A Danica - Gordon Comparison
NASCAR “driver” Robby Gordon decided the press needed a reason to write about him. So last weeks decision to weigh in on the Danica Patrick story saying she had an advantage because of a weight differential over her male counterparts isn’t surprising. Also not shocking is the general condemnation he received from both the racing community and even parts of the political blogosphere.
Considering Robby needed to make a comparison using weight as his scale of reference I thought a look at both drivers performance Sunday might be interesting. Whether or not you believe 50lbs give or take would make a difference is up to you. Personally I think it’s hogwash. There have been many male drivers small of stature that have both won and lost without any complaints tossed around about weight.
Danica’s Day at Indy:1
- Started the Indy 500 outside the forth row, the highest of any previous women.
- On lap 56 she became the first woman to lead “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
- Lap 96 Danica committed a rookie error during a pit-stop that dropped her to the sixteenth position.
- By lap 150 of 200 she had moved into tenth position.
- During a yellow flag re-start on lap 156 she seemed to swerve left to avoid a slowing Scott Sharp and damaged her left wing and nose cone. After several stops for repairs she regained the positions lost and again was in tenth place by lap 162
- A yellow on lap 169 placed her crew chief in the position of deciding to stay out and not refuel. She retook the lead and the green flew on lap 173.
- She later lost the lead and was second on a lap 190 restart.
- By lap 193 Patrick had to turn down the boost to conserve fuel. That cost her two positions.
- Two laps from the checker Sebastien Bourdais smacked the wall and the race ended under yellow. Patrick finished fourth, the best ever for a woman and highest for all rookies in the race.
Robby Gordons day at Charlotte:
- Started inside the 13th row in 25th position. (Failed to qualify in four of 12 races to date. Best start, 25th. Best finish, 20th.
- Lap 12 black flagged to inspect for possible fluid leakage. A possible contributing factor in reigning NASCAR Champion Kurt Busch spinning and creating the first of a record 22 yellows flags.
- Lap 102 Robby does the first of his spin-aramas.
- Lap 236 performs another self inflicted spin between turns 3 and 4.
- Lap 308 Gordon catches a break and receives the Lucky Dog when Ricky Rudd’s engine goes up in a cloud of smoke and red hot piston parts.
- Kasey Kahne’s tire blows on lap 362. That resulted in several of the front runners going a lap down. Gordon restarted in 15th place but it was only a tease. He finished in 27th place.
Just because I can, here is a little salt in Gordons wounds. Patricks fourth place finish matched Robby “weight disadvantaged” Gordon’s best ever at Indy. He did it in his fourth try and never came close again in ten total starts.
Does weight make a difference in performance? In truth it’s hard to argue against it. But not so much that a talented driver, in a competitive car, with the desire to win can’t over come.
NEWS FLASH: Robby Gordon Responds. Says don’t take it personal and “I’ve been impressed with Danica from the first time she got in an IRL car earlier this year, and I certainly did not mean to disrespect her or any other driver.” Follow the link it makes for interesting reading.
UPDATE: Cary Estes writing for Scripps Howard News Service gives an interesting angle to this story.
In Gordon’s vision of fairness, any NBA player taller than about 6-foot-6 would have to be penalized. Otherwise, it would be incredibly unfair to all those 5-10 guys. Shaquille O’Neal would be permanently banned from the league.
We’d have to get rid of all those 300-pound linemen in football as well. They couldn’t weigh more than 250, tops. And how is a sub 6-foot cornerback supposed to cover a lanky 6-5 wide receiver? Randy Moss would have to be kicked out of the NFL (which actually wouldn’t be so bad).
Women’s gymnastics would have to change drastically. No more Kerri Strug-like munchkins bouncing around the room. We’ll put up signs that say, “You must be at least this tall to compete in this event.”
Speaking of small, what about jockeys? You don’t see any 200-pound Robby Gordons climbing into the saddle at the Kentucky Derby. You also don’t see anybody complaining about it, either.
We’ll remove all the small, quick players from soccer, and all the big, burly hitters from baseball. Oh, wait, baseball has already done that by testing for steroids.
Most track-and-field athletes are much too skinny. They certainly have an advantage over those of us with the physique of, say, Robby Gordon. So from now on, any runner who weighs less than 150 must carry a sandbag during competition. It’s only fair.
In fact, let’s wipe out all the unjust advantages in sports. That means no more football games between Auburn and The Citadel. No more first-round match-ups in the NCAA basketball tournament between Illinois and Fairleigh Dickinson. No more baseball games for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Yep that about sums up my feelings as well.
That’s just too funny.
Robby will never learn.
