Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff
Danica Patrick, last year’s Indy Racing League Rookie of the Year, has signed a deal that will end her run with Rahal Letterman Racing and add her to the Andretti Green Racing (AGR) stable in 2007.
Yes, for those of you who’ve been out of the loop for the past year, there is a female driver in IndyCar and she wasted little time making a name for herself. Aside from the Rookie of the Year honors, Patrick finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 in 2005, becoming the first woman to ever lead a lap in the history of the Indy 500. In 26 starts, Patrick has four top-five and 13 top-10 finishes.
AGR has produced the last two IndyCar Series champions in Tony Kanaan (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005), now of Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Wheldon, who was also the runner-up in 2004, moved over to Target Chip Gannassi this year.
"Today is an exciting day for everyone at Andretti Green Racing. Danica has shown great talent during her first two seasons in the IndyCar Series and has impressed Kim [Green], Kevin [Savoree] and myself with her development as a driver,� Chief Executive Officer of AGR Michael Andretti said in a statement released by AGR. “Our focus has been and always will be on winning races and winning championships. We certainly believe Danica will do that. She has made it very clear that one of her goals as a driver is to win the Indianapolis 500 and we are looking forward to giving her a great opportunity to do that."
Race fans, you've chimed in before, so weigh in now. Is Danica Patrick news because she is a top driver or because she is one of few women in the sport? Do race fans even care that Patrick is out there? Should she have made the move to NASCAR?
Comments (3)
Yes she should've made the move to Nascar. I would like to make the move to the Bahamas myself!
Posted by T2 | July 26, 2006 9:19 AM
Posted on July 26, 2006 09:19
Does this mean she'll stop doing the Letterman show in those slinky dresses?
She's the only reason I even pay attention to the Indy 500. They should invent see through fire proof clothing.
Posted by Tito's Terrors | July 26, 2006 12:00 PM
Posted on July 26, 2006 12:00
I hope your are not AGAIN insulting the Great Sport of Auto Racing, Punk. I'll have you know Racin's the fastest growing sport in America. Just a couple of weeks ago 150,000 good ol' boys and gals made the semi-annual pilgrimage to Loudon NH. And Although it might drive the State GPA and IQ down a few notches, just think of how many festive BEER shirts you can find..Oh yeah and where else are you gonna get a T-shirt with Tigger peeing on a Ford Logo??? Tell me that...!!!!
And I'll tell you another thing, Jock-o. I tired of people saying that NASCAR stands for National Association of Stupid Crackers And Rednecks, cuz it just ain't true. And it's mean. So what if it's 50 rednecks turning left for 4 hours, it's a grueling sport. These mini-men spend 2-3 days a month in the gym. We got the Busch series, the Nextel cup, The Kool Filter Kings 500 and the Skoal Bandit spit-off.....but that last one's just for funnzees. So before you start running your mouth about Auto Racing, why don't you do a little research, I'll have the Roast Duck w/ the Mango Salsa...Now you got me speaking Caveman....Damn You!!
Posted by RickyBobby | July 26, 2006 1:43 PM
Posted on July 26, 2006 13:43