Motor Sports (especially women race drivers)

[xita]

Good to hear Bagheera, thanks for the udpates.



Now some updates on Danica Patrick and the Toyota Atlantic series. The last race of the season she finished on the podium! She finished sixth for the season overall.



Here is a nice article on Christi Passmore :



www.arcaracing.com/Remax/...ans04.html



It's good to hear she's going to wait. I hope she is rookie of the year this year and that she one day makes it to Nascar. I think she can do it.



She's 7th in points currently. They raced today but I didn't get a chance to see the race or to get some results. I'll edit this in when I find them.



Women are doing well, we may start to see more and more. Makes me happy.

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"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."

-Me & Bobby
McGee

[BBOvenGuy]

ESPN.com has an article on one of the pioneers of women in motorsports, Shirley Muldowney, who is retiring at the end of the season.



And speaking of women in drag racing, has anyone seen the Disney Channel's movie Right on Track? It's the true story of NHRA Jr. champions Erica and Courtney Enders, who pioneered girls' participation on the junior drag racing circuit. The real Enders sisters are in the movie, too, as the stunt doubles for the actresses portraying them. They have their own website here.



Edited to add - If you're not sick of hearing about women in drag racing yet, today ESPN.com has another article, this time about Ashley and Brittany Force, daughters of 12-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force. Looks like they're following in their dad's tire tracks.

"The first task of anyone, lest you get canceled, is to entertain people, because they ain't there for message." - Dick Wolf

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 10/21/03 12:45 pm

[BBOvenGuy]

It's a new season - the Daytona 500 is this weekend, and the Indy Racing League is finishing up two days of pre-season testing in Phoenix.



Word from The Indianapolis Star is that Sarah Fisher has signed with Kelley Racing for this season. She'll be taking over the ride that belonged to Al Unser Jr. last year. Apparently they won't have the sponsorship package put together quickly enough for her to race in the February 29 season opener, but they're hoping she can compete in most of this year's events.

"The stories we tell - that's us explaining how we think the world works. Once we speak it, once we say it aloud, that makes it real for us - and real for everyone else who hears it too. When we tell a story, we invite people to visit our reality. We invite them to move in. Our stories are the reality we live in." - David Gerrold, The Martian Child

[xita]

Yay Bob, racing season is here and I am pretty excited. My favorite nascar driver John Andretti doesn't have a full ride yet but I am hopeful.



In other female driver news, Christi Passmore had a really good qualifying spot for the first ARCA race, but she had mechanical problems in the first few laps. She managed to finish 27. She'll be racing some Busch races this year too!

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"Hard work often pays off after time but laziness always pays off now!"

[oneyedchicklet]

Yes NASCAR is back! I still can't handle calling it the "Nextel Cup". I think deep down, it will always be the "Winston Cup" for me.



Hopefully, my boy Elliott Sadler and the #38 M&M Special will do much better and at least finish more races this year. He had a pretty bad end of the season last year starting with his horrible crash. He always seems to do well in qualifying but can't do anything with it.



I can't wait to hear my favorite 4 words: "DRIVERS, START YOUR ENGINES!!!"



I'm looking foward to a good season this year. Good luck to all the drivers and teams. Lets keep them all safe.





Love to All,

Barb

Now serving Bitter, party of one. Your table is ready.

Edited by: oneyedchicklet at: 2/13/04 8:35 pm

[BBOvenGuy]

The Long Beach Grand Prix is going on this weekend, and that includes Danica Patrick's return in the Toyota Atlantic series. Unfortunately, the Toyota Atlantics were only on the track for about fifteen minutes while I was there. First they were late getting started because of a crash in the Pro-Celebrity Race, and then they'd only been on the track for a minute or two when Danica's teammate crashed. I did manage to get one shot of Danica with my digital camera:







Earlier, the Toyota Atlantic drivers had done an autograph session, which they might as well have called "Danica Patrick and four random guys," because Danica was the only person anyone knew or was interested in. Too bad for the four guys. Here are a couple of pics:







I'll put links to a couple of other shots in the Digital Photography thread

"The stories we tell - that's us explaining how we think the world works. Once we speak it, once we say it aloud, that makes it real for us - and real for everyone else who hears it too. When we tell a story, we invite people to visit our reality. We invite them to move in. Our stories are the reality we live in." - David Gerrold, The Martian Child

[xita]

Neat pictures bob, thanks!

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"Trust is a risk masquerading as a promise."

