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John, its mainly because its Danica Patrick. She'll be treated as a top driver no matter where she goes because she did nearly win the Indy 500 last year. Her moving to AGR is big because they have better people, better drivers, and better equipment than Rahal Letterman, thus giving her a much better shot to win, which I believe she will.

John, I remember Danica almost winning Indy last year as well. I also remember the commentators saying she was a sitting duck on the last restart.

I will say that she has to have talent to go that fast, no doubt about it. I don't know how well she understands chassis setups, etc. I know the IRL has some equivalent to the Busch seires, did she ever win any races there? I don't think so because it would no doubt be part of her hype.

That being said I'm probably more impressed with Erin Crocker winning a World of Outlaws race a couple of years ago and equally disappointed in her failure to achieve consistent finishes in either Busch or Trucks, let alone win a race.

The only reason she's getting the media treatment and coverage is because she's a woman who happens to compete in a male dominated sport.

I would like to think that as a driver my coverage by the press would be representative of my success and not my gender.

Heck, I looked at her statistics (race) and I didn't see where she's ever won a race. How'd she get that job in the IRL? Must have been her looks 'cause she ain't had the success behind the wheel that I would think takes to get you there.

One other thing that would have precluded her from being a success in NASCAR, according to her bio she dislikes Country Music. That one fact'll sink your chances of success in that venue.

While I don't think she merited the centerpiece Wednesday -- especially since the Indy Star and others had reported from the Milwaukee race that everyone knew she was going to AGR but none of the involved parties would say that on-the-record -- I also was disappointed to see her relegated to a notes item. It jumped out at me when I read the sports section yesterday.

What you're missing John is that despite the criticisms -- not having won a race yet, being in the less popular series, etc. -- she's one of the most recognizable female athletes in the U.S. right now. I'd argue she's probably No. 2 among current athletes behind Michelle Wie. And it is the middle of the slow summer stretch for sports pages, which means there should've been room for something more than a note.

And as usual, I'll jump in to defend Danica's driving. This is at least the second time I've pointed it out here, but for the first half of the season this year Rahal Letterman was running on a sub-par Panoz chasis. Oh yeah, RLR pulled out of the Homestead race after Paul Dana died -- so she may be running ninth in the standings, but it's not exactly indicative of her ability. It's not like her teammate, Buddy Rice, has been out there winning races while she's been stinking it up -- he's in 13th right now.

In her second and third races after the switch to Dallara she finished fourth.

In NASCAR terms, Rahal Letterman is like Robert Yates Racing over the last three years. They've had some wins, but you don't expect to see them at the top every week. Andretti Green is kinda like Joe Gibbs Racing, and if she doesn't win a race with them, well, then I think it's fair for people to seriously question her ability.

She's definitely hampered by being on a lesser team. Rahal Letterman has won three races, including Buddy Rice's 500 win, in the last four years. During that time Andretti Green has picked up 22 wins.

Mark, she didn't come up through the Indy Pro Series (IRL's Busch equivalent). She jumped over from two years in the Toyota Atlantic Series (traditionally a Champ Car feeder) where RLR has a team, and that was after spending much of her development overseas in the Formula One feeder system. But she didn't win in Toyota Atlantic or Formula Ford. She had a bunch of top three finishes and a couple of second places in each.

Jonathan,

You want to defend her racing ability? What's there to defend? She has NEVER won a pro race in any racing venue that she's competed in since the early 2000s.

Hold on, I'm gonna state something that probably most sports reporters have at the back of their minds regarding Danica yet are hesitant to just come right out and say.

It is my contention that Danica was hired by an IRL team as a result of the NOVELTY effect a female driver, who happens to have good looks and might I say is somewhat eloquent, would have on the IRL league who at that time and still is currently suffering in attendance and popularity. Watch one of their upcoming races and take note of the many vacant seats in the main and adjoining grandstands. Quite simply, ability or the lack of did not figure into her hire. It was a league, courtesy of Rahal-Letterman, MARKETING decision.

In NASCAR, at least a Kvapil had the statistics (several wins & I believe a minor series championship) that indicated to MB2 racing that there was potential even though he's not "shown up" as a factor as a young driver in the cups series. Once again, Danica has never experienced the big W in the pros that normally is a prerequisite for being courted as a potential contender against the big dogs.

Patrick is in a league that typically only fields around 18 cars per race (probably only 13 running by the end) with only several drivers who are consistent up front performers, and in two years I don't believe she has ever finished better than 4th.

Hopefully, her record might improve under Andretti, but in light of her racing record prior to teaming up with Rahal, I wouldn't bet my money on her.

Kvapil's with PPI motorsports & not MB2.

My bad.

Jon,

I know she hasn't won a race in the IRL and that she didn't win in Toyota Atlantic -- but she's a darn good driver and if you don't believe that, well, in addition to that bridge in New York I offered to sell you a few weeks back, I've got some swampland in Florida you might be interested in.

As for your logic about it being an IRL marketing decision to bring her in, well it's flawed. And here's why. If the IRL wanted to bring Danica in just for her good looks and the novelty effect of being a woman, then they would've put her in a much more high profile ride than she was in. Tony George would've gotten her into a Penske, Ganassi or AGR car.

Bobby Rahal found a young, talented American driver over in the Formula One feeder series and lured her back to the States because he was short on talent.

The IRL stumbled into the marketing machine that is Danica Patrick. They didn't plan it, but certainly took advantage once they realized what they had.

If the league was behind it, why did they put her in a car that gave her a chance to win, but a long one. If she starts winning races, the fan interest in IndyCar will go up drastically, and they know that. So it doesn't make sense that they'd stick her in a Rahal car if it was strictly about marketing.

Besides, the "novelty" of Sarah Fisher never paid the kinds of dividends for the sport that Danica has, and she's certainly not unnattractive.

By the way, the average IRL driver has taken 33 starts to get their first win. Michigan on Sunday will be No. 27 for Danica.