Danica the new Intimidator?

[#7batmobile]

I remember her slapping Jacques Lazier when they got into the ambulance. Can't remember the track, might have been Fontana.

Really? I was @ the '05 Fontana race. There was a rain delay. John Elway signed the front of my ticket, just before the green flag. With only a few laps to go, Lazier made a bonzi move on Patrick, which crashed both of them out. This is the end result: At first, Lazier claimed that Patrick punched him in the head, but backed off that STORY, agreeing with Patrick's verison that she simply put her finger on his forehead, and said: "Think about it. Was it worth it?" That's a far cry from slapping Lazier, as Glenn "may have remembered." Lazier was FORCED to cop out to what really happened, only because the ambulance drivers, who were interviewed by Indycar, reported that Lazier's version of her "assault" on him did not happen. He flat out lied, and that's why Indycar didn't take any other action against Patrick. Case closed.

[cpthornman]

What I do see though is that some get a free pass for showing the emotion while others get called out for it.

The problem is how these drivers are showing their emotion and the actions they choose.

[DavidM]

Really? I was @ the '05 Fontana race. There was a rain delay. John Elway signed the front of my ticket, just before the green flag. With only a few laps to go, Lazier made a bonzi move on Patrick, which crashed both of them out. This is the end result: At first, Lazier claimed that Patrick punched him in the head, but backed off that STORY, agreeing with Patrick's verison that she simply put her finger on his forehead, and said: "Think about it. Was it worth it?" That's a far cry from slapping Lazier, as Glenn "may have remembered." Lazier was FORCED to cop out to what really happened, only because the ambulance drivers, who were interviewed by Indycar, reported that Lazier's version of her "assault" on him did not happen. He flat out lied, and that's why Indycar didn't take any other action against Patrick. Case closed.

Too bad that often the first story becomes the only one people hear and when the facts come to light far to many miss it.

[MoparsRule]

The problem is how these drivers are showing their emotion and the actions they choose.

Bingo.

I'm a huge fan of the incredible driving talent that Kyle Busch has... but I still don't get why he has to be such a douchenozzle a majority of the time. Same with his brother.

And what Danica did is no different that what Kyle has done multiple times on & off the track.

[MoparsRule]

And what's the biggest story at Darlington this weekend according to nascar/isc...?

[mdkiel]

All I can do is wait with a bewildered curiousity as to what the shelf-life on this phenomenon will be absent any tangible results.

[Glenn]

Really? I was @ the '05 Fontana race. There was a rain delay. John Elway signed the front of my ticket, just before the green flag. With only a few laps to go, Lazier made a bonzi move on Patrick, which crashed both of them out. This is the end result: At first, Lazier claimed that Patrick punched him in the head, but backed off that STORY, agreeing with Patrick's verison that she simply put her finger on his forehead, and said: "Think about it. Was it worth it?" That's a far cry from slapping Lazier, as Glenn "may have remembered." Lazier was FORCED to cop out to what really happened, only because the ambulance drivers, who were interviewed by Indycar, reported that Lazier's version of her "assault" on him did not happen. He flat out lied, and that's why Indycar didn't take any other action against Patrick. Case closed.

Thanks for the info, I never heard that part. However, it was so long ago, I probably wouldn't have remembered anyway.

However, she did shove Wheldon and as the gentleman he was, he did not shove back. That was caught on film. And I still really enjoyed her stomping down the pits to go talk to Briscoe at the 500. Then Roger told Ryan to stay in the car. Classic.

[MoparsRule]

All I can do is wait with a bewildered curiousity as to what the shelf-life on this phenomenon will be absent any tangible results.

With the amount of money that nascar spent putting deals together to get her into the series, and continue to spend on her promotion I expect her shelf-life to be a lot longer than many around here hope for.

[Todd Gack]

With the amount of money that nascar spent putting deals together to get her into the series, and continue to spend on her promotion I expect her shelf-life to be a lot longer than many around here hope for.

Running 34th every week in Cup, will lead to that shelf-life ending quickly.

I'll say she is begging to get back into a Indy Car and already making plans to bail by this time next year.

[Glenn]

Running 34th every week in Cup, will lead to that shelf-life ending quickly.

I'll say she is begging to get back into a Indy Car and already making plans to bail by this time next year.

Unfortunately they'd take her back with open arms. But, she will have to take a huge pay cut from driving the Cabs. I think she'll stick it out in Cabs, get rich, then retire young. Can't fault her for that.

[4Wide]

Running 34th every week in Cup, will lead to that shelf-life ending quickly.

I'll say she is begging to get back into a Indy Car and already making plans to bail by this time next year.