[BBOvenGuy]

The Indianapolis Star reports that Ford Racing Director Dan Davis is putting a program together that would ultimately lead to a woman driver getting a full-time NASCAR ride.



Davis and retired driver Lyn St. James have selected four young women for a test at Anderson Speedway in Anderson IN. Legendary USAC car builder Bob East will evaluate them, and if he thinks one of them shows promise, that driver will run a second test at Indianapolis Raceway Park. If that test goes well, the candidate could start running USAC races toward the end of this season, with the potential for a full-time USAC ride with Steve Lewis, a legendary car owner whose past drivers include IRL and NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart, NASCAR rookie sensation Kasey Kahne and NASCAR rookie J.J. Yehley, who swept all three major USAC division championships last year.



It's a long road ahead, but we could see a woman driver racing for a big-time Ford NASCAR team within a few years!



In other news, IRL driver Robbie Buhl retired from racing today. Too bad he didn't do it before the season started, or Sarah Fisher would probably have his ride by now.

"The stories we tell - that's us explaining how we think the world works. Once we speak it, once we say it aloud, that makes it real for us - and real for everyone else who hears it too. When we tell a story, we invite people to visit our reality. We invite them to move in. Our stories are the reality we live in." - David Gerrold, The Martian Child

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 4/23/04 7:10 pm

[xita]

Ok season is almost over for most series. Danica Patrick finished third overall in the Toyota Atlantic series. She had a pole this year. In the ARCA championship, there is one more race to go and Christi Passmore is in sixth place. She could become the highest woman in that series ever by finishing in fifth overall. 2 weeks ago, Christi had a podium-third place finish. She had a slow, terrible start to the year and has finished top ten in the last bunch of races. I think we may see these 2 women stay in these series for another year then maybe we can see them in the big leagues

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"Trust is a risk masquerading as a promise."

[xita]

Sarah Fisher to make NASCAR debut at Phoenix UPDATE: Open-wheel star Sarah Fisher has been named to drive for Bill McAnally Racing in the Subway 150 NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series race at Phoenix International Raceway on Oct. 3. Fisher - who has raced four seasons in the IRL IndyCar Series - will be making her NASCAR debut, driving the #20 NASCAR Select by NAPA Filters Chevrolet. "We are excited to have Sarah be a part of the team at Phoenix," said BMR President Bill McAnally. "This is a great opportunity for BMR to work with a talented young driver from the open-wheel ranks. She should provide an interesting perspective and some valuable input into our program." Fisher, who progressed through the sprint car and midget car ranks to the Indy Racing League, was voted the IRL's Most Popular Driver the past three seasons. The 23-year-old resident of Indianapolis, Ind., scored a career-best runner-up finish in the IRL IndyCar Series at Homestead-Miami in 2001 and won the pole at Kentucky in 2002. In 2000, she became only the third woman in history to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. "I'm really excited to be making my NASCAR debut," Fisher said. "It's a great opportunity. I've been working hard to prepare for this." Fisher will join BMR at Phoenix as a teammate to Austin Cameron, who is currently second in the championship standings. The event is the 10th in a 13-race schedule for the series this year. McAnally is a veteran car owner in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series with three consecutive series championships (1999, 2000 and 2001) to his credit. The West Series and the Busch North Series comprise the Grand National Division. Graduates of the West Series include 1998 series champion Kevin Harvick and Brendan Gaughan, who won back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001. The NASCAR Doubleheader Weekend at PIR features the JC's Glass 100 NASCAR Elite Division, Southwest Series race and the Subyway 150 NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series race. Tickets for the NASCAR DoubleHeader Weekend at PIR on October 2-3, can be purchased by phone 602-252-2227 or 1-866-408-7223. They can also be purchased by logging on the website http://www.phoenixraceway.com.(PIR PR)(9-23-2004)

AND Fisher is filling the seat temporarily vacated by Kerry Earnhardt, who will be at Talladega Superspeedway next week for a Nextel Cup race. Earnhardt is a son of the late Dale Earnhardt. McAnally initially was going to replace Kerry Earnhardt with Clint Boyer, who drove the car at PIR earlier this season. But Nextel Cup car owner Richard Childress, who helped get Earnhardt the ride with the West Series team, called McAnally last week and asked if he would be interested in putting Fisher in the car. "Richard asked me what I thought about it, and I thought it was OK," McAnally said. "I think she could be real good for our series, and I think our series could be real good for her. I'm looking forward to it."(Arizona Republic)(9-24-2004)

UPDATE: Sarah Fisher, a 23-year-old Indy-car racer, could be headed for a NASCAR Busch [Childress?] ride next season if her tryout in a NASCAR-West race at Phoenix Oct. 3 goes well. Fisher tested at Caraway Speedway in a Kevin Harvick car a few weeks ago and was impressive.

