Women of the world, support today's Indy race!!!

[Boogie711]

And for the record - having a woman race against 'the sexist men' is hardly unique - Robby Gordon quite happily ran Indy against Sarah Fisher.

I'm sorry, Bebo - I may come across as harsh, and I do apologize for that. But with all due respect, you clearly don't know what you're speaking of. If you want to develop an argument that's not completely misguided, I'd be happy to discuss this with you further.

 

[bebo]

It seems by the characteristics of your answers, that I touched a nerve. This is not personal! My experience in racing, the knowledge of it (or the lack of it) has little, if any, to do with; it is irrelevant.

I did not make the rules of Indy racing. If Mr. Gordon, or anyone else for that matter(including experienced diver-pilots ) finds that she had an unfair advantage, they should take their cases to the ruling body, not to the press.

As for you being harsh or not... again, it is not personal, and I will not be offended by your "harsh" words. As for the "feminist propaganda" comment, I hope THEY don't take it personal. And finally, concerning your future enlightenment regarding racing of any kind, it will always be welcome.

Remember, it is not personal.

 

[bebo]

Sorry,did not direct it.

And for the record - having a woman race against 'the sexist men' is hardly unique - Robby Gordon quite happily ran Indy against Sarah Fisher.

I'm sorry, Bebo - I may come across as harsh, and I do apologize for that. But with all due respect, you clearly don't know what you're speaking of. If you want to develop an argument that's not completely misguided, I'd be happy to discuss this with you further.

It seems by the characteristics of your answers, that I touched a nerve. This is not personal! My experience in racing, the knowledge of it (or the lack of it) has little, if any, to do with; it is irrelevant.

I did not make the rules of Indy racing. If Mr. Gordon, or anyone else for that matter(including experienced diver-pilots ) finds that she had an unfair advantage, they should take their cases to the ruling body, not to the press.

As for you being harsh or not... again, it is not personal, and I will not be offended by your "harsh" words. As for the "feminist propaganda" comment, I hope THEY don't take it personal. And finally, concerning your future enlightenment regarding racing of any kind, it will always be welcome.

Remember, it is not personal.

 

[Boogie711]

I simply find it ludicrous that anyone would show up this year to call upon the "Women of the World" to support the Indy race.

Why not last year? Is it because Danica Patrick is attractive and a media sensation, whereas Sarah Fisher was not? Isn't that horribly sexist?

 

[H2Andy]

ludricous? oh i dont' know... i can think of a few good reasons

if anything, it would be nice to see more women getting interested in racing

you've already called someone a feminist (not a bad thing, in my book) and
ludricous by implication... you also said he had no idea what he was talking about..
also, that his argument was "completely misguided"

so far he's been rather polite to you, considering...

why such hostility?

 

[Boogie711]

H2Andy - I've got absolutely no problem with 'feminism,' per se. I have a problem with misguided 'calls to action.' I've got an even bigger problem with mis-informed attacks.

Bebo attacked "Bobby Gordon" for complaining about weight requirements, while calling upon women to support this year's Indy 500. To do so, one would assume he actually have an inkling or a basic understanding of professional racing.

But anyone with even a basic understanding of pro open wheel racing knows that a) it's Robby, not Bobby... b) in-car weight is indeed a legitimate issue (I provided examples) and c) that this is NOT the first year, even in recent memory, that a woman has run Indianapolis.

My comments, while hostile in nature, were not intended to be construed as hostile towards Bebo, but rather Tony George, the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

However, when Bebo didn't leave well enough alone and began to accuse other drivers of showing 'fear', I felt that if he's going to spread that sort of accusation around, he better understand what he's talking about. It's become obvious that he, quite frankly, does not.

Again - I've apologized already towards Bebo for my tone, but I stand by my words. If he's going to attack other drivers, or call on people to support a race, he better know what he's talking about. He doesn't.

 

[H2Andy]

well, clearly, weight rules are weight rules, and they apply to all equally

if you agree to race in a particular format, you have to (ipso facto) abide by
its rules and regulations

as for there having been "other women" before... well... there's been "other men"
before, but would you blame someone back in the 90's for getting exited about
Schumaker? or before that, for someone to get exited about Senna? or the buzz around Lauda? the buzz around Clark? the buzz around Fangio?

honestly, i wouldn't give the "fear" thing too much credence, but it does seem
like women participants are resented by some men in traditionally male venues
(remember all that bruhaha about the female player in the PGA Tour?)

 

[Boogie711]

For example, Bebo threw this gem out:

All the talk about the weight and all the beakering hides only one thing: fear. I haven't heard one word about how good she is. Every criticism has centered about the weight. The truth is that the kid is quite good, be it a woman or not, weight controversy or not. And even worse, the real truth does not come out trying to be "politically correct", and that truth is that many of this male pilots do not want to compete with women. As they see it is damn if you do and damn if you don't: if the girl beats you-you were beaten by a girl; if you beat the girl- oh! , you just beaten a girl.

Let's examine this, shall we?

I haven't heard one word about how good she is.

or

The truth is that the kid is quite good, be it a woman or not, weight controversy or not.

Based on what? The answer to this is really simple. How many wins does she have in her career? She's had zero. No wins in the IRL, no wins in Toyota Atlantic. None.

But the truly 'ludicrous' comment (and I do stand by this one) is this:

that truth is that many of this male pilots do not want to compete with women.

If he has basic knowledge of the issue he's calling attention to, he would know that Sarah Fisher has competed against Robby Gordon and countless other IRL drivers over the past 4 years. Sarah Fisher is an overweight and unattractive woman. Danica Patrick is gorgeous, and has appeared in Maxim and countless other men's magazines. There was a lot of media hype over this years race... by drawing attention to this race versus last years, wouldn't that in and of itself be sexist?

 

[Boogie711]

well, clearly, weight rules are weight rules, and they apply to all equally

That's what Robby Gordon was saying - change the rules so the cars ARE equal. It's a formula that works in the main competition to the IRL, over in Champ Car. It's a fair call for Gordon to make. He weighs close to 200 pounds, being an athletic, muscular male. He was asked about competing against a 100 lb driver, and he said he wouldn't do it unless the cars were made equal. 100 lbs would work out to about 1/2 a second per lap - which is a huge margin.

 

[H2Andy]

unfortunately, every male race car driver i can think of looks like a fragging
model.

think of all the champions in F1 ... they are all lean and rather handsome

you just don't make it to that level of competition without sponsors, and
sponsors go for nice looking drivers who project a certain image