The Danica dilemma, Nascar qualifying and role models...

Dad recently exposed an article which explains that Danica Patrick has already "qualified" for the Daytona 500 and the 4 following races by purchasing the points accrued by another team and driver from last season. I'll link to the article for more background: http://www.crash.net/nascar/news/176382/1/patrick_secures_daytona_500_place.html

Dad is also a part of the Mazda Miata community, and was quick to stir the pot by posting about this practice as it pertained to Danica, whom I'll admit is one of our favourite Motor-Sports topics.

See, Dad is somewhat of a racing purist. He hates schemes that favour one driver over another based on money, hype or financial standing. He dislikes most of the political mumbo jumbo that surrounds most brands of motorsports, in short he misses the days when you raced what you brought and the fastest guy or girl went home with the trophy.

To us, Nascar is one of the worst offenders, with their competition cautions, Luck Dog's, debris-on-the-track-yellows with no debris to be found, but especially a points and qualification system that sees performance in seasons long ago rewarded with grid slots today. Most criminal is the ability to swap past results, and therefore the ability to qualify without performing, to other teams/drivers for financial considerations. In short, there's no guarantee that the cars in the race are the fastest cars/drivers that showed up for the weekend.

My response to this and how it pertains to Danica, and my feelings about her and her hype-machine:

To me the whole system sucks. Danica apologists are quick to point out that Nascar's other poster boy, Dale Earnhart Jr., hasn't exactly been piling up the wins either. I'm a little bit irate at the Jr comparisons. Difference between Dale and Danica is that he's actually won races without having to have everyone else run out of gas. I'll be keeping careful track (may sit down with a pen and paper) of how many times Danica is mentioned and what position she is in.

I don't understand her apologists. I lump them in with the same group that just voted for Santorum in those 3 U.S states and believe in creationism. You put me, with 0 motorsports experience, and surround me with guys like Andretti, give me the best equipment year in and year out and I'll win a fuel mileage race just as Danica did. I feel bad that Simona Di Silvestro who doesn't fill out a drivers suit as nicely as Danica, doesn't retain a full time stylist, make-up artists or schlep around a tanning bed in her motor home. If she did it may be her driving Nascar or for Andretti. She has more talent in her pinky finger the Danica has in her whole body.

I don't want my daughter watching the circus around Danica Patrick, not because I don't want her to have female role models that are in racing. But because I would be ashamed if she ever thought that in order to make it to the top flight of a sport she would have to, unlike the men, be concerned with style, looks or image over results on the track.

Just to be clear, I do not blame Danica for this. This is her way of making millions of bucks and getting the exposure she needs to continue her career, and perhaps have a career post-racing. I blame the society which has made her take on this persona in order to be successful. Whatever she is or isn't on the track, she and her people are shrewd decision makers off of it.

Now that I think of it, forget my ire, let's turn this into a fun drinking game. That way instead of getting upset about it, we'll get inebriated. Every time Danica is mentioned while not in the top 20-Drink. I bet you don't make it 250 miles.