I think it'll be 2014. They will keep trying to recoup investment through next year at least.

Unfortunately they'd take her back with open arms. But, she will have to take a huge pay cut from driving the Cabs. I think she'll stick it out in Cabs, get rich, then retire young. Can't fault her for that.

I don't think she will be welcomed back. IndyCar has already danced in that ring of the circus. Her novelty factor has diminished greatly and will have diminished even further by the time this runs its course. When she's done in NASCAR its game over for her. Of course if GoDaddy is still willing to dump money into what would certainly be considered a failed project at that point, a lower tier team would take the money. I don't see her "stooping" to that level though.

[MoparsRule]

Running 34th every week in Cup, will lead to that shelf-life ending quickly.

I'll say she is begging to get back into a Indy Car and already making plans to bail by this time next year.

So your prediction for her is the last of the non S&P cars?

Name value is every bit as, if not more important, than production in Cup racing.

She's here through at least the end of the 2014 season.

[Todd Gack]

1. So your prediction for her is the last of the non S&P cars?

2. Name value is every bit as, if not more important, than production in Cup racing.

3. She's here through at least the end of the 2014 season.

1. First off, we don't know how many non-start-and-parkers there will be in 2013. Second, who is she going to beat? She's generally not competitive in Nationwide, running against fields that have about 20 real entries. You see her regularly beating the Jeff Burton's and David Ragan's and Landon Cassill's and Casey Mears's of the world? Not likely. They have way too much experience. And she is simply not a talented enough racer. That's not going to change either. You'll see starting Saturday night, just how completely out-of-her-league she is (on a non restrictor plate Cup track).

2. Bull. Name value only matters if you can back it up more then once a year. If you are running 5 laps off the pace, in 34th spot every week, you aren't going to get any airtime. And don't deserve any either. And that's where she is going to be. Her "story" isn't going to last long or be very sellable to NASCAR fans. They don't give a damn about who is running 30th. They care about the actual race. Hell, her story has already gone stale in Nationwide.

3. Nah. She will do exactly what Dario did before her. She'll get to a point that she realizes this is a lost cause. She'll find out that she has no chance in hell of competing in Cup and that she has literally no friends anywhere down there (which I think she already has found out) and that its not much fun running in the back and that she actually doesn't like racing week-in and week-out like you have to down there and she will tuck tail and head back to the safe comforts of the Indy Car series. She'll finish out her racing career in a Indy Car. And the gullable Indy Car fandom will cheer and holler that one of "their" drivers has come back to them. And that she is back to race where her "heart is". And that she is back to win the Indy 500, which was always her #1 goal.

I'll say she races one full year in Cup in 2013 and by the middle of the year in 2013, the wheels will already be in motion for her to get the hell out of dodge. She'll be back in a full-time Indy Car ride at the start of the 2014 season.

And she will be looked at as yet another failure by a Indy Car driver in NASCAR and the ones cheering loudest for her departure will be those at Tony Stewart Racing. But those guys and the folks at DEI will have some wonderful stories to tell. Probably already do.

[MoparsRule]

1. First off, we don't know how many non-start-and-parkers there will be in 2013. Second, who is she going to beat? She's generally not competitive in Nationwide, running against fields that have about 20 real entries. You see her regularly beating the Jeff Burton's and David Ragan's and Landon Cassill's and Casey Mears's of the world? Not likely. They have way too much experience. And she is simply not a talented enough racer. That's not going to change either. You'll see starting Saturday night, just how completely out-of-her-league she is (on a non restrictor plate Cup track).

2. Bull. Name value only matters if you can back it up more then once a year. If you are running 5 laps off the pace, in 34th spot every week, you aren't going to get any airtime. And don't deserve any either. And that's where she is going to be. Her "story" isn't going to last long or be very sellable to NASCAR fans. They don't give a damn about who is running 30th. They care about the actual race. Hell, her story has already gone stale in Nationwide.

3. Nah. She will do exactly what Dario did before her. She'll get to a point that she realizes this is a lost cause. She'll find out that she has no chance in hell of competing in Cup and that she has literally no friends anywhere down there (which I think she already has found out) and that its not much fun running in the back and that she actually doesn't like racing week-in and week-out like you have to down there and she will tuck tail and head back to the safe comforts of the Indy Car series. She'll finish out her racing career in a Indy Car. And the gullable Indy Car fandom will cheer and holler that one of "their" drivers has come back to them. And that she is back to race where her "heart is". And that she is back to win the Indy 500, which was always her #1 goal.

I'll say she races one full year in Cup in 2013 and by the middle of the year in 2013, the wheels will already be in motion for her to get the hell out of dodge. She'll be back in a full-time Indy Car ride at the start of the 2014 season.

