F350Lawman

Not arguing that racing takes great skills and god given talent, but it is more about opportunity than almost any other "sport". There is no other way to explain how so many sons, daughters, cousins, nephews, etc. often get shots at the big time. How many brothers race togehter..it's not even worth mentioning. Do we really think that all those Wallwaces, Foyts, Earnhardts, Waltrips, ect. earned theri initial sponsorship and got on teams w/o a litlle help? And let's face it that 1st shot is by far the hardest fro anyone else.

This is not true in other sports. How many NFLers have a son, yet almost none of them make the NFL or even get looked at. Same thing with Baseball, Soccer, Basketball, etc. You don't get put on the Yankees farm team because your dad was player..not true in racing.

See we all get to try those major sports growing up, where as in racing almost nobody ever has the opportunity or funds to compete at even the lowest level when they're young. In racing you are looking at the best of a relatively small and exclusive pool, where the other sports are tried by just about everybody.

So maybe Land Jet is dreaming, but I don't doubt there are plenty of people who possess the same reflexes, steady nerve, judgement, etc. that a pro driver but they will never sit the drivers seat of even the lowest level of "racecar". Now if you had that talent for one of the major sports, chances are the pee wee coach, midget coach, junior high coach, high school coach, college coach etc. would have noticed you.

Brian P

Here's what I got out of google with "father son sports". Famous sports relationships

Muhammad Ali and Laila Ali
Felipe Alou and Moises Alou
Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds
Ralph Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr.
Gordie Howe and Mark Howe
Archie Manning, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning
Ken Norton and Ken Norton Jr.
Gilles Villeneuve and Jacques Villeneuve
Dick Weber and Pete Weber

multi21

That picture of Danica is not flattering. You can tell she's a real bitch and I feel sorry for her husband in a few years, but you have to give her credit when it comes to driving. Who else here has gone 225 MPH EVER let alone doing it for 500 miles?

You can't "take laps" every day as there are budget constraits, concerns and limits on testing. Who is your sponsor? Some critizise Patrick for all the commercials, but not only do these bring her money, but attract sponsors to Andretti Racing, her employer.

Who's going to pay for your 4 years of living expenses and costs to run the car before your ready to be "mid-pack"?

This is just not realistic. Many people with means to sponsor themselves have tried and very few can do it. See 38D's comments.

It never ceases to amaze me how Danica can come in 4th, 8th, 8th and DNF at the 500 (and not her fault in the DNF, BTW) and be put down.

multi21

That's a very short list. Off the top of my head there is Pinquet in F1 now, his dad was a 3 time WC in F1, and at least 3 in my hometown where their fathers played in the NFL and their sons also played, but are not household names.

Motorsports is definitely a place where it is always better to have a name like Andretti, Foyt or Petty. $$ talks, but you have to have talent to stay there

mglobe

I'm going to guess that with the exception of a very few, there is an inverse relationship between people's skill levels here and their belief that they can drive in the "bigs". i.e. the fastest folks on renlist for the most part know that they are not fast enough to be running in Indycar, NASCAR, ALMS, F1, ... I'm sure there are one or two here who perhaps rightly think otherwise. But not many. ...and of course Ghettoracer got banned.

bobt993

Okay Larry, here is your task at hand to show your committment to being a pro racer. Qualify for the Boston Marathon. You need a 3:40 ,26.2 miles run and a pair of shoes. You have until next year and need little money to do so. If you run under 3 hours, you are athletic and disciplined enough to do the same for Indy cars. I have trained and run a marathon and 40-50miles a week would be the schedule you need to train at. Your going to get sick easily, blisters, lots of Advil, but what fun!!! If you think hitting the track everyday at say 3 plus G's everyday is easy, then keep dreaming. 2 hours in an Indy car is no picnic, you need stamina.

My point is you/we have about as much chance accomplishing a pro ride in an Indy car as playing in the NBA.

Lawman: Genetics, money, early opportunities all play a factor in racing talent and sports. Look at Andre Agassi: His Dad made him start hitting a ball before he could walk to get eye coordination going early. Some of the listers on this site have kids in karting that have skills well beyond most of us.
Pro athletes do have a lineage. Mannings? Barbers? I think the ability is often there, maybe not the discipline that must go along with it. Being hungry makes a difference when it comes to desire.

Brian P

That list appeared to be a top 10 list. I'm sure there's more.

F350Lawman

Sure there are plenty of father son sports combos..BUT that number is miniscule when you compare it to the 100s of thousands of athletes who have played professional baseball, football, soccer, boxing, etc. across the globe for the past century or so. Now compare that to all the "families" of racing..it aint' even close. Not to mention that often times these families own or have interest in the teams so your shot is MUCH more likely to last longer than Joe Ordinary's. It's not like MLB is going to carry you if you suck cause your name is Bonds. You either hit the curve or you flip burgers at Mickey D's. Now maybe a relative who was a pro in a major sport can get the 1st scout to take a look, but that is light years from making the show or even getting a college ride. It would be like Jerry Jones drafting his son to be back-up QB for the Cowboys because he played High School QB...crazy huh? Yet you see that all the time in motorsports..dad or uncle has a team, son nephew, cousin, etc. get a shot or drive in the "minors"..

Here is a tip of the iceberg from my memory of the big names... Allison, Petty, Jarret, Foyt, Bush, Earnhardt, Wallace, Waltrip, Bernstein, Force, Pedragon, Schumacher, Woods, Pearson, Labonte, Sadler, Andretti, Villeneuve etc., ect., etc., There kids, there kids kids etc, all got rides on a high level if not the big show.

Personally I could care less what path they took, it's not like they edged me out ...but I'm not blind either.

Congo

A giant crowd, clearly the biggest in a decade. Tempers flaring, almost A.J. Foyt style, among several contending drivers, including Danica.

Unexpected moments and wild crashes, but thankfully, no one hurt. Tears of disappointment from one driver. And the race favorite holding off the little-team underdog in the final laps

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing...rry&id=3412114

1AS

If you think that time and practice are all it takes to qualify for Indy, I think that is a mistake. Have you ever ridden with a pro? There is a huge difference between true pros and dedicated amateurs.
Sarah Fisher is probably the best example of limited skill set, but lots of desire. She went nowhere with a good team, and less than nowhere on her own.
Danica is a front rank driver, but perhaps not a top driver. But, she was neck and neck with Helio for most of the race, and he is definitely tops.
Personally, I feel she was victimized, but did have an opportunity to mitigate by steering right or braking. Maybe she was distracted, or maybe she ddin't anticipate the fish tail catching her car in the left lane.
I don't think any of us would pass up millions in ad money, if it were offered. She has made the most out of what she has. Sarah Fisher and Milka Duno should try other professions. Danica is successfully fighting it out. Maybe not the next Michell Mouton, but definitely more than Lynn St James. AS

RayGT3

It would have been very interesting to see what would have transpired if Danica had reached the other pit. Yell and scream at someone she couldn't see? Start a fist fight she couldn't win? Maybe show all her loving fans what a lady she really is or isn't. I can understand she might be really pissed but that, was not professional and not the place to carry on like a mad bitch. Racing is all about respect and self control, she had very little of either at that point. Think it would have said volumes if she could have just walked away and let it go, what had happened was over, everyone involved new what they were involved in. Additional drama would provide nothing of any positive value. I would just keep in the back of my mind, the next race, things are going to be different.

mdrums

Danica is a good driver no doubt but I and my wife really can't stand her and her girly baby attitude. Yes she was knocked out of the 500 and not here fault but what did she really think she was going to do when she got to the Penske pit's?

I have attended Indy races and Danica is one of if not the least fan friendly drivers. She actually runs from kids trying to speak to her or get an autograph and I saw those actions twice from her at this years St. Pete GP.

A.Wayne

Agree somewhat , the exception being Europe , the talent pool there is huge, much bigger than the States with more participants all at a very young level. With large sponsorship pools to pull from , talent rises to the top.
Nascar is somewhat heading in that direction , To race in nascar the talent pool is big, Sponsorship huge and the ladder big, if you are a little nothing with talent you will get up the ladder in Nascar. America's premiere Drivers are now the Earnhardt / gordon types from nascar not Andretti/unser types from open wheel or sportscar/prototypes.
Anything outside of roundy-round will need as much cash as talent .

A.Wayne

Let me help ,
Motorsports only:

Graham hill /damon hill
jack Brabham, geoff brabham/ david brabham,
AL unser , Al Unser Jr.
andretti/Michael/jeff/john/Marco
bobby unser/ robbie Unser
B rahal/Graham Rahal
Hans Stuck /H S Jr
Jimmy Mcrae /Collin Mcrae
Mark Donahue / David Donahue
R Petty /K. Petty
Kenny Roberts/Kenny Jr
Bob Holbert / Al Holbert


There are tons more , Top bin dry at the moment

F350Lawman

Regarding Danica, the only thing I had a problem with was when she went over and started the pushing shoving thing w/ Wheldon in Milwaukee. I mean what is he supposed to do, she knows she's got free reign and if he male driver even screams back at her he looks like a chump. It looked like some guys wife giving him hell afetr an all night bachelor party!

As far as the participation in Europe, I am sure it is huge compared to the States but still is probably 1% of the participation #s that traditional sports like Soccer, Rugby, Hockey, Basketball generate. In the U.S. motorsports participation for youth is basically unheard of if you live in the cities. Affluent suburbs, country folk at the local circle track certainly....the metro areas, forget about it. I spent the first 30 years of my life in NYC and I never met 1 juvenile participant in motorsports, now that I live upstate and it is fairly common but still a small minority.