Dan Wheldon

[Chaos81]

Man what a race driven by him today. Coming from back in 16th place to win it. AGR all the way.

[jcollins28]

Re: Dan Wheldon

Man what a race driven by him today. Coming from back in 16th place to win it. AGR all the way.

I figured it was all TK's race but "Well Done" came through at the end. Overall it was a great race much better then last years event were the race. I wish the IRL would tell A.J to hire some real drivers. How many cars/people to these guys have to crash or injure before they have their license pulled? I wish ABC would have kept Page instead of Goodyear. I could not stand to listen to that guy anymore. Hats off to Danica as well I did not expect her to do that well. She drove a hell of a race and for a rookie she did a great job. ABC showed a stat of best finishes for a rookie and included JPM and Helio on there. While they may have been rookie's at Indy they were far more advanced in their careers then Danica is. I did expect TK to pull a vanishing act at the end there. So did anyone besides PK get to the race?

[agte]

Re: Dan Wheldon

i watched the last 120 laps or so....probably the most of any Indy 500 i've ever watched....it was a pretty good race, i will say that....Ms. Patrick ran a heck of a race though, to be in the thick of it at the end after that incident and having some minor damage, and after stalling the car in the pits....overcame a lot of obsticles, quite impressive

[ftball11]

Re: Dan Wheldon

It was a good race, but a much different race than in years past...a lot of single file racing and not much pack racing. The draft didn't really seem to work, no sling-shot passes and not much passing period. The only real lead changes came when someone stayed out and the leaders pitted...which is how Patrick got out front both times. The only real passing that took place was when Patrick got passed by the top three. I felt like I was watching a restrictor plate race...I didn't take notice of the specs on the cars this year, but this was not what we have come to expect at Indy. It's usually a much more daring race. ABC's coverage sucked by the way, I don't want to watch Patrick when she is sitting in 12th and not passing for position, I want to see the action at the front. She did run a good race though and she has a lot of class...I liked her post race interview, the media is more hung up on the gender thing than she is.

[pk500]

Re: Dan Wheldon

We must have seen a different race. I worked the race from the fourth floor of the Media Center, and there was plenty of wild pack racing on the frontstretch. It's Indy -- you can't go two-wide in the corners every lap. You never have been able to consistently.

There were 27 lead changes, the second-most in the 89-year history of the race, and 22 of them were on the track, not in the pits, according to the Indianapolis Star story this morning. So I'm really not sure where you're coming from. And as for the draft, it sure worked well for Danica Patrick on the Lap 189 restart when she blew past Wheldon. And Wheldon drafted Danica when he made his winning pass on Lap 194.

Also, did you not see Kanaan and Hornish swap the lead numerous times in the first 50 laps? The lead swapped between Hornish, Kanaan and Franchitti seven times in the first 50 laps, with only one of those due to pitting. Maybe ABC didn't show that stuff; I'm not sure.

Maybe ABC showed a different race than I saw with my eyes at the track itself.

ABC's focus on Danica must have worked, as the ratings were up 40 percent over last year. The highest-rated Indy 500 telecast since 1996.

Glad you watched!

Take care,
PK

[Ephexx]

Re: Dan Wheldon

I felt like I was watching a restrictor plate race

Are you out of your head? When I see this, I'll think of restrictor plate racing:


From what I saw (especially in the first 50 laps), that was an exciting race to watch. Granted, ABC's coverage could have been less "OMG!! Dan1c@ r0x0r r b0x0rz lolol!!!!111" and more "we have some great racing up front!" but it was a very enjoyable race to watch.

Props to Danica for thanking her team and not making a big deal out of herself like everyone else has. I'm always a fan of drivers who respect other drivers, drive the wheels off of the car, and know that running good is not an individual effort. Get rid of the rookie mistakes, and Danica will be a competitor for years to come.

[catcatch22]

Re: Dan Wheldon

Awe nic pic of the NASCAR racing 2003 season open wheel mod. There was passing just not the ones you are used to seeing in oval races and in the IRL in general, you are not going to see passes in the turns and side by side racing since there isn't much grip in the turns at Indy. Plus the coverage by abc was so Danica heavy they barley mentioned the IRL league and its coming events. Not once did I see graphic about the points battle, well its not much of a battle. They made a passing remark at the end that the next event is Texas night but thats it. They barely mentioned Sebastian Bourdais, probably the best driver on the track.

[gurantsu]

Re: Dan Wheldon

Bourdais is the real deal, a heck of a driver. What can you expect from a guy born in LeMans?

By the way, where can I get the open wheel mod for NASCAR 2003? That looks great.