[tom s]

My son was there last year and had to go back to work and missed the race!Hope the weather will be better this year.Tom

[richard sargent]

Originally Posted by 65WJ

She is on the pole for the Daytona 500
what say is your excuse? Conspiracy theories? Need to boost exposure so she was allowed ?

patrick

I am not a hater and close ups of her in photo shoots she is stunning!

But that's the problem, when she is a behind the wheel racing she is only above average.

She is not a top tier driver never has been , look when I rate a baseball player, I don't care what he looks like, I look at stats.

All the hoopla around her has to do female, beauty, best women driver ever, I don't watch racing because a girl is driving.

1. The race
2. The competion
3. The drivers and teams not boy versus girl
4. Point standings
5. Pit stops, strategy

Take a male driver with the similiar career stats, 1/20 of attention, money, sponsors, press.

Frankly I resent huge amounts of attention put on a females without talent, Kim K, Paris Hilton etc.

But take beauty, brains, Talent and career and I am a Huge fan!!!!!!!

If she can get to the top tier I will be first to give her credit but until she is just an above average driver with lots of attitude.

[1969GTO]

Originally Posted by hurryinhoosier62

More than likely,Tom. BTW....I'll see them in person. We got tickets. Sister-in-law gets them through her job.

I have been to several races at Daytona and I have found that the best seat is on the couch at home.
My experience has been paying for a high dollor seat and the fans standing the whole time and it's hard to enjoy the race.
If you haven't gone before,it's a must thing to do,but after a while,there is no place like home.
I will be in Daytona at a friends house with pizza & wings and a bath room close buy.
Try enjoying that at the track.
My friends house is only a couple of miles from the track so we will also be able to here the cars like we have so far this weekend.
Also...enjoy your stay in traffic.

[Lightfoot]

Right now, Danica is enjoying her 'Loy Allen Jr moment'.
By Sunday evening, it will seem anti climatic.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by Dennis H.

My prediction is she will not finish the race. Any takers?

i wouldn't take that bet with any driver at Daytona or Talledega. lol

i would bet that Montaya won't hit any track equipment this year - or pace cars
even that might be a stretch tho

[hada76]

Originally Posted by 1969GTO

I have been to several races at Daytona and I have found that the best seat is on the couch at home.

you can say that again BTDT

[David Jones]

Yep, I think Danica was handed the pole position.
The stands have been empty at the NASCAR races I've bothered to watch lately.
Mr. France needed to sell some tickets.

[hurryinhoosier62]

1969GTO,

Been to Talladega and have to agree, but my wife REALLY wants to go. Why,I have NO IDEA, but she does. My sister-in-law's uncle has connections in NASCAR ,so waiting in line won't be a problem.

[David Jones]

Originally Posted by hurryinhoosier62

1969GTO,

Been to Talladega and have to agree, but my wife REALLY wants to go. Why,I have NO IDEA, but she does. My sister-in-law's uncle has connections in NASCAR ,so waiting in line won't be a problem.

You may skip the ticket line but there will be others. Lots of them.

[MikeNoun]

Rumors are flying that Danica was given the pole position.

As was stated above, NASCAR is in trouble, not able to fill the grandstands at any of the tracks. The tracks that appear to "sell out" are because they throw giant tarps over entire sections of the grandstands, forcing fans into other sections, making it appear to be a sellout for the TV cameras. A tactic MLB, NFL, and other sports are doing more and more (BTW, the Oakland Raiders just eliminated about 10-15 thousand seats too, using tarps with advertising on them).

Danica being on pole has generated MASSIVE interest in this race now, which was the plan all along. They most likely gave her a different restricter plate to run, giving her another 50 hp. And chances are that all the other drivers and teams knew all along, or if they didn't, they assumed they boosted her car.

It's all good, it's all for ratings, and all the drivers and teams understand that. No one cares who is on pole at Daytona anyway. By the end of lap 1, they won't be the leader, so no one really cares.

The #1 trending topic on Yahoo yesterday was Danica. ESPN's #1 story was Danica. Speed TV can't stop talking about her. All the talk shows and late night shows mention Danica, and state that "history has been made".

That was NASCAR's goal, and they succeeded. The ratings for the Daytona 500 may be the best ever this Sunday.