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"Trust is a risk masquerading as a promise."

[BBOvenGuy]

Wow Xita, you beat me to it. I guess I need to start dropping by more frequenly again.



The NASCAR Grand National West series will be at Irwindale Speedway on October 16. I'm hoping Sarah will do well enough at PIR this weekend to get a ride for Irwindale. It would be fun to go see her.



As for Danica Patrick, her team owner Bobby Rahal was talking back in May about bringing her to next year's Indy 500. Now it looks like he could bring her on board for the entire Indy Racing League season.



ETA - 12/8/04



Ray Evernham, aka the guy who discovered Jeff Gordon, has signed 23-year-old Erin Crocker to a developmental program for next season. She'll run three ARCA races and three NASCAR Busch Series races, and will also drive for Kasey Kahne (an Evernham driver who won the Nextel Cup's Rookie of the Year award this past season) in the USAC Silver Crown series.



This is probably the biggest break a female race driver has ever gotten. Evernham says he hired her after she became the first woman to win a World of Outlaws event.



ETA - 12/8/04 Again!



In what has got to be a banner day for women in motor sports, today Bobby Rahal announced that Danica Patrick has been signed for the 2005 Indy Racing League season. She'll be joining Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice and IRL veteran Vitor Miera at Rahal Letterman Racing.

"The stories we tell - that's us explaining how we think the world works. Once we speak it, once we say it aloud, that makes it real for us - and real for everyone else who hears it too. When we tell a story, we invite people to visit our reality. We invite them to move in. Our stories are the reality we live in." - David Gerrold, The Martian Child

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 12/8/04 4:42 pm

[xita]

Bob, wow, that's awesome! I am so excited! I hate to say but I really had no one to cheer for on the IRL. I can definitely cheer for Danica. I think she will really show some chops!

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"Trust is a risk masquerading as a promise."

[maudmac]

Oooh! Having had my head in the sand a bit lately, news-wise, the start of Dakar went right by me! I believe it's considered to be the most challenging cross-country rally. Started 12/31, ending 1/16. Massive, massive.



Looks like Jutta Kleinschmidt and Fabrizia Pons are doing really well so far, 3rd at stage 5. There are more participants than ever this year, including 26 women. The Dakar route goes through 39 countries this year (Barcelona, Spain to Dakar, Senegal) twice more than a couple years ago. About 5,500 miles. Wow. Rough terrain, too.



The US media likes to yap about Robby Gordon, I suppose because he's a NASCAR guy, but I'm rooting for Jutta, all the way. She's beating Robby so far.



Here's a shot of them from 2002 - Jutta and Fabrizia.



Here they are in the Volkswagen Touareg at the beginning of the race in Barcelona.



And Jutta's website, for anyone interested.

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make some room now dig what you see

[BBOvenGuy]

In the midst of an otherwise routine news story about the upcoming racing season at Phoenix International Raceway, there's the following passage:

Quote:

---

The start of the 2005 race season at PIR is just weeks away with the running of the Copper World Classic on January 30. NASCAR NEXTEL Cup stars Kevin Harvick and Ken Schrader join former IRL standout Sarah Fisher and the rest of the upcoming NASCAR Touring Series stars in the first official racing weekend of the ’05 season.

---

So Sarah is now considered a "NASCAR Touring Series star?" I knew she was trying to line up a full-time ride, but I haven't seen any announcements.



ETA: It's now official. Sarah has a full-time ride with Bill McAnally Racing (BMR), with backing from Richard Childress, to drive the complete NASCAR West Touring Series, with at least a couple of NASCAR Busch Series races this year as well.



That means she'll be coming here to Southern California twice - July 23 at Irwindale and September 3 at Fontana. Mark your calendars.

"The stories we tell - that's us explaining how we think the world works. Once we speak it, once we say it aloud, that makes it real for us - and real for everyone else who hears it too. When we tell a story, we invite people to visit our reality. We invite them to move in. Our stories are the reality we live in." - David Gerrold, The Martian Child

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 1/27/05 12:29 pm

[xita]

I returned to the Long Beach Grand Prix this weekend and I was very happy. It was a lot of fun. It was fun to see this drifting thing that I'd never seen. The best moment though came in the Toyota Atlantic race, a woman won! For those English people in the house, she's British! She was pretty fearless and aggressive, it was awesome. I didn't realize a woman hadn't won a major open wheel race since 1980! Boy that's a long time.