Funny and sad. And I should note Gordon wasn’t the only one last week that expressed similiar feelings. IRL vet Tony Kanaan also had a few word although they wern’t as over the top as Gordons.
BTW Laura, I note you are becoming a regular commentor here. When are you going to start your own blog? Just curious, you seem to have the interest in the sport.
Marc,
Was what Robby said not true? Did Robby ever mention Danica being a girl? No. So why did this become an issue? Oh, I know why. Despite the fact that Danica and the press want the fact that she is a woman to not be a factor, they wanted so desperately for her to have a He-Man Womyn Hater Arch-Enemy that they created one themselves.
Jenna Fryer started this with her sins of omission that completely changed the complexion of what Robby said.
That said, it amazes me that racing is the only sport where past accomplishments mean nothing. Honestly, do you think MLB fans ever use Tug McGraw’s stats in an argument over whether Pedor Martinez is any good?
Funny everyone wants to throw Robby’s performance Sunday against Danica’s like it means a damn thing. She was unable to keep from stalling out on pit road. She wrecked two guys that were ahead of her because she couldn’t even ride around under caution without spinning herself out. The only reason she led any laps was because of pit strategy, not because of any skill of her own.
Robby suffered mechanical issues that were no fault of his own and was a victim of a track that was crumbling apart.
If you want to compare stats, let’s compare Robby’s first eight years with Danica’s for a fair comparison.
In Danica’s eight seasons of her professional career, what does she have to show for it? Zero wins, zero championships, a couple podium finishes and a handful of cheesecake photos in national magazines.
What did Robby have to show for his first eight years in cars?
Fifteen wins and numerous podium finishes. During that time he also won two off-road championships and finished second, twice, in the IROC series. The man to beat him both times? Dale Earnhardt, who thought the world of Robby and had nothing but glowing admiration for Robby and his talent as a driver.
Gee, comparing Robby’s first eight years to Danica’s, it looks like the only thing she has over him is the cheesecake shots. But, of course, Robby has to be jealous of Danica to say what he said right? Just like Hornish Jr., Wheldon, Kanaan, Tim Cindric of Penske Racing and everyone else that said the exact same thing Robby said are just jealous because they don’t get attention for posing half naked in magazines with his butt-crack hanging out.
The pictures have to be it because Danica, so far, has nothing else going for her but her looks and a great team.
Whatever.
BTW Robby commented on Danica because he was ASKED to comment on Danica. Why anyone would ask him about Danica unless they wanted to give more undeserved publicity to her is beyond me.
Yes, you are correct in that I have an interest in Motorsports. I hadn’t heard about Tony Kanaan’s comments. I just wonder what the fuss is about. Didn’t Sarah Fischer(sp?) make the lineup a few years ago? There wasn’t that big a deal made when she was trying to make the Indy 500, was there? I must admit that I’m not really a fan of open-wheel racing; I’m more into stock car racing. And yes, I’m a big Jr. fan. As for starting my own blog, well I have, but I don’t post an awful lot. I don’t think any of what I post on would be of much interest to you. Or anyone else, for that matter. Well, maybe just my husband.
Carrie: While Robby’s off-road accomplishments speak for themselves, and his CART career was marginally successful, he hasn’t done much in NASCAR to endear himself to most fans. And I’m sure he was asked to comment because you can count on him to come up with something quotable.
As far as size in sports goes, I like racing becuase it’s the only deal where excess size is a disadvantage, and thats coming from a guy who’s 6′-5″. Compete with what God gave you to the best of your abilities and the critics be damned! And that includes using your looks. You can be sure that if she can’t compete she will be gone within three years like Sarah Fisher.
In the mean time give the girl her shot, regrdless of how she got there.
George,
Since when are NASCAR accomplishments the be-all and end-all of what makes a driver’s career worthwhile? If you want it that way, that means guys like Paul Tracy, Helio Castronieves, Michael Shumacher, John Force, Travis Pastrana, Danny Lasoski and Rick Mears are worthless. As far as I’m concerned, racing is racing is racing.
As far as giving Danica a shot, I am. So far, she’s proven she’s a good driver in great equipment who was beaten by three other capable drivers. Unfortunately, none of those guys are being called America’s Sweetheart by the same press that has a hissy fit when Danica’s gender is mentioned. If it were not for her gender, no one would know her name.
Carrie: “Unfortunately, none of those guys are being called America
I only mention Robby’s NASCAR standing because that’s where he is currently racing. If Helio or John Force or Tracy go to NASCAR and embarass themselves they will earn the same scorn. I LOVED Robby in CART, especialy when he used to bang wheels with Michael Andretti and Unser Jr. I think that’s when he realized NASCAR was for him!
