 5 gallon can?)
Didn’t get to watch much of the race at all, glanced at it with about 50 laps to go and Danica surprised me that she was running eighth at the time. I had her figured to do a march to the rear of the field pretty quickly, I am impressed that she finished as well as she did and would have loved to see her win it honestly. As far as I’m concerned, Nascar could use a new story line apart from same old same old Johnson wins-will Jr. every win Daytona thing. I’ve found myself losing more and more interest in Nascar every year that another one of the old guard retires, but it was nice to learn that Martin finished a very competitive third, he’s kinda the last one standing from back in the day.
Rick H., my wife grew tired of the Danica jokes pretty quickly too, but they were just too darn easy, especially with her winning the pole. Kinda like Clinton offering his young interns a position on the presidential staff…just too easy! They were fun while they lasted though.
OJ, you’re not alone in the Kroger gas pumping thing, my wife and I do the same thing when it’s convenient to do so, especially when you’ve built up enough grocery points for a fifty cent discount. Guess I’m “cheap” too, can’t see not getting all the savings at the pump you can, especially with current prices.
Huntersdad, when I drove a 30-gallon 15mpg Dodge Ram, I just filled that behemoth up, and the savings were great. Then it up and died, and I got the Focus. Our only problem is living near Radford…the closest fuel centers are in Blacksburg or Christiansburg…so usually if my wife in nearby, we try to get gas…or we meet for lunch and fill up the cars afterward. But, our good news is that they should be opening one in Fairlawn at that Kroger in late spring or early summer, and that makes it much more convenient, especially since we fill or prescriptions there and buy the bulk of our groceries there. And yeah, with current prices, 50+ cents per gallon off makes a big difference, quickly. Why leave something like $10 a month laying on the table?? That’s $120 a year…which is what I need to buy an outdoor antenna…I missed laps 80-190 of the race trying to rig a better redneck antenna booster (saw the first 80 at my in-laws, who because they live on top of the adjacent hill, have perfect reception…while we usually can’t get Fox. Though, I’m sure the 4 solid steel I-beams under our double-wide don’t help…)
I hate sounding pessimistic (I’m a realist, but this sounds negative), but looking at the VT football schedule, I have a hard time seeing better than 8-4. If I had to pick, I’d put them at 7 +/- 1 win, and maybe take a flyer on the over, given the experience at QB (I sure hope he plays better), and that the defense continues to show improvement, plus that they can actually run the ball consistently. I’ll want to see what happens in Atlanta first. If they get whacked, then I’ll vote the push/under on that 7-win line. If they hang with Alabama (or somehow win), then I’ll admit to being possibly wrong, but not until the season wraps up.
Can yall shut up about the gas pumping comment?! He’s from new jersey and if thats not enough for you ‘crooked road’ he also was born in 1951, and he’s old enough to remember when people did pump your gas at the filling station. So no its not elitist its a combination of age and where he’s from. I dont know what other elitist tones you think you pick up from the university but I’d like to know what they were
#47 J, what’s the matter, you ashamed of the elitism constantly displayed in Cville? What next, a tangent about how well they do in non-revenue sports? It seems to me that even if Littlepage will turn 62 this year, he would be in touch with ‘the common people’ enough to understand that 99% of the gas sold in Virginia is pumped by the individual, not by station employees.
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You don’t get to play it both ways, hoo. Either own your school’s elitism, or continue to be ashamed of it but never discuss their academic status or non-revenue sports results.
I’m not ashamed of anything yeah if being proud of the school being the number one public university according to forbes and being consistently rated for academic excellence as a Southern and public Ivy and having one of the best overall sports programs in the country is elitist, then yes you’re right I’m elitist. I’ll own those things. What insecurity of y’all to take some little comment and blow it up to say its elitist. Also you cant have it both ways either chief. If you say academic achievement and overall sports success isn’t something to measure a school by and I’m assuming you only want to rate it by football and basketball then great that means Tech sucks right now. I’m sorry you’re jealous that we have things to be proud of and if its elitist then fine, because you won’t find any of those “elite” things in blacksburg, yeah yall are just the common men there, unencumbered by such things as academics or tradition just football.
And also don’t call us elite for that one comment. If you’re gonna call us elite call us elite for the things I said, our high academic standards and standing, great sports program, historic grounds (a UNESCO world heritage site, the only college or university in the US to be one), and our founder, Thomas Jefferson. And fine fine you’re right we are elite thats fine because Tech has none of those things, is not an elite school, never will be, the only thing remotely elite yall had was yalls football team which you dont have anymore. I’d rather be called “elitist” and be at one of the finest universities not just public but overall in the nation than be at Tech
I tried to post this earlier, but it didn’t take.
giles – let me repeat what Aaron said, hang in there. Check in every day you can.
I totally agree that the comment was condescending. The moment that James Franco stated, “drivers and Danica start your engines” I looked at my wife and together we commented, that was not right. I was sooooo glad that she competed at the level she did and the results should prove to the nay sayers that she is truly a NASCAR driver.
“Znan” got it right. Patrick was sitting 3rd with 5 seconds to go. What if at that moment her crew boss urged her go inside and cut off those charging up from behind? She just might have ended up much closer to the front. But things can get can get pretty goosey in those final seconds…so why risk spoiling a great overall performance of the day? The world has now seen she can race with the big dogs. Surely her time will come to prove she is capable of even greater things.
Am I the only one who thinks it might have been an honest mistake by Franco? Maybe he accidentally combined “Gentlemen, and Danica” and “drivers.”
Franco seemed extremely definite in his ‘Drivers, and Danica’ statement. He was as emphatic as it gets. If it had been, ‘Gentlemen, etc.’ then everyone could have appreciated the light hearted humor. But it’s only three words to remember, how can you bungle that when you are a career actor, paid to remember your lines?
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Nah, he was pandering to the knuckle draggers. It makes me wonder what movies he has coming out in the next year or so that might pander to that audience…
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‘Child Of God’ seems to fit that caricature…