Well, for a rookie to have the presence of mind to get over to the rapidly approaching pits after losing her nose cone in that mishap was amazing to me. Most drivers would have been to stunned to make that decision that quickly.
Posted on 05/30/2005 3:19:38 PM PDT by LdSentinal
NEW YORK - Danica Patrick's first Indianapolis 500 made for great television. ABC's broadcast on Sunday drew a 6.6 overnight rating and a 17 share, up 40 percent from last year and the highest since 1997.
Patrick, who became the first woman to hold the lead at the Indy 500, led several of the final laps before settling for fourth. The ratings during the last 15 minutes of the race spiked to 8.8/21.
Dan Wheldon passed the 23-year-old rookie with seven laps to go and coasted to his first victory at the Brickyard.
Last year's race, won by Patrick's Rahal-Letterman teammate Buddy Rice, drew a 4.7/11.
Arie Luyendyk's victory in the 1997 race, which finished on a Tuesday because of rain, drew a 7.6/19.
The rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs, whether or not they are in use. Overnight ratings measure the 55 largest TV markets in the United States, covering nearly 70 percent of the country. Share is the percentage of people actually watching TV at a time who tune in at any point during a specific program.
Each overnight rating point represents about 735,000 TV homes.
Well, for a rookie to have the presence of mind to get over to the rapidly approaching pits after losing her nose cone in that mishap was amazing to me. Most drivers would have been to stunned to make that decision that quickly.
Racing for 13 years is inexperienced?
she did well yes indeed
Next year the Indy 500 will be on the "Lifetime" channel. /s
Ashley Judd should be in the cockpit, perhaps even on Dario Franchitti's lap.
One more thing for all us NASCAR fans.....
She tested a Busch car in June of 2002.
Beth Ann Morgenthau, the car owner for Ken Schrader's No. 49 Dodge, was among those watching Danica Patrick's efforts in the Indianapolis 500 Sunday afternoon.
"I guess it's just natural for a female to pull for the female driver, but it was incredibly exciting to see how well she did," Morgenthau said after watching Patrick's fourth-place finish.
"It was impressive, not just to see her finish so well but to overcome so much adversity. Any driver doing that well would be admirable but the fact she did it as an Indianapolis 500 rookie is very, very impressive."
Morgenthau said she would like to see more women involved in all aspects of motorsports, not only as drivers but as owners, crew members and officials as well.
"Someone running as well as Danica Patrick did today in front of an international television audience is great for the sport," Morgenthau said. "I'm hoping there were thousands of little girls all across the country watching, rooting for her and dreaming of the day they will run in the Indianapolis 500 or the Coca-Cola 600."
The worm has turned...
maybe bewcause some of us wanted to hear about danica, and not as much about the other drivers. duh.
I'll tell you one thing, if she doesn't win a race, that pseudosapphic columnist Christine Brennan at USA Today will make her out to be the next Anna K.
I have to agree. That was the most sycophantic and pathetic *ss-kissing by a sportscaster since Ahmad Rashad was licking Jordan and Pippin's Nikes during the 90s.
Oh no . . .
Oh, I think she will win...
Plus, I didnt see her running her teammate off the road like others yesterday...
Having a 50-60 pound weight advantage for 500 miles is a big deal in these cars. Put some weight under the seat and lets see the big deal then.
In regards to NASCAR- she will not make it. Not because she is a woman either.
This fawning over a "rookie" status is crap also. I remember one I500 when the new driver took a tour on the track bus and the old tour driver showed the best line of the track. The kid won the race.
Here is the formula for winning at racing. Money, money, money, luck, skill, and more money.
It's too bad she wasn't an illegal alien too-- think how good for the ratings that would've been.
I am a lifelong Indy 500 and Indy car fan. I applaud her for doing so well. I know it must be tough to drive that fast for that long and not get dead. On the other hand, if ABC or ESPN said "Danica" one more time I was going to scream! By the end of the race I prayed for her to finish antwhere but 1st just so they would shut up about her. Kind of like John Tesh at the summer olympic games a number of years ago he was obbsessed with sonme Russian Gymnast.
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