Gooooo Danica

[UREZ2PASS]

Although I wouldn't let her drive MY stockcar to the grocery store to get fixens to make me a sammich, I do hope she does well today.

Gooooooo !!!! Danica !!!!!!!!

[Boneman]

I of course, will be there to support her. When she senses my presence in the stands, and my heart bursting with desire, she will be propelled on to fulfill her destiny, and to write NASCAR history tonight. "The First Female Cup Series Winner."


Hoping for a fun night with my kids at Daytona!

[OldSchool+]

Agreed.

Have seen worse, and she seems to be improving.

In general have seen female (ladies, girls, gals{!}, whatever is politically correct) drivers be more aggressive and competitive lately.

Good to see. They figured out how to earn the ride, they can wheel it, more power to 'em.

Had another thought--ever noticed how Danica hits the wall A TON? Further, you have seen her take her hands off the wheel before impact, apparently Indy-Car style.

Am wondering if she also pulls her feet off the pedals before impact?

If so, I would suggest that is probably not the best strategy...

[OldSchool+]

"...and my heart bursting with desire..."--Boneman

All of the words in a row above are amusing to me!

[Boneman]

There have been a few suspicious winners in Daytona restrictor plate races. Remember when Jr. won the first race back at Daytona after losing his dad? It was great theater, but what are the chances that his plate was "a little different" than the rest? I would not put it past NASCAR to take steps that insure a memorable event, and having the first woman to win would certainly rise to that level.

I was at the Nationwide race a few years ago, and it looked to me like she was going to win it. Danica got involved in a crash in front of her, so it didn't happen. Maybe tonight...

In all seriousness, I think it would benefit our sport.

[Boneman]

Hey Oldschool+, I keep having this persistent day-dream about being the one who washes her down in victory circle with the champagne bottle. So what would Sigmund Freud have to say about that?

[OldSchool+]

"Mmmm--hmmm, I see. It appears that your Mother bathed you until far too late in your childhood..."--Siggie

[UREZ2PASS]

Boney, I have a Danica cardboard standup sign in my bedroom next to my nightstand. The wife grumbles about it but she understands she's second to Danica. She says I don't have a chance with Danica but every girl has a fantasy of being with an old hairy fat man. Right ?

[BVS40FL]

Hey old school plus !!!!

I think if you watch the in car camera .... she takes her hands off the wheel BEFORE she wrecks !!!

[OldSchool+]

BVS--Yes, typically just before impact.

But man, she has drilled the wall harder on several occasions than Dale Jr used to.

Sometimes, it has appeared that it just doesn't slow down on the way to the wall (like the other feller's cars do).

Humor aside, am wondering if she pulls her foot off the brake to theoretically avoid injuring it.

Think abaddit--in an Indy Car, either you are hitting a street course barrier which you could do with no brakes, or generally it is flying through the air or toward one of Indy's walls, and I doubt if the thing will scrub much speed off on the way to the fence. Hence, it may be common practice there, much like the steering wheel thing.

[BVS40FL]

Lol

I was insinuating that was why she wrecked , She takes her hands off the wheel . Just trying to get a reaction from Boneman .

[egspeedway]

I am not a Danica fan nor a naysayer. I think a win by Danica would do wonders for our sport. More and more each sport is becoming dependent on one or two stars who if aren't contending the sport suffers immensely in loss of viewers. As for Danica I suspect she is still lacking in understanding basic strategies. At one point I heard her ask her team what she should do, there were rain clouds everywhere, the response go like hell. Another driver stated the brains of the team was his spotter that all he did was drive around in circles. Perhaps that is what's playing here.

[Groundpounder]

Well they tried to help her and what's his name, oh yeah, Jr., with that "debris" caution...Jr. gets a lap back and Princess gets to catch up!
Of course by doing that they created the biggest wreck of the day...and she still was outraced at the end...
I think they wanted something different for this race. Look at the cast of early leaders... You could tell that a regular wouldn't win. Almirola did run well all day though, like Derrick Cope did a few years ago, and his win was good!

[OldSchool+]

8th ain't bad!

Danica drove through and was involved in at least one accident.

She was up against the wall, but we will assume she remained in control of her steering wheel.

Eighth ain't bad. Better than 35 other dudes, in fact.

And, of course, the finish is good enough to continue to "fuel" the fire of Boneman's fantasy...

ps--Seems like along the way Cale Yarborough said that when he saw an accident coming he just grabbed the wheel tighter and braced for it. Cale had arms like Popeye's.

Heavy sigh, excepting Tony they just don't make 'em like Cale anymore.

[Boneman]

Here is an informal observation for you, but I think it is a good sign. All the drivers get a polite smattering of applause during their introduction....including Danica. The fans treated her no differently than they did any other driver (except for Dale Jr. who got a huge ovation). The fact that she has become an accepted part of the whole scene is good. Maybe she is being viewed as a Cup racer instead of as "the girl Cup racer".

I thought she did fine. There is plenty of skill, and always a bit of luck, to avoid the big crashes, and she did it. She ran in traffic, she ran towards the front for a long stretch; I thought she did fine and deserved her top 10 finish.

Pounder, you are right; the beginning of the race looked very different than what we are used to seeing. Who provided the action at the front? David Gilllland was aggressive, Reed Sorenson, Landon Cassil and Bobby Labonte of all people were showing the way in the beginning. I loved it!