First Toyota Atlantic victory by woman

April 10, 2005



LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Katherine Legge won her Toyota Atlantic debut Sunday, surviving a collision to become the first woman to win a race in the developmental series for the Champ Car World Series.



The 25-year-old Englishwoman started seventh in the 19-car field and was able to continue after colliding on the sixth lap with Fernando Rees, another of the 15 rookies in the lineup. It was the first major open-wheel win for a woman since Desire Wilson won an Aurora Formula One race at Brands Hatch in England in 1980, the year Legge was born.



She took the lead with just over two laps remaining in the 32-lap event in the streets of downtown Long Beach when leader Rocky Moran Jr. slowed with a mechanical problem. Legge then held off PKV Racing teammate and fellow rookie Antoine Bessette, who started from the pole, for the victory by about three car-lengths.



ADVERTISEMENT

The best previous finish by a woman in the Atlantic series was a pair of seconds by Danica Patrick, a rookie this season in Indy Racing League.



``It's been a lifelong ambition of mine to be here right now,'' said Legge, who grew up near the Silverstone racetrack north of London and began her career in go-karts.



She met team owner Kevin Kalkhoven when he went to England to complete a deal to buy the Cosworth engine company and talked him into giving her a test.



``I did the test in Phoenix and Kevin gave me the ride,'' Legge said. ``I'm just fortunate I found Kevin and PKV.''



The team worked until the early morning hours to repair her car after Legge crashed late in the Saturday qualifying session.



``I didn't even think about winning at the start,'' Legge said. ``I was just concentrating on getting past the car ahead of me.''



Legge spent last season driving in the North American Formula Renault series, finishing 10th, after driving in British F3 in 2003.



Charles Zwolsman, another rookie, had to start from the rear of the field after getting knocked off the pole Saturday by a technical violation. The driver from The Netherlands charged back to finish third, just ahead of Chris Dyson.



KATHERINE LEGGE (#12 PKV Racing): Started seventh on the grid. "There were a few full-course yellows and it was a long race. I knew I had time. I didn't even think about winning, just wanted to stay out of trouble. I had a good start. I just let Rocky (Moran Jr.) go. I knew I had enough car for him. It's been a life-long ambition of mine to be sitting in this spot. I'm very thankful to Kevin Kalkhoven and PKV Racing for giving me this opportunity. I'm awesomely grateful to Polestar (Racing Group). For a few corners, I was concerned (after contact with FERNANDO REES (#10 Bahia/Natal/Santa Catarina) in Turn 1 on lap 12). I thought I might have more damage than I did. But I just had a bit more understeer. The biggest challenge I face is setting up the car. It's not sunk in yet that I've made history but, hopefully, it will encourage more young girls to get into the sport. (When leader ROCKY MORAN JR. (#5 King Taco/Trench Shoring) slowed on lap 30), I actually thought he made a mistake and missed the line. I thought, 'Yeah.' I don't compare myself against anybody else. I'm my own person. Champ Car is my aim and Toyota Atlantic is the best platform for that."

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"São só dois lados da mesma viagem.

O trem que chega é o mesmo trem da partida."

Encontros e Despedidas - Maria Rita

[xita]

Danica Patrick in really tough competition is proving herself worthy. She started second and finished 4th at Motegi. She even led a bunch of laps.

[Warduke]

From Yahoo...

Patrick becomes second woman to have fastest speed at Indy 500

By Bruce Martin. SportsTicker Contributing Editor. May 12, 2005


INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) - Danica Patrick is on the verge of making history at the Indianapolis 500.

The 23-year-old Patrick had the fastest lap in Thursday's practice session in preparation for the 89th Indianapolis 500.

Patrick turned a lap of 227.633 miles per hour in a Panoz/Honda, becoming the first female to have the fastest lap of the day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since Janet Guthrie's lap at 185.607 mph on May 7, 1977.

Sarah Fisher was credited with having the fastest lap of the day last year, but rained washed out that practice session after just four minutes and her lap was never at speed.

It's the fastest speed so far this week at Indy. If Patrick is able to keep her perch atop of the speed chart in Saturday's Pole Qualifications, she would become the first female ever to win the pole for the most famous race in the world.

"Five years ago, I didn't envision coming to Indianapolis for the first time and being one of the fastest cars during the week leading up to qualifying," said the Indy Racing League rookie driver. "Knowing now whom I drive for and the quality of this team and with the success we had at Motegi, I did come here thinking there was a realistic chance we would be pretty fast. Driving for a good team will bring out the best in you as a driver."