And she will be looked at as yet another failure by a Indy Car driver in NASCAR and the ones cheering loudest for her departure will be those at Tony Stewart Racing. But those guys and the folks at DEI will have some wonderful stories to tell. Probably already do.

1. 8 S&P's would be a good guess, that seems to be a pretty consistent number. Each week a couple of those attempt the full distance though. And she'll be fine. She can run T25 when she's full time in the series, driving nothing but a Cup car, and getting plenty of testing. It's not as if it's F1 or anything.

2. Name matters. Period. Always has, always will. If it didn't, DE2 wouldn't have the biggest sponsorship package in the series. How else do you think she got where she is today in nascar?

3. Dario was in an unfunded ride & not locked into the T35. And Chip was not going to run that car out of pocket. DF had no chance before the season ever started. Anyone paying attention knew that & doesn't even bring that disaster up when talking about ICS drivers that move to nascar.

[solvera]

cbreez, your answer to my question was perfect. I think some of the Danica controversy stems from people's ideas of that unwritten code. She takes a different approach than alot of people and some folks don't like that. My opinion is, you need to follow the laws of physics (barely), and follow the rules of NASCAR (barely), and outside of that you do what works for you. As always, this particular topic is about opinion so I can't say I'm right and others are wrong, and vice versa.

Now that we've got a solid baseline for where she's at, I want her to keep improving and I will criticize her if she doesn't. Someone metioned that Blaney has a far more impressive start than her. I agree with you 100%, finishing 7th is in fact more impressive than finishing in the 30s. Good for him if he keeps it up.

As for IndyCar, I truly hope she doesn't go back (except in my fantasies where she goes back and wins the 500). While I have tremendous respect for that sport and the people and the fans, some of the comments I heard sounded really sour grapes-y. Really turned me off. Then you have people who criticized the attention she got from the media and from her fans for being Danica-the-brand. They claimed the only thing that should matter is how well you perform on track. Meanwhile, I've read zero complaints about all the new Brazilian fans that are watching now that Rubens Barichello is around. And you have thread after thread about how the sport does/does not need more American drivers. How on earth is this not contradictory?????


There's, what, three current threads about her, TV ratings are consistently up for races she's in, stories about her are listed under "most commented upon". I don't think people in general have stopped talking about her.

I've heard people say that her insistence on using her feminity is making it harder for other female racers. I disagree. Every other female racer I've seen is increasing their fan base with people who don't like Danica. If the only requirement for them is being "not Danica", I think they're all set.

[Thinking Man]

No, I do not think it's OK for retaliation the Earnhardt way, man or woman. This is what bothers me. She seems to think she has a free pass with pushing, slapping, hitting guys, knowing good and well they will not retaliate. Someday she will be punched back and she may stop with her bullying. But she took this one another step. Instead of biatch slapping Lazier, she used a 3500 pound car to retaliate. Not good.

Does she slap somebody in a viewable video clip? I saw her give Dan Wheldon's elbow a dismissive little push when he ignored her attempt to confront him about an on track incident, but I haven't seen the slap and would like to.

[Thinking Man]

"If she did it on purpose, which I would like to think wasn't the case."

It seems pretty clear she was trying to give him the same kind of bump she gave Carl Edwards at Montreal last year. But his right front going down caused him to spin to the right and into the wall.

[Scuff]

Some Danica fans are like Moms with kids in prison. Their kids are always innocent and it is always someone elses fault they are there.

[Glenn]

Does she slap somebody in a viewable video clip? I saw her give Dan Wheldon's elbow a dismissive little push when he ignored her attempt to confront him about an on track incident, but I haven't seen the slap and would like to.

Sorry, I could not find a video, doubt they have video cameras inside the ambulance. But someone else here said that in the end Jacques had made everything up. However, I just haven't been too impressed with Danica's little hissy fits.

[#7batmobile]

Does she slap somebody in a viewable video clip? I saw her give Dan Wheldon's elbow a dismissive little push when he ignored her attempt to confront him about an on track incident, but I haven't seen the slap and would like to.

See my post==#121 Regarding how Lazier was forced to back off his story about Patrick "punching" him @ Fontana.

[Hardscrabble]

Too bad that often the first story becomes the only one people hear and when the facts come to light far to many miss it.

Funny, the first "story" I heard was the Princess poking Lazier in the forehead...

As for her being the "Intimidator"...what a joke...

You can't run in 30-something place and be an "Intimidator"...

Though she did beat out "world class driver" Scott Speed"...

[Glenn]

Danica got robbed last night with her drive through penalty. Otherwise she would have only finished 5 laps off the pace! Darn.