Danica Patrick, Alan Mullaly make the 2009 TIME Top 100 list
Every year, TIME magazine publishes its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The list is typically comprised of government leaders, business titans and high-profile celebrities, and this year's, which just hit the shelves, is no different. Among those included in the ranking for 2009 are Ford CEO Alan Mullaly and perennial IndyCar favorite Danica Patrick.
Lauding Mullaly for forgoing government handouts – a decision that has increased Ford's popularity – Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer highlights Mullaly's career in guiding Boeing Aerospace through the tumultuous post-9/11 period and ushering Ford into a new era. Danica Patrick, meanwhile, earned the citation for braking through the sound barrier glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race, earning the respect of her male colleagues in the process. London Mayor, part-time automotive journalist and all-around friend of the automobile and motorist Boris Johnson also made the list among the other decision-makers and opinion-shapers mentioned on the Time list. Follow the link to view the list in full.
[Source: TIME | Photo (left) by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alex 11:05AM (5/05/2009)
Danica is hot.
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Randy 2:19PM (5/05/2009)
Schwing!!!!
She's hot AND she can drive!
Maybe Ricky Bobby can have a new arch nemesis if they make a sequel! ;)
"Not until you say I Love Crepes"
Dave 11:06AM (5/05/2009)
Look Id love to kiss Danica's ass as much as the next guy, but this is just getting out of hand. No one seems to care about the series she is in, just about her. great for her, bad for Indy cars. Why isnt Ashley Force on the list? I feel Ashley is far more acomplished than Danica at this point.
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Farmboy 1:45PM (5/05/2009)
I completely agree, Dave. Ashley Force is a much better choice than Danica.
All Danica amounts to is a mediocre driver who in reality is a total b**** to everyone around her, because she won 1 race. Whoop-dee-do. It is all because people think she is hot.
On a side note. Alan Mullaly did deserve that.
tankd0g 11:05AM (5/05/2009)
You have got to be effing kidding me...
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Ken 11:07AM (5/05/2009)
"Danica Patrick, meanwhile, earned the citation for BRAKING through the sound barrier glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race"
Is that some sort of inside Indy joke I'm not aware of?
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tankd0g 11:11AM (5/05/2009)
I think it's some kind of bad writing.
Patrick 11:41AM (5/05/2009)
If you brake too hard, you might not be able to break through that glass ceiling.
E.P. 12:33PM (5/05/2009)
It happens enough with the autoblog writers that it pretty much is a running (or rather braking) joke.
amdforever 11:13AM (5/05/2009)
Wasn't this 2009 list hacked by 4Chan last week?
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StanleyVanBuren 12:09PM (5/05/2009)
Yes, the results were HIGHLY manipulated so that not only would "moot" be the #1, but so that the results would spell out "marblecake also the game."
So... there's that.
why not the LS2LS7? 11:15AM (5/05/2009)
I think if I were Mullaly I'd insist on having someone else write my endorsement besides Steve Ballmer. Having the guy who has been in charge of MS as it went from growth to stagnation and now seems to be edging into the dumper explain how he likes the cut of my jib would feel like an insult.
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John P. 11:21AM (5/05/2009)
So true! Ballmer helped kill SGI, and is now helping to destroy Microsoft. It seems that all he ever does is attack his competition with lame-ass snide remarks. I'm not saying he's totally at fault of course, but Mullaly deserves a bit better than that.
I have nothing against Danica, but sheesh. top 100?
Mr.Oak 11:32AM (5/05/2009)
Common LS be fair. That industry was ALL growth from 1985 - 2000. The sector is now matured, meaning everyone who can afford a PC most likely already have one. That entire industry has slowed to a crawl. This is why you see MS and Apple diversifying into products like Sync, iPod etc.
MS will be alright.
why not the LS2LS7? 11:55AM (5/05/2009)
Oh yeah, you're right, the entire industry did slow. Which is why you see Apple diversifying and succeeding in other areas.
So why hasn't MS done the same? It's Ballmer's job to make it happen, and he hasn't done it. He hasn't done squat. MS makes money off Windows and Office and that's it. And it's still true. Even a relative success like Xbox 360 is still a break-even proposition at best for them.
Ballmer needs to ensure the company does what it already does even better (Windows 7 looks like it'll do better than Vista) and move into new areas, and I don't mean $15,000 Surface demo devices.
Cornholio 2:13PM (5/05/2009)
Couldn't agree more, Why Not. Ballmer needs to go. C'mon, board of directors, kick his rich arse out and get some new talent in there who knows how to build products. Get someone in there who stops chasing other people's good ideas with "me too" knockoffs and actually innovates with products people want to buy. Windows and Office won't sustain the Big M forever.
Microsoft's at a watershed moment in its history. It'll either get its crap together and emerge from this period with clear vision and renewed vigor, or it'll continue its slide toward irrelevance. I'm not holding my breath....
Mr.Oak 11:16AM (5/05/2009)
God I love Brunettes.
Danica Patrick and Ashley Force are the two most bone worthy race car drivers on this side of the Atlantic ocean. That is from a hetrosexual male perspective.
Influential? not so much.
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Jared 11:26AM (5/05/2009)
Danica Patrick? Most influential? Huh?
While she is, indeed, a babe, she's a not very successful driver in a dying racing series.
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Shawn 11:40AM (5/05/2009)
You do not have to be successful to be influential... In the days where the media can hype up anyone everything from Paris Hilton to the Swine Flu... Although technically Paris transmitted more diseases.
MichaelS 11:35AM (5/05/2009)
Someone at autoblog is having a Danica fantasy here (not that I blame the, of course)..... check the link to the TIME article - she is NOT listed in the 100.
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