Interesting viewpoints from syndicated NASCAR columnist - blogger - Twitterer (?) - musician - curmudgeon - Monte Dutton.
http://fromthenascarpits.freedomblogging.com/2012/02/25/much-ado-about-danica/1202/
Much Ado About Danica
Ive been sitting in this press box for 20 years now, several times a year, and the crucial moment is upon me. The sun is close to rising above the top of the huge plate-glass window, and that means my forehead will stop sweating and I will be able to find the cursor on this laptop.
Lake Lloyd is glimmering. The Stretch isnt looking so Super, and even though Danica Patrick is starting on the pole in the Drive4COPD 300, it looks as if its grandstands areprobably closed today. The fact that the aforementioned Superstretch is mostly vacant for every Daytona International Speedway event save the Daytona 500 argues persuasively that its just a back straight, which has so been the case that this may be the first time Ive ever used the term Superstretch in print. Superstretch ought to be a term used to describe the waist in slacks.
The sky is full of the cirrus clouds that always signal change. Unfortunately, the change is a hefty chance of rainfor the Daytona 500. I believe the good Lords got more to worry about than whether it rains on stock cars, so I have no intention of including it in my prayers. I never prayed for victory when I played football, and Im not going to pray for rain to circumvent Daytona Beach, but I certainly hope it does. I deserve little standing with the Almighty, anyway. Ill waste my meager clout on peace, love and understanding.
But the weather seems safe for Danica Patrick, who starts on the pole in the Nationwide Series race, where she and 42 others will drive for COPD. It stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or so Yahoo informs me.
Im all for Patrick. I hope she drives magnificently for COPD. I dont expect her to win. My professional opinion, based on watching her fairly closely, is that she isnt ready to win here. She has a better chance here than other tracks, but I think shes a bit too cautious drafting to pull this race off. Shell probably have all kinds of help. I wont mind eating my words, but I just dont see it. Of course, I didnt see Jimmie Johnson winning five straight championships coming, either. Id never learn much if I was never wrong, plus, Id probably be on TV hobnobbing with other omniscient types.
It annoys me a bit that so many of my peers are so excited about Patricks pole run. Apparently she alone can make a car go faster than anyone else on this track. Since plate racing entails a car going 25-30 mph slower around this track than it could without the plates (by the way, the plates arestill on carburetors in the Nationwide Series), it is generally believed that a driver has almost nothing to do with qualifying. Patrick has a fast car. Maybe thats enough. I doubt it, though. Winninga pole at Daytona or Talladega is not normally compared to Roger Bannisters sub-four-minute mile or Hillary and Norgays climb of Everest. This pole should not really be compared even to Shawna Robinsons 1994 pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway. By the prevailing logic as it applies to other NASCAR drivers, that should be considered a greater feat than Patricks because Atlanta Motor Speedway does not afford its qualifiers the luxury of driving wide open all the way around. Im trying to save my Danica hosannas for an accomplishment that means something. Winning thisrace for COPD would fill that bill.
What bothers me most about my peers not to mention the superiors who sit atop the Mt. Olympus of television is that I thought they knew these things.
I reckon the need to generate web hits, sell papers and boost ratings is way more important than truth, perspective and candor (or, for that matter, peace, love and understanding).
I reckon lots of my peers will read this and think, well, duh! Thats not the journalism I had in mind when I signed up, but a man has to do what it takes to survive, and Im probably fairly close to outliving my usefulness anyway.
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM
