Plyman438

Are we talking tennis now? I'm an avid tennis player and have played a lot of mixed doubles. The Williams sisters I believe are 6 feet tall, weigh around 165 pounds, and have first serves faster than 90% of the best male tennis players in the world. Both have serves that have been timed in the 135mph range. And both are fast and can cover a court like most men. Sarena especially could beat most men tennis players. In fact, when they both play women's doubles together, they are unbeatable and completely dominant. And I'm not sure if professional tennis does drug screening.

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2001 Orient Red Metallic Boxster

ltc

I think we can rule out power steering (from 2007)

https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-a...-steering.html

ProCoach

Already there...

She deserves the money she's paid.

The other drivers were initially upset and jealous that her autograph line was 100 times longer than theirs, until they realized that "a rising sea floats all boats." I saw this eight years ago at the ALMS race she drove the 550 Ferrari for Prodrive.

Wait'll she heads over to NW or SC taxicabs. That $12M will double...

multi21

Good points. The real difference I see is that a horse jockey is more of an "arrive" and drive" participant as he/she is riding 8-10 different horses a race day and has some time but it's limited if compared to auto racing.

In an arrive and drive situation the probability of getting race wins is higher as you're bound to find a good horse/car along the way. If you're in a bad car, you're never going to win all year.

Land Jet

How many Indy car races have you won?

mglobe

None. I've won several PCA club races, hold a track record for my class, and am an advanced instructor for my region's DE program. Compared to Danica, or any of the other professional racers in IRL, ALMS, Grand-Am, NASCAR, I'm a wannabe.

How about you? What kind of racing experience do you have?

Land Jet

No hate, just don't respect her attitude or racing statistics. Funny how if you don't agree with certain people you're automatically labeled a hater.

I get it that she's an affirmative action entertainer, not a racing champion.

Land Jet

None, I simply enjoy driving in DE's. Doesn't mean I don't know the difference between a Michael Schumacher and a Danika Patric.

Potomac-Greg

Agreed. That's capitalism, and its surprising how many people want to deny that fundamental principle. Unless there is coercion or fraud, there is no basis to say that someone is not worthy of what they are paid.

Plyman438

Maybe so, but you sound like a first rate road racer to me and could probably give many of the oval specialists a run for their money in equal equipment on a road course. I've seen some very talented road racers at Porsche club events and they do it all unlike some of the "professionals" who pretty much climb into car and dictate what they want. Put a top professional oval specialist like Danica and top club racer into identical GT3 cup cars on road track they know equally well and I doubt if there would be much difference at all in lap times or a race of 50 laps or so.

Plyman438

My opinion is that Danica seems to garner so much negativity is not so much because she is female, but because she gets so much attention that seems to be inverse to her accomplishments. I believe there are at least a few Indy drivers that have alluded to same criticisms. I understand that she is a good driver, but the battling for lead and results just don't show the talent of the top drivers. That fact seems to annoy many race fans. Her tactic of lying back, saving the car, shooting for one less pit stop time after time and hoping the top runners drop out and crash kind of wear thin after awhile. She does have good judgement, makes very few mistakes, and is very safe to race with and decently fast most of the time, but she never seems to be sniffing for lead even with top equipment and no trouble getting top rides. I don't begrudge her sponsorships, but I also don't necessarily agree that she deserves top equipment and attention based upon her results so far after 6 years or so. For example, a race driver like Dan Wheldon who is faster and better than Danica and won the Indy 500 this year can't even get a ride in the full Indy Series this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is annoying and confusing

FredC

The difference between top level pros (and she's one) racing ovals or not and top level club racers large. Someone used to drive at the front at 190mph has reflexes and a touch that a top club racer simply wot have. My 2 cents.

mglobe

I completely agree. The very best drivers most of us see at our local track are not even close to the level of the drivers in IRL, ALMS, NASCAR, Grand-Am, F1,.... Given enough time and money, some of them might be able to get to that level,... if they had started 20 years ago with enough time and money.

Plyman438

OK, now you've really piqued my curiousity. I understand that a top notch club racer would not be competitive with a Formula 1 or Indy car and a NASCAR race car. But again, for example, my Zone 4 club race was at Gingerman a month or so ago. The top club racer there was David Baum in his well prepared 2008 GT3 cup car. He was the class of the field consistently turning low 1.36's over 2.4 mile road course with an average speed just under 80mph. The next fastest racer was a second slower in a wide body 911. In the sprints and the enduro, I never saw him come close to making a mistake anywhere I could see on course. I timed him a lot that day and never once was he slower than mid 1.36 and fastest lap was barely over 1.36. He was also very impressive in traffic and the way he set up a car to pass it. In the enduro, he was lapping the back markers inside the first three laps. I was super impressed how he could turn such a fast lap even in traffic.

So now let's take a mid pack Indy driver or NASCAR driver like Danica or some other oval racer of same ability and put them in another GT3 cup car that is as equal to Baum's as possible and put them on same course in same race that day. How much faster would the pro be? .5 seconds/lap? .2 seconds/lap? I have the feeling Baum could have turned it up a notch if needed and probably turned a lap under 1.36, but he really wasn't pushed much if at all, and there were a few other fast cars out there. So how much faster would a top pro be on that course that day than Baum in same equipment? I know that a top Porsche factory driver could probably pull some more speed out of that cup car, but they drive those cup cars for a living. And I know the top LeMans Series racers are top notch road course racers. Btw, I've watched the NASCAR racers on the few road courses they go to and many really struggle big time. They don't look comfortable at all. I'll tell you, club racer Baum is one comfortable road racer.

Veloce Raptor

I disagree.