BobK

Everything is more exciting with Japanese announcers.  Skip ahead to 2:15 for my favorite part.

I confess, I stayed on the Danica bandwagon long after it seemed worthwhile. But then again, I became aware of her early on. The most interesting aspect of her story has been the incredible monkey on her back, forced to carry the hopes, dreams, and marketing aspirations of others, on top of the normal challenges facing a young driver trying to establish a career. It’s great to see her shed that.

Of course, some will say that she’s struck a blow for womanhood, I’m more inclined to say that she’ struck a blow for racing, and shown that it’s a sport where men and women can compete side by side at the highest levels. By the same token, she did win on fuel strategy, so that means that she was able to drive longer without a pit stop than the men. That’s a landmark of sorts, I suppose.

Danica first drew media attention in the late 1990’s, when at the age of 15 or so, she “made the rounds” of Indy’s media center and Gasoline Alley under the wing of Lyn St. James. At the time, Danica was a kart racing champion, and Lyn was busily promoting young women drivers. It was but one of the zillion sideshows that happen each May at Indianapolis. In this particular year (1997 by memory), I was a reporter at the “500″. Another sideshow that year was a media go-kart race, two teams of scribes racing against each other in a relay sort of event. Teammate Jim Murphy, ever on the alert for an unfair advantage, made some inquiries about perhaps signing a certain “ringer” to write a token story and join our team, but it turned out the race was after Danica’s bedtime, and it never happened.

St James had made a few Indy starts and had some credible runs, but was beyond the age where she could really challenge. Later Sarah Fisher made some headlines, won a pole position and had some near wins in 2002. But Fisher hasn’t shown top-caliber driving ability since those early successes, and her personality is perhaps a little too “garage” to interest major sponsors. So Fisher has had to settle for lower-tier rides since the initial excitement wore off.

Likewise, Danica is not really natural under the spotlight. But she’s been savvy enough to handle it well and to deliver what’s expected of her, as best she can. She’s done the glamour stuff, but I dare say, if she weren’t a young and fit race car driver, she wouldn’t attract much notice, nor would she seek it. As the ESPN announcer noted in victory lane, “she’ll never be accused of being the Anna Kournikova of racing,” and, for perhaps different reasons, I concur. But it’s her ordinariness that is most likable… at heart, she’s simply another racer trying to make it in the big time, enduring the absurd attention, but at least enduring it with a smile and an effort to please. She’s overhyped, but she doesn’t encourage it, she just plays along. That counts as modesty by modern standards, and it’s refreshing.

Still, with the monkey off her back, let’s not forget that Danica is still a good second-tier racer, still not as fast as top drivers like Castroneves or Kanaan or those two bland guys who drive for Gannassi.  With some new talent coming in from Champ Car series, wins will be harder and harder to comeby.  Fortunately, she’s done a good enough job of managing her career that she should be able to stay in competitive cars for many years to some, and she’s still young, so there could be more wins ahead.  But it’s by no means a certainty.