The last of the major racing series, the Indy Racing League, is finally set to open its 2009 season this Sunday in St. Petersburg, Fla., and that can only mean one thing: Danica-mania is set to begin again.
Danica Patrick is what the marketing director of every major sports league and series searches for: a gateway personality, instantly recognizable to the ordinary public, to build an ad campaign around. Think Dale Earnhardt Jr. for NASCAR, LeBron James for the NBA and Tiger Woods for golf.
Danica — being known by your first name or nickname is part of being a gateway personality — scored the first major open-wheel series win by a woman in last season’s IndyCar race in Japan. She is part of a long tradition of women racing in America, following legends like Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James and Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney.
More recently, last weekend in fact, Ashley Force Hood scored her second career NHRA Funny Car victory in Texas, beating her legendary father John Force along the way. Force Hood was the first women to win a Wally in Funny Car, and her breakthrough win last year was followed by victories for Hillary Will in Top Fuel and Funny Car convert Melanie Troxel — who also has four career wins in Top Fuel.
But you don’t have to check the TV listings to see talented women racers. Evergreen Speedway boasts female racers in every division, including Kim Lang in Mini-Stocks, Joselyn LaFleur and Jennifer Gray in Stinger 8s, Shelby Minor-Ball and Nikki Bristol in Street Stocks, Kim Wilkinson in Super Figure 8, and NASCAR Drive for Diversity selectee Natalie Sather in Super Late Models.
Danica’s win in Japan sets her apart from the likes of the oft-photographed but never victorious Anna Kournikova of tennis, but her trips down Hollywood’s red carpet and back-to-back Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue appearances give some the impression she is little more than a pretty face who got lucky on fuel strategy (and please, tell me how that was any different that Dale Jr. in Michigan?).
A couple years ago I had the pleasure of talking to former Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine when he was in town for the annual Washington 500 at Evergreen Speedway. With the NASCAR West Series in town, some of the veteran late-model racers at Evergreen expressed to me the opinion that advance in stock car racing today ability was less important for a driver than having a rich family or looking good standing next to a sponsor’s product.
I asked Bodine what he thought of that, and he surprised me with his answer. Bodine, who traded paint with the likes of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Darrell Waltrip, said in essence it was the American Way to advance yourself by using whatever means were available. Family money? Good looks? Whatever it takes to get a foot in the door, because the competition for seats is so tough these days. But, Bodine added, keeping that seat will require some measure of success on the track, too.
It’s typical, but the champagne wasn’t dry from that first win before the media started asking when Danica’s next would come. It may come this year, but one year after the unification of the two open-wheel series, IndyCar and Champ Car, the competition is a tough as it has ever been.
That competition includes former champion Dario Franchitti, who is returning to his roots after a year in NASCAR and will team with defending champion Scott Dixon at Chip Ganassi Racing; Danica’s own Andretti Green Racing teammates Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti; Dan Wheldon, who returns to Panther Racing with something to prove to former boss Ganassi; and Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal, the youngster with the famous name and great upside.
Click here to read an IndyCar season preview and go here to read IRl driver capsules.
Whether Danica wins again this year or not, you can bet the cameras will be on her a lot. That’s also part of being a gateway personality.
I correctly predicted Jimmie Johnson would win the Cup race at Martinsville, completing my NASCAR slate. I was blanked in my NHRA and Formula One picks, however.
This weekend NASCAR heads to Texas, where the Cup and Nationwide Series will race. The Roush-Fenway team has been disappointing this year, but was strong at mile-and-a-half tracks last year. Look for Carl Edwards to pull off the weekend sweep.
The NHRA heads to Vegas, Baby! I’m in the mood for sweeps, so let’s say Al-Anabi teammates Larry Dixon (Top Fuel) and Del Worsham (Funny Car) win, as well as Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
For open-wheel fans, Formula One heads to Malaysia and IndyCar opens in Florida. After last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, the F1 title appears to be up for grabs, with traditional powers McLaren and Ferrari lagging behind former backmarkers Toyota and Brawn GP, formerly Honda. It’s a pure guess, but I’ll say Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber wins in Malaysia and I’ll play it safe by picking defending champ Scott Dixon to win the IndyCar opener.
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