Danica Patrick Wins Her first ever race at Motegi!

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Motominded

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I'm just so proud of her. I've been waiting for this day for a long time and she deserved it so much.

She had a great race strategy and with 20 to go, i knew Dixon, Kanaan, Wheldon, and Helio didn't have enough fuel to make it to the end.

It all went crazy when Ed Carpenter who had pitted last with Danica dived for the pits, i jumped up cause i knee the race was hers. Helio tried to make it to the end but just didn't have the fuel to be aggressive so she went by and three laps latter.......THE WIN!

BIG CONGRATS DANICA! DO IT AGAIN AT INDY.

Sorry i didn't put this in the 2008 Indycar thread but this is such an important day in motorsport history i had to give it a thread.
 
Congrats! Just so everyone knows who were talking about. ;)

danica_patrick.jpg
 
Good on her. I’m not a fan and don’t think she’s particularly talented in the scheme of things, but it’s still a great achievement so congrats. 👍
 
I'll offer more detailed material in the IndyCar thread. But for now, I just want to say that I'm proud for Danica. Good for her to win. I've always believed in her. Funny how she was in 8th or 9th and ended up winning on pit strategy. She won with smarts than brute power. Anytime Danica is placed high, my heart beats a little faster. I didn't want to say that I was going to die watching Danica in the lead, but it beat well enough that she's finally climbed the mountain.

Congratulations to the 2005 Rookie of the Year on winning this race. A burden is lifted. Now, can she win some more races? I think I predicted on GTPlanet this year that Danica will win a race. I think. Now she's done it. Great job to a lady I've never doubted even as people have mercifully trashed her as overrated.
 
JohnBM01
I'll offer more detailed material in the IndyCar thread. But for now, I just want to say that I'm proud for Danica. Good for her to win. I've always believed in her. Funny how she was in 8th or 9th and ended up winning on pit strategy. She won with smarts than brute power. Anytime Danica is placed high, my heart beats a little faster. I didn't want to say that I was going to die watching Danica in the lead, but it beat well enough that she's finally climbed the mountain.

Congratulations to the 2005 Rookie of the Year on winning this race. A burden is lifted. Now, can she win some more races? I think I predicted on GTPlanet this year that Danica will win a race. I think. Now she's done it. Great job to a lady I've never doubted even as people have mercifully trashed her as overrated.
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Well said, my heart beat tripled when i realized that she had the best chance to take the checker. I was a fan since day 1 and today it all goes good. The fuel strategy was a big part of it but she never lost touch with the lead group and was never more than 8 secs behind Dixon before he went in. She drove smart and kept that pace which is why Ed Carpenter didn't win. She was the best one today and that is an objective statement.

What good news for the Indy racing series, i really hope this is the year that allot of the fans realize what a good series it became with the merger.
 
Flippin' heck.

Dixon nearly runs out of fuel again... at least this time he didn't splutter to a stop on the final lap :/

Still, good job Danica, her first win had to come sometime :p
 
At last, she won. :cheers:

She's not the fastest, not the smartest and not the most experienced driver - but she certainly deserves it. Well done to her, and her team for actually fueling her sufficiently.

In the broader sense, it's an historical achievement that will no doubt have an effect.

Sharky.
Dixon nearly runs out of fuel again... at least this time he didn't splutter to a stop on the final lap :/
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I'm beginning to believe IndyCar is run by bearded men in rusty barns.

How hard is it, in our modern day and age of hyperadvanced computers, to calculate how much fuel you need?
 
There's an article on Yahoo Sports that kind of downplays her winning. It talked about how there were only 18 cars racing, how she won on pit strategy more than driving skills etc.. A win is still a win. SO congarts to Danica for her first win.
 
Takes skill to maintain conservation strategy to last until the end.

To finish first, first you have to finish.

And there have been female F1 drivers, quite a few actually.
 
Metar
How hard is it, in our modern day and age of hyperadvanced computers, to calculate how much fuel you need?
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Beats me.

From the looks of things, Ganassi can make a bloody quick car but can't work out how much fuel to put in it. :indiff:

It's not rocket science! (Ganassi must think it is... :()
 
Let's play a little "what if?" You all tell me what would happen if Danica wins certain races or things. Just share with us what you think would happen if Danica accomplished any of the following. You can chat about how the media will perceive it, how race fans will perceive it, and what you think will become of the IndyCar Series to see one of its most popular drivers prosper in motorsports. So...

How do you think racing media and fans would respond if Danica Patrick...

