KNOW HER NAME
U GO GIRL...>
** UPDATE **
She came in fourth, the best finish by a woman in the 89-year history of the race. Danica Patrick also was the first woman to lead a lap of the race — and she was in front for 19 of the 200. Plus, she was chosen as Rookie of the Year.
This is Danica Patrick. She's 23 years old. Her hobbies include driving race cars in competition. There hasn't been a woman in competition since 1992, when an Italian woman name Giovanna Amati couldn't get her ride onto the starting grid. Oh, yeah, Danica's racing in the INDY 500 on Monday, and she's the fourth woman to compete in the race and if she wins, will be the first-ever woman to do this. So since racing/driving is akin to battle, I guess you could call her the Roxanne Shante of this shit. The haters have Danica's name all up in their mouths, saying that racing is a man's game because it's physical. It's obvious they never saw me outrun 5-0 in my Malibu Classic circa 1991, or push any of my myriad whips (owned, begged or borrowed) up and down the 'Shaw; not to mention me in Kenji's electric blue 'Lac with the racing engine, pummeling through the streets of Venice Harlem. Danica, I got your back, mama. Show these m'fuckas what a wisdom can do behind the wheel of a souped-up, tricked-out racing vehicle. All eyes on Danica.
Update - Patrick turned in the fastest time in the final qualifying round Friday, completing the four kilometer circuit at the Brickyard at a speed of almost 363 kilometers per hour (362.986).
posted by WALASIA "MJ" SHABAZZ @ 2:09 PM
10 Comments:
can you tell us more about your expereinces outruning 5-0 in your Malibu Classic circa 1991. please.
"super kawaii." i'm rooting for her, too. but i wouldnt mind seeing spiderman climb the wall.
nice blog.
yeah i saw her on letterman the other night. she was aching for that checkered flag. ive never paid attention to he indy 500 in my life, but i think i might try to catch some highlights this year, to see how she is placing [do they have highlights? does it go on for a few days? is it yearly?]
i do think that they are going to get a lot more publicity this year [=more ad dollars] and its all because of her.
just an FYI - she's not (by a longshot) the first woman to race the indy 500 - lyn st james and sarah fischer to name just 2 have preceded her...but more importantly, she does not, nor has she ever, raced in Formula 1. Toyota Atlantic is the series she came from which is waaaay different. aside from that,i hope she has a strong showing at the 500.
I commend her for being in a male dominated sport and being able to rise to the top. The thing that makes me care less about her and what she is doing is the fact that she has posed in bikinis and such to promote herself.
Now, to each her own....but I think it sucks that women are still in the same old situation of having to sell their "sex" to gain exposure and success. If I ever had to do that.....well, I wouldn't. It creates an environment where all the women who might follow you will be expected to do the same thing.
I know she can drive the car - but then, why can't she just drive the damn car?
Sonja, thank you for the corrections. I literally threw this up on the site as I was headed to the recording studio yesterday, and that's what I get for using a Reuters article as my only source of info.
Kamoji I'm hurrying up my autobiography (Volume I, the early years) since you seem to love the street history so much...I'll keep you posted
MJ
MJ - THANK YOU!!!! As a woman who LOVES sports - all kinds of sport and as professor who teachs sport history - I greatly appreciate this post!!!!. Danica Patrick is not a publicity stunt, the young sister can drive. (4th place and if she had not made a few rookie mistakes, she might have won the damn thing) I never understand why when a woman does something that is non-traditional, men and women start whining about publicity stunts and about selling sex. Damn! What exactly are you saying, that a woman must be ugly, have a half-assed car and crew, before she can be taken seriously? In racing, if you don't have sponsors, you don't race. That's it that's all. Comparing Ms. Patrick's situation to hip-hop is just plain senseless and completely another posting. The bottomline the woman has skills and people need to support and stop hating!!!!
M.O.,
Unlike hip-hop where "video vixens" are a dime a dozen, women competing in professional racing is unique. It would be extremely naive to believe that Danica's presence would go overlooked by INDY or that they would not make a big deal about her being a woman. That's not a surprise.
Where I get tired is your usage of the term exploited or taken advantage of. You have nothing to back that up with. Other than the extra publicity, which adds more pressure on Danica by the way, she is being treated no differently than her male counterparts. Quite frankly, a African American or Latino male driver would garner as much attention in the lily white field of racing. Anybody remember Willie T. Ribbs?
NASCAR and other racing divisions are scrambling to draw women and people of color to their sport. Why? They need money and new fans. A pretty young girl that can actually race? JACKPOT!!!! Danica and her support team are well aware of her value as a woman in racing and believe me she is milking that advantage with new sponsors and endorsements. Makes you wonder who is exploiting who. I'll bet Danica Patrick has made a lot more money than many of her fellow rookie counterparts in terms of endorsements and appearances.
Further, racing is a very expensive sport. That is one of the major reasons why there are so few women and minorities involved in racing in the first place. Racing companies and sponsers don't have the time or money to waste on "publicity stunts." Either you can race or you can't. Believe me, if Danica doesn't perform, she'll be dropped. Yet, unlike the numerous men who fail in this sport, if Danica fails, it won't be said that Danica Patrick failed, it will be said that WOMEN can't race. That's the ultimate difference between Danica and the other racers.
"Yet, unlike the numerous men who fail in this sport, if Danica fails, it won't be said that Danica Patrick failed, it will be said that WOMEN can't race. That's the ultimate difference between Danica and the other racers."
Thank you Tracey. That's the reason I put up this post.
Who knew this would be such a HOT topic?? ;-)
Girls ar hot!
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