Danica Patrick wins first race

Danica winning means as much to me as any auto race does -- nothing.

 

In an otherwise taylor-made for BTExpress edition of Sports Illustrated (1998 draft, Russian hoops, '58 Colts-Giants) . . . there is one photo of Danica in the Leading Off section, but no story, no blurb.

Struck me as a little odd.

 

Aaron Fike and Toyota winning a Cup race in NASCAR have to be mixed in there as well. I heard one former IRL, CART driver say the one thing that would make the IndyCar season perfect is if Marco Andretti wins the Indy 500. Imagine, reunification, Graham Rahal wins first race, Danica wins first race, then Marco breaks the curse at Indy? All in the same year. NASCAR couldn't compete with that.

 

I have heard a few people compare Danica's win to when Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in tennis. Is this that big? Does it have the same significance? I was thinking, that was such a different time, gender barriers were being tested in ways that we can't imagine. I was thinking Shirley Muldowney fought that fight. I'm not saying it's over, but the fight is different now, isn't it? Sensibilities have already changed. Discrimination isn't as blatant. Sure there are critics, but no one is saying Danica doesn't have a right to be in the same race with men. No one is saying women can't be at the race track, in the pits, in the cars. Just trying to put this in perspective.

 

rpm - maybe trying to put patrick's win in perspective actually is accomplishing just the opposite.

 

The things that have been written and said about this either make it out to be the greatest accomplishment in sports or the biggest sham. There is no middle ground. I think it carries some significance. I don't think it's Shirley Muldowney big or Billie Jean King big or even Susan B. Anthony or Mary Tyler Moore big. But it is probably the biggest thing to happen in auto racing in 30 years. Is that fair? Or is even that making too much of a woman winning one race?

 

Biggest in 30 years? I tend to doubt it. Biggest this year, sure, but there's 30 years of Indy 500s and Daytona 500s and big-name deaths like Earnhardt and Ayrton Senna and, for that matter, the dramatic growth of NASCAR itself to consider.

Certainly in the top 100, maaaaybe in the top 30, not in the top 10 and damn sure not No. 1.

 

One race, halfway around the world, and a race not even the focus of the open-wheel fanship until Danica won.

Now, if she wins Indy ...