1.) ...won the Indianapolis 500?

2.) ...won at the Milwaukee Mile (she was born in Beloit, Wisconsin... so that's why I included a Wisconsin reference)?

3.) ...wins the IndyCar Championship, or at least comes extremely close?

4.) ...wins consecutive races at any point of the season?



Something about Danica that I've noticed a lot- she doesn't like thinking of herself as being a female competing among men. We make that sort of distinction because we don't usually see female drivers make headlines and win races, but she just thinks of herself as one of the many competitors trying to win races and finish consistently. I'm sure she'll take the win, but she'll think even more about just winning PERIOD. Let me answer one of the earlier questions I posted:

If Danica Patrick wins the Indianapolis 500...
... I think more people will know who she is and what she can do. Imagine if Danica pulls a move to win like what Sam Hornish Jr. did to Marco Andretti. Imagine if Danica is in a three-way battle for the race win... and pulls by a few inches or feet to win. Then even more people will know just who she is. Just an amazing win for Danica. She's a short 5'2", but is absolutely capable of winning races.



As an off-topic note, I finally got to see just how both the oval and road courses are laid out. On the other side of the pit wall of the oval is the front straight of the Motegi road course. I never really thought of how the road course was shaped out contrasting to the oval. I still wouldn't mind seeing a race from the IndyCar Series at Motegi. If the Japan race was moved, I would have liked a "family reunion" of sorts. I thought of the IndyCar Series on the Motegi superspeedway for one race, then the Champ Cars around the Motegi road course. It's an interesting family gathering had the Japan race been moved.
 
The359
And there have been female F1 drivers, quite a few actually.
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"Quite a few"? :lol:

Five. And put together, they scored half a point, by the Italian Lella Lombardi in the '75 Spanish GP. She finished sixth, which would've earned her a point had the race not been prematurely stopped - so half-points.
 
Plenty of decent rally drivers, though. Louise Aitken-Walker, Michèle Mouton to name two off the top of my head.
 
Metar
"Quite a few"? :lol:

Five. And put together, they scored half a point, by the Italian Lella Lombardi in the '75 Spanish GP. She finished sixth, which would've earned her a point had the race not been prematurely stopped - so half-points.
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My point was there's been more than "none". One female F1 driver, Desire Wilson, went on to win two 1000km races in the World Sportscar Championship with Alain de Cadenet.
 
Attack of the YouTube videos! Check these two out in talking about her race:
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWHWcgnoCkc (more detailed with music playing)
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAWOYVp2g_w (quick overview)
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0xw6qoe6zw (10 minutes long)

"Danica Patrick coming out of 4... and boys, move over! The lady is coming through! Danica Patrick wins at Twin Ring Motegi!" - Marty Reid

Again, she won on smarts. She stayed on point trying to win on her pit strategy. Almost like a tiger storing up energy until lashing out at some target. Looking at the third video, did that dope have to mention North Carolina State beating my beloved Houston Cougars in the days of Phi Slamma Jamma? Just the God-forsaken, anti-Houston, anti-Texas ESPN. I'll be watching ESPN's Pardon the Interruption to see what Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon think of Danica's win. Wouldn't be surprised if it's the debate topic during SportsCenter.

Danica said this was a long time coming. I was proud of Sarah Fisher when she placed 2nd. In all of my commentary of Danica, I always said the only thing she hasn't done was finish one place higher than Sarah Fisher (or at Sarah Fisher). As a debate, I asked if Danica's first win could come from a ladder perspective or just straight up win. I predicted it could be a consistent finish scheme. Her highest finish was third, then second at Detroit (in freakish fashion), and now... Danica's home. Fifty races, and she strikes gold. But let's say she won her first race at Indy and not Motegi. Guess what? She's a winner from Motegi. If her first win came at Indy, she'd be immortalized forever. Something else I wondered... what if Dan Wheldon placed second rather than Helio Castroneves? Knowing the bad blood Patrick and Wheldon had last season, would like to see how it ends up if Dan Wheldon saw Danica on the top step. Wheldon did finish 4th. A lot of people have been saying that a burden was lifted off of her. I tend to agree. Really funny that she was ticked off about being continually asked when she'll win, then ended up being the first to get the checkered flag. Outstanding effort.
 
JohnBM01
I think I predicted on GTPlanet this year that Danica will win a race. I think. Now she's done it. Great job to a lady I've never doubted even as people have mercifully trashed her as overrated.
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I know you predicted it last year, but haven't managed to pay a lot of attention this year.



