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Indy 500 features record 3 female drivers, but struggles to fill rest of grid
Equal rights activists note that, with few exceptions, motor racing is an almost entirely male-dominated sport. In fact, the vast majority of racing drivers are white men, with only a handful of pioneers like Narayan Karthikeyan, Danica Patrick and Lewis Hamilton breaking through the grid. But this year, the Indianapolis 500, one of the most prominent races in the world (certainly in America) will feature, for the first time in motorsport history, three female drivers.
Lynn St. James and Sarah Fisher made history in 2000 when they became the first two women to line up together at the event, but this year Citgo-sponsored Milka Duno (pictured, right) of Venezuela will be driving a Dallara-Honda for the Samax team, along with Patrick and Fisher. Duno becomes the fifth woman to compete in the Indy 500.
The Indy Racing League is struggling, however, to fill the rest of the field. At the last reporting, only 27 entries have been received for this year's race, and seven of those don't even have drivers assigned to them yet. That's a far cry from the traditional starting grid of 33. Among the 27 currently registered for the race are five from Andretti-Green Racing, four from Vision Racing (owned by Indy chief Tony George), three from AJ Foyt, and three cars from Penske. It has not yet been revealed who will drive the third Penske car, and similar question marks loom over drivers from Vision, Foyt, Beck and Sam Schmidt's Indy Pro Series team. Meanwhile, although neither the Cheever nor Fernandez teams competed in the Indy Racing Series this season, insiders were still surprised the neither filed entries for the Indy 500.
[Source: GrandPrix.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Steve ONeill 9:03AM (5/26/2008)
Why doesn't the INDY 500 Speedway remove the Excess Rubber Marbles from the Track, during Accident Clean up time, with 8 or 10 Street Sweeping Machines? Since the INDY 500 Speedway is about 96 Years Old, it is Basically a FLAT Track, with no Banking on the Turns. On this Track, the Rubber Marbles are not thrown up on the High Side of the Track, like on other Speedways, but instead, accumulate all over the surface of the Track. All of the INDY 500 Drivers were complaining Yesterday, about the Slick Surface of the Track, as it was like driving on a Slippery Rubber Coated skating rink. Your thoughts ?
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geo.stewart 2:45PM (4/06/2007)
I know its sexist, but DANG tht girl is hot. Looks and can drive. better than any of the exotic on heels gallery.
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roadside observer 2:53PM (4/06/2007)
It's no surprise that they can't fill up the field. This ridiculous effort to make the cars equal, and therefore take the car itself out of the racing equation, is killing racing as a sport. Racing is as much about the car as it is the driver; unfortunately, the IRL and NASCAR powers-that-be cannot get that simple fact through their money-grubbing thick skulls. Witness how IROC, built around the concept of taking the car out of the equation, has basically dropped off the face of the planet. Yet Tony George and Brian France don't seem to get it. Guys, keep up what you're doing; you're driving - pun intended - yourselves into oblivion.
As for having three women in the Indy 500 - uh, yeah, so what?
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jrhmobile 3:45PM (4/06/2007)
You, uh, kinda forgot to mention that Lyn St. James and Sarah Fisher were competing in the Indy 500 until they came together and took each other out.
Just saying ...
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champcarfan 3:08PM (4/06/2007)
Milka simply does not have enought experience to be driving a indy car. Robin Miller has a good article on her at speedtv.com. Roadside you are very wrong in your analysis as to why the field is not filled. But you are right that tony george has a thick skull.
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Bob in Cobb 3:57PM (4/06/2007)
The Indy 500 is over!
It went away when Tony George came along and turned it into a spec car series, sort of like oversized Formula V's on ovals. So now it's a South American/English series with mediocre talent and cookie cutter cars. Kinda "Punks in Junk" that sells beer, hand lotion and fast food. It's not about racing, it's about selling stuff on TV.
This year they've added "wall banging" by putting the junk on concrete walled "street courses". Street courses allow more opportunities to hit things, like stacks of tires, concrete and other spec cars, this allows more breaks for commercials.
The IRL has about as much to do with racing as it does with "Roller Derby". Thank you Tony George !
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Viv 3:57PM (4/06/2007)
If Tony George would stop worrying about the already non existent TV ratings and push the race back to an earlier start like before, guys like Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon would have certainly competed. Too bad for the IRL.