The hype surrounding Danica during the race was totaly revolting, no question. When your team owner (Letterman) doesn’t even mention his No. 2 finishing driver in the post race interview it’s pathetic. But as you previously pointed out, Letterman was responding to a direct question, same as Robby on the Danica weight issue.
And ultimately the current state of the IRL NEEDS a shot in the arm of something to resurrect it’s popularity, and if it happens to be Danica so be it. You can bet your butt the boys over at CC’s would sell more of their souls for the same opportunity! If it regenerates interest by the “casusal” fan back to open wheel series it can’t be all bad. After all how many women “fans” watch the races for those cutie guy drivers?
Hey Marc, have I complimented you yet on the new site improvements? Nice job.
Marc: I took it up with you because you’re doing the same thing they did. Bagging on Robby for a comment that he made that was exactly right and then twisted to paint him as being a woman/Danica hater. Not only that but you’re comparing Danica’s day with Robby’s when neither had anything to do with the other. Why not compare Danica’s day with Kimi Raikkonen’s? I mean, gosh, he had the same crappy day that Robby did. I guess that means Danica is better than him like she is better than Robby, right?
If I were a reporter for the Indy Star or the AP and they demanded I cover the Patrick story, I certainly wouldn’t do it by asking a NASCAR guy about her. If I was going to cover a story that way, I may as well have asked Travis Pastrana or John Force because they have as much to do with Danica as Robby does at this point in time.
George: Those types of fans aren’t interested in the sport at all and will eventually disappear. TG and company will see that eventually unless Danica wins the next four races in a row. All they have done is set them up for the criticism that the only reason they get any attention is because of the girl. How does that help them in trying to stomp CC into the ground and/or bring OW back to prominence in America? They are going to be an even bigger joke than they already are.
Carrie: If I were a reporter for the Indy Star or the AP and they demanded I cover the Patrick story, I certainly wouldn
Hi Carrie,
My last thoughts on Danica: It’s the old publicity line, it doesn’t matter if they say good things or bad things about you, as long as it’s about you. In other words there is no good pub or bad pub, just pub. If it causes ANY knid of positive attention getting factor it’s something to build on, not the end all be all. And she DOES need to win a race eventually, not neccessarily four in row, to maintain any image building she was the beneficiary of.
Thanks for your take on things, it’s been interesting as well as enlightening!
One other note Carrie and it will also be my last on the subject. It’s a rebuttal to this The pictures have to be it because Danica, so far, has nothing else going for her but her looks and a great team.
Patrick is no newcomer to racing as she finished third in the Toyota Atlantic Championship in 2004 - posting 10 top-five results in 12 races in the Argent Mortgage Toyota/Swift. She was the only driver in Atlantic’s that completed every lap. She also became the first female driver to win a pole position in Toyota Atlantic when she collected her first Atlantic pole position for Round 5 at Portland.
Patrick began her career in racing at the age of 10 in 1992 when she took on the karting world by storm. In 1996 she won 39 of 49 feature events and claimed the WKA Manufacturers Cup national points title in the Yamaha Junior and Restricted Junior class.
Patrick went on to race in England in the Formula Vauxhall Championship, British Zetek Formula Ford Championship and for Haywood Racing in the European Formula Ford Series. Then in 2002 Patrick signed a multi-year driving contract with Team Rahal and the rest as they say is history.
Instead of attacking Robby Gordon, how about an honest assessment of Danica Patrick’s driving? At times brilliant in traffic, she was also at times skittish and made two bad moves (notably the wreck when she lost it on the restart) and it brought back to mind when she plowed into the big wreck at Homestead without even trying to crack the throttle.
Also keep in mind that Danica has much better racecars than Robby Gordon had in IRL or NASCAR. And for those hyping Danica, remember we saw this before with Sarah Fisher, who was brilliant early on then folded.
Well Mike I could do that (BTW welcome I assume you wandered over from Kathy’s or Rantville) but I didn’t see the 500.
But from all accounts she did very well for a rookie. I would think my tongue in cheek comparasin of apples and oranges (Indy and the 600) was a critique of Danica’s day at Indy.
Much better cars that Robby in IRL? Better maybe, but not “much” and that is debatable. Robbie had good enough equipment to be competitve with Andretti and Unser Jr. in CART.
And I think you’ll find, now that Fisher is out of IRL, her own assement of her open wheel equip was something less than she expected or wanted.
Thanks for giving Robby props for the Baja 500. Wish he had gotten a chance to face Baldwin at the end. They were so close before Baldwin hit the nails that it would have been a helluva finish but for that.
Not a problem Carrie. I give credit when it is due. As luck, and my current residence, would have it I didn’t get a chance to see the race.
I’m curious - why not post this comment on the entry for the SCORE event?