Patrick drives for Rahal-Letterman Racing the defending Indy 500 winning team - with Buddy Rice as the driver. But Rice is out for this weekend's qualifications because he suffered a concussion and a severe contusion of his back that forced to spend the night at Methodist Hospital in downtown Indianapolis.

"I slept pretty well last night and I had a bunch of the team and some friends in the evening and that was very cool," Rice said. "Overall, yeah, I'm sore but I feel OK. I'm just going to relax today and come to the track on Friday. I'll see if I can help Vitor Meira and Danica if they need any help with the engineers. I plan to see Dr. (Henry) Bock also and see what he says about my condition.

"But right now, I'm anxious to get back in the car."

Patrick was able to give the team something to smile about after it lost Rice for the next week . And, there could be even bigger things ahead for Patrick, who started second and finished fourth in the IRL's last race at Twin Ring Motegi two weeks ago.

"It's such a shame for yesterday with Buddy Rice," team co-owner Bobby Rahal said. "It's certainly something we didn't want, but Vitor and Danica have carried the team as a result. I'm as proud of that as I am of anything. The team is working very well together, very similar to last year. The speeds and the times and the consistencies of them are reflections of that, so I'm pretty happy right now with the exception of what happened to Buddy."

Defending IRL champion Tony Kanaan was second Thursday at 227.525 mph in a Dallara/Honda followed by Kosuke Matsuura's 227.375 mph in a Panoz/Honda.

Dan Wheldon winner of three of the first four IRL races this season was fourth at 227.114 mph in a Dallara/Honda followed by Meira's 227.037 mph in a Panoz/Honda.

There were 37 different cars on the track with 1,717 laps turned in the six hours of practice.

Patrick ran a total of 63 laps, including the fastest of the day on her 57th lap around the 2-1/2-mile oval.

"I think the thing I'm most pleased with is that we've been methodical, and she's been methodically going through it, through the setup changes and been very focused," Rahal said. "I left her a phone message this morning. I had to go to Washington on some business and I said, `Just stay focused, stay quiet, and just keep thinking about what you're doing,' and she's doing that obviously very well."

Patrick pulled off the track with almost two hours of practice left and spent the rest of the day in Gasoline Alley watching the other competitors try to come close to her speed.

"I was happy with the car," she said. "We also ran the first two days of Rookie Orientation doing quite a few laps, and we used up our tires a little bit, and we don't want to short ourselves in the end, so we just stopped. The guys had enough work to do in the garage with just taking notes and making sure that everything is perfect on the car."

With Rice on the sidelines, Rahal is ready to go into Saturday's qualifications with two cars he thinks he can qualify for the front row driven by Patrick and Meira.

"Did I know she would be the fastest? No, but the last couple of days she's been right up where the fast guys are, Rahal said. "I wasn't surprised when (team general manager) Scott Roembke told me as I was getting off the plane that she was the quickest. I think everybody is trying to foresee what might happen this weekend.

"I think we're just going to take it one step at a time just like we've been doing all week."

And, if that plan continues to work, Patrick could make one giant leap into history as the first female driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 pole.

[BBOvenGuy]

Danica was so ticked off at herself when she made a mistake on the first lap of her qualifying run and missed the pole. Still, fourth starting spot is nothing to sneeze at.

Today, the Indianapolis Star reported that Sarah Fisher has made an appearance at the Speedway, even though she's not going to drive in the Indy 500. Her boyfriend is a mechanic for rookie driver Jeff Bucknum, and she's been working as Bucknum's spotter. Bucknum is driving the Dreyer & Reinbold car that she was initially offered for the 500. She turned it down so she could stay focused on NASCAR.

And speaking of Sarah Fisher and NASCAR, Southern California Kittens take note - she'll be at Irwindale Speedway in July. Anyone fancy a trip? Irwindale is a great little short track, and it allows fan access to the garage/trailer area after the main event. It could be fun.

[xita]

When in July Bob?

I was looking at this thread and considering how many new danica lovers there are now, we've been talking about her since 1993

I hope some of the other names we've mentioned here get to do something impressive too.

I have high hopes for Legge to do well in Toyota Atlantic where Danica used to race. She's a British gal so she has hopes for F1. For some reason I have a hard time seeing a woman succeeding there.

I had high hopes for Christi Passmore doing well in Nascar eventually, but her second season in Arca has been a bit disappointing. She needs better equipment.