Thsi is big for her and I think that now that she has gotten this weight off her shoulders she should be able to race a little more relaxed. Not having this public scrutiny and all teh media trying to make her out to be Anna Kournikova of open-wheel racing should make her just feel better out there. And one win can be all it takes to get the confidence needed to start winning regularly.
 
FoolKiller
...now that she has gotten this weight off her shoulders...
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Careful, any more weight off her shoulders and they'll replace it with ballast. ;)

I'm with Blake on this one; although I'm not a fan of hers, this is still quite an achievement. I didn't have a chance to watch the race (it wasn't on as scheduled and I didn't have an internet connection to check as to why) but I'll have a chance to view it later.

Also, may I request that no more spoilers be placed in thread titles?
 
Congrats to Danica. After all the lousy luck last year, the cards finally fell her way. It was going to happen sooner or later. A win is a win. I swear Al Unser Sr. won all his races late in his career just by being in the right place at the right time. Let's see now that that first win is out of the way if she doesn't get on a bit of a roll.


The359
My point was there's been more than "none". One female F1 driver, Desire Wilson, went on to win two 1000km races in the World Sportscar Championship with Alain de Cadenet.
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The scariest racing accident I've ever seen in real life was Desire Wilson cartwheeling Gianpiero Moretti's March/Porsche GTP in an IMSA Race at Brainerd, MN. Dirt and parts flying everywhere. Although she was carried into the ambulance on a stretcher, she was relatively unhurt.

Boo to ESPN for it's stealthy broadcast schedule. I searched and even the scheduled rebroadcast didn't show up.
 
dougiemeats
Also, may I request that no more spoilers be placed in thread titles?
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There was a spoiler here? I mean, we are talking a live broadcasted event, covered by every news outlet, and all over the Internet.


If this thread title spoiled it for you then you are under a rock. This isn't exactly the end of Harry Potter or somthing.
 
FoolKiller
There was a spoiler here? I mean, we are talking a live broadcasted event, covered by every news outlet, and all over the Internet.


If this thread title spoiled it for you then you are under a rock. This isn't exactly the end of Harry Potter or somthing.
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No, this particular thread title wasn't a spoiler. However, I don't want it to become a habit. For example, there was a thread on GTP titled "Congratulations Jenson!" after winning his first ever grand prix. It was posted right after the live airing. I'm sure it spoiled the race for those that receive a delayed broadcast outside of Europe.

It's simply common courtesy not to post the winner of a race in a thread title.
 
Big? Not really. There are girls in my grade with bigger breasts. Now then, a distraction for having breasts, maybe. But dang, she's short. I'm 5'4, 5'5.
 
FoolKiller
There was a spoiler here? I mean, we are talking a live broadcasted event, covered by every news outlet, and all over the Internet.


If this thread title spoiled it for you then you are under a rock. This isn't exactly the end of Harry Potter or somthing.
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I have to agree. If it was a title like Japan Indy 300, i would have added spoiler. But there was no other way to write that title and her congrats without writing what i did.

It was an event in Japan and most of the world was able to watch it.
 
Stig22121
Big? Not really. There are girls in my grade with bigger breasts. Now then, a distraction for having breasts, maybe. But dang, she's short. I'm 5'4, 5'5.
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JB's exact words in describing her were "A girl with big boobs would never be comfortable in the car. And the mechanics wouldn't concentrate. Can you imagine strapping her in?"

I'm just wondering what he's thinking now. In Button vs. Patrick, Danica was the first to get that monkey of her back. This is what, her third year? JB took twice as long to break his duck, and while there was an element of luck involved in both their wins, Danica Patrick is more likely to repeat her victory if only on account of the fact that Honda only seem to be able to pedal backwards of late ...
 
Motominded
So....the more i read this forum, im starting to get the idea that Australia has horrible motorsport coverage. Is that so?
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We’re not very good at it, no. Almost nothing is live unless it’s in our country, and sometimes we’ll get something live if it’s at 3am.
 
Blake
We’re not very good at it, no. Almost nothing is live unless it’s in our country, and sometimes we’ll get something live if it’s at 3am.
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That's sux. Even if it's a world championship event like F1?

My issue here is the lack of the WRC period!
And the late showing of the WSBK and Motogp races.
With a new contract, things are looking up fro the Indy Car series. ESPN/ABC over here are gonna start covering every race live.

Oh well. I guess no coverage is perfect. :indiff:
 

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