Danica won't win the Daytona 500, but I predict she WILL win a race this year. Not because of a boosted engine, but the car she's driving is good enough to win, and she IS a pretty good driver.

[GT182]

She earned the Pole. She's no different than anyone else out on the track trying to qualify..... it's a crap shoot. Yer lucky or yer not.

[The Champ]

She is on the pole for the Daytona 500
what say is your excuse? Conspiracy theories? Need to boost exposure so she was allowed ?

patrick

I'm probably labeled as one of the biggest Danica haters on the board.

I have no "excuse" for her being on the pole - and no inclination to create one.

Joe Nemechek got the nickname "Front Row Joe" because of his qualifying efforts in 1999. What was his average finish starting from the pole? 28th...

My issue with Danica is the fact she is stealing a ride from a more qualified driver. She's been racing cars since she was a teenager and has only won a single race. She's never won a championship while racing cars in any division.

If it weren't for Go Daddy pimpin' her out, she wouldn't have a ride.

As already posted, her career average finish in Cup is 28th.

In Nationwide her career average finish is 21.4. Her rookie season it was 28th, her second season was 17.4 and last year was 18.8.

What has she done to "earn" a Cup ride?

[tom s]

There is NO question she can drive a race car PERIOD!The question is IF she can RACE a Cup car.Does anyone on this board know how many current Cup drivers has EVER raced wheel to wheel as fast as she has?How many have raced Indy cars because the Cup cars are slower than they are.Stewart,Jaun, AJ,any others?Less than a handfull?Drivers that are actually racing Cup series.Tom

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by tom s

There is NO question she can drive a race car PERIOD!

If she is so good, why has she only won a single automobile race in her entire career?

Lot's of people can DRIVE a race car. It takes a real good racer to win with consistency.

The question is IF she can RACE a Cup car.Does anyone on this board know how many current Cup drivers has EVER raced wheel to wheel as fast as she has?How many have raced Indy cars because the Cup cars are slower than they are.Stewart,Jaun, AJ,any others?Less than a handfull?Drivers that are actually racing Cup series.Tom

The reason that aren't very many Cup drivers that have raced Indy cars is that most Indy car drivers aren't able to drive a Cup car competitively. Many have tried to race Cup, but with the exception of Stewart in the last 20 years, most have been mediocre or worse at Cup.

Indy cars are faster, but they are also much lighter, have much wider tires and have a lot more electronics that actually make these cars EASIER to drive.

[Sirrotica]

Racing Indy cars or Formula cars doesn't translate into success in NASCAR, it's already been proven. Racing on a dirt surface more often translates into being to adapt to NASCAR racing along with modifieds, trucks or, Nationwide.

Champ cars and Formula cars have way better aerodynamics than stock cars do and are more stable even at higher speeds and weigh half as much as a stock car does and a much larger tire footprint, it's apples to oranges. Dirt cars, modifieds, trucks and Nationwide, are heavier and translate closer to a NASCAR car does.

For years the traditional way into a cup car was Baby Grand or Modifieds then into a Busch car and then cup cars. That's how NASCAR had it's junior divisions set up to graduate to a cup ride.

That progression has been changed and now it's a free for all since the NASCAR cup series drivers probably are the highest paid chauffeurs and people want to get on the gravy train. Start and park cars can make more money doing what they do than winning in other series.

[tom s]

Brad,im with you,I dont think she will win a race!BUT she can drive!Johnson said a monkey can Q at Daytona,maybe he should have used one!LOL Tom

[INJUNTOM]

Not a fan or a hater here, but what you have to realize about the superspeedways is that they typically set the car up differently for qualifying between a driver that is a "shoe in" and a driver that may have a hard time. They will put the car "on kill" to guarantee a good qualifying run when in reality the car won't race as well as it could. The veteran drivers like Johnson, Gordon, Stewart, etc will give up some qualifying speed to have a better handling car with more reliability built into the engine....at least that's the way it has been done in the past.

[INJUNTOM]

BTW, I am a big fan of Danica although I've never seen her race

[MYGOAT]

Well she made all the TV news shows in Aust. So sponsors are getting far & wide coverage

[hurryinhoosier62]

David,

Use to go to IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) during qualifications in the early 90s. It was COMMON to have 100,000-150,000 on Pole Day. Race day was 225,000-250,000. I've seen a few lines........