I saw another woman race Arca and she was VERY impressive. http://www.erincrocker.com/ Erin Crocker is working with Evernham motorsports (she's got good stuff in her car). She finished 12th in the ARCA race I saw, but was up near the lead and was spun when she was passing for the lead. She'll drive some busch this year, I really look forward to that. She was impressive, she may be the one that makes it to NASCAR.

[Alexandra4sm]

i have followed F1 for years, its a shame there that there aren't any women drivers though

[BBOvenGuy]

i have followed F1 for years, its a shame there that there aren't any women drivers though

Heh. After yesterday in Indianapolis, steering clear of F1 might not be a bad thing.

Especially in light of what Bernie Ecclestone said when asked about Danica Patrick and women race drivers in general. According to ESPN, his reply was, "You know I've got one of those wonderful ideas ... women should be dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances."

Of course, Bernie's got a few bigger problems to deal with now... how karmic...

As for Sarah Fisher, she'll be at Irwindale Speedway for the NASCAR Grand National West series event on July 23. Gates open at 4:00pm. The West series will also be at California Speedway on September 2, as part of NASCAR's Labor Day weekend events. And Danica Patrick will be at California Speedway October 14-16.

[xita]

Some updates, Erin Crocker got a pole in ARCA and finished second. She was close to winning. She's going to run Busch in August I think.

Katherine Legge won a Toyota Atlantic race again, yay! This is her second one of the year.

Danica had a disappointing 7th on Saturday's race. She did lead at one point.

It's really nice to see women doing well.

[BBOvenGuy]

For a rookie in the Indy Racing League, Danica is doing very well. The last rookie to win an IRL race was Tomas Scheckter in 2002. Even Tony Stewart took a while before he won a race. She's only put her car into the wall once - and that wasn't her fault - and she had that spin in the Indy 500. I think Scheckter had that many incidents by the end of his first race.

Danica qualified sixth for tomorrow's race at the Milwaukee Mile - the only track in the series she's ever raced on before. We'll see how she does.

Meanwhile, I'm on my way to Irwindale for Sarah Fisher's race tonight. I should have some photos to share by the end of the week.

[Gatito Grande]

Guess who got within 15 feet of Danica Patrick?

I stumbled upon her, completely by accident.

I'd vaguely heard she was coming to my neck of the woods (to race at Michigan International Speedway), but hadn't really given it any thought (I'm not a race fan).

But skittles and I were out to dinner in Jackson, MI tonight (celebrating her new job---Yay!), and we noticed that a number of streets were blocked off.

Well, me being a sucker for a "closed off street event" in the summertime, I went over to check it out. There, I saw many race cars, and tents (covers) with lines coming out of them . . .

. . . the longest line, being to Danica.

I didn't want to wait in line (for an autograph), and I didn't have anything for her to sign, anyway. Ergo, I just snuck around the back of the tent, for a closer look!

GG . . . and that's how I got so close. Very pretty hair! Out

[xita]

Hee, good for you GG! I am afraid I am not going to get that close to her because IRL races are just not in my future. I really just go to the one race, Long Beach, sigh, I just love that weekend.

Unfortunately, Danica went out with mechanical troubles today :( I really wish for another good finish for her soon.

On the other hand, I have great news about Katherine Legge. She won another Toyota Atlantic race for a total of 3 for the year. This is awesome. She's now third in points and has a shot still at the championship. And while previously there was no talk of Champ car, there seems to be the slight possibility she could be riding those cars by next year.

[BBOvenGuy]

Yeah, Katherine Legge is surprising everyone these days, while Danica had an off weekend at Michigan. I'm going to Infineon Raceway at the end of the month, so I'll get to see Danica then.

Meanwhile, Sarah Fisher scored her first top ten finish at Irwindale Speedway, where she ended up 8th. Click here for my photos from the event.

I also got this:



This past weekend, Sarah started third at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe WA. She led 7 laps, but the tire strategy that got her the lead also proved to be her undoing. She wound up 11th.

[xita]

OH that's cool Bob. Sarah might get her shot at Busch next year. The great thing about Danica mania is that all the female drivers are getting attention. We might see 2 women in busch next year, that would be very exciting. And not bottom dwellers, 2 good drivers in Sarah and Erin Crocker.

Great pictures Bob!

[BBOvenGuy]

Word on the grapevine is that Richard Childress is looking for sponsorship to move Sarah into the Busch Series next year. If he can pull that off, Sarah's ride in the West Series would go to Allison Duncan, who has already won a race in her current division this year. Big doings all around...