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Galley 4:24PM (4/06/2007)
One of the best Top Fuel Dragster drivers in the last 30 years just happens to be a woman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Muldowney
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James 9:19PM (4/06/2007)
They've struggled to fill the field the last few years but (almost) nobody has the balls to mention it. Bubble day is a joke now, since they have to scramble to find anyone on the last day to take a car around 16 consecutive turns, and the result is you end up with two or three guys who are either long, long has-beens or nobodies who end up out of the race on the first couple laps. Or maybe owner Tony George will simply run 6 or 8 or 10 cars on his team--however many he needs to fill the field.
Bump day used to be the way to weed out the worst of the people who simply don't belong in the field, since competition was tough. If Robin Miller is correct, could Milka have made the grid in, say, 1987? Probably not. This year she'll make it as long as she keeps it off the wall.
I love the Indy 500, but stuff like this erodes the credibility of the BW Trophy.
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Snix 10:38PM (4/07/2007)
Tony George, you suck. Thanks for making open wheel racing in America a joke.
BTW, I hope one of these women WIN the damn Indy 500........
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aaron 9:57PM (4/06/2007)
"Citgo-sponsored Milka Duno (pictured, right) of Venezuela."
I wish her the best of luck, but am I the only one that notices the ties to Hugo Chavez? We don't need him and his ties to anything or anybody.
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matt 11:56PM (4/06/2007)
citgo? I don't understand why autoblog is full of anti-american hugo chavez sentiment.
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Greg 12:29AM (4/07/2007)
I fill up at Citgo every week.
Hugo Chavez doesn't hate Americans... for you ignorant ones out there... he is against these global corporations and this current Governments elected officials who lobbied by them, most in fact have that have the USA years ago.
John Kerry raised my eyebrows during the 2nd 2004 Presidential Debate with threats and warnings against Venezuela.
Reading these rubbish comments against Citgo / Venezuela doesn't surprise me though, you're all from the same crowd that most likely chanted 4 more years.... when you were really saying 4 more dollars.
Fact: Gasoline in Venezuela is 12 cents a gallon.. in US money.
So this Memorial Day weekend... if I do get to sit down and watch the INDY 500... I just might be rooting for Team Citgo.
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Greg 12:33AM (4/07/2007)
Correction to my post, #11
The first paragraph should read...
Hugo Chavez doesn't hate Americans... for you ignorant ones out there... he is against global corporations and our current Governments elected officials who are lobbied by them, most of whom in fact have abandoned the United States years ago.
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Tagg 1:01AM (4/07/2007)
Chavez is a wannabe dictator that crushed all opposition against him. He also has said on multiple occasions that he is ready to go to war with the United States. Never mind the fact that his best buddies include Castro, Ahmadinejad, as well as having ties to North Korea and every other country hostile to the U.S. and its allies. Other than that he's a great guy! My source is a classmate from Venezuela who left because they have no education system according to him.
As for Milka, I hope she can make it through the race seeing how she has never touched and open wheel car let alone on a oval going 225mph. Robin Miller is right about a few things and this is one. The other is A.J. Allmendinger being back in CART before July!
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Carl 1:09AM (4/07/2007)
He's against them because he's communist and the government owns Citgo. Theres nothing worse than competition in a communist/socialist system unless you own both!
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why not the LS2/LS7? 3:11AM (4/07/2007)
I hate to break it to everyone who doesn't watch Grand American, but Milka Duno isn't particularly hot. She's more feminine than Katherine Legge, but I wouldn't say she's more attractive. She's more attractive than Vannina Ickx I guess, which isn't saying all that much.
She's also not a particularly good driver. Don't expect to see her contending for the win or anything.
This is a pretty pathetic move on the part of IRL.
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martaamey 10:05AM (4/07/2007)
It takes ball to successfully drive an Indy car. End of story.
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Jimmyxx 2:41AM (4/08/2007)
Hmm strange . Looks like everything i read says Toyota and Lexas are always in top 5 in reliablity . So they had some recalls . No one else has ? I think maybe they might have been due one or two . Also for the ones that mentioned Mercedes and BMW check out where they are on those lists . Closer to the bottom . And if you think Toyota or Lexas is going out .. Then you must drive a prototype 2008 Pinto. And before you say anything about what i own . Also before ya start on what i drive its not a Toyota or Lexas . But i know great when i see it . O and wonder how much the BMW hydro car is going to be . And whats the trunk space in it like ?
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Jimmyxx 10:39PM (4/08/2007)
opps wrong forum on post above. =) Good luck Girls
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