SO LONG DANICA

It never felt like Danica gave racing her undivided attention. The result? Unfulfilled potential. (Photo credit: The Weekly Opine)

The best female racer leaves much on the table.

The Indianapolis 500, as legendary radio play-by-play announcer Sid Collins used to say often, is the greatest spectacle in racing. In my opinion (there is a reason this blog is named The Weekly Opine) the Indy 500 is the greatest spectacle in all of sports. And I am knowledgeable about the Indy 500, having attended 48 races prior to this year.

In another sign of my advancing years, on Sunday I will witness Danica Patrick race for the final time. It is fitting her career will end at the famed brickyard in Indianapolis, racing in the biggest race of them all, the 102nd Indy 500.

More than a pretty face, Danica has always been a determined racer, although her total commitment to honing her craft is questionable (more on that later).

I was there in 2005, when Danica was a rookie and became the first woman to lead the Indy 500, leading a total of 19 laps. Sitting in the grandstand at the apex of Turn 3, it was thrilling to see Danica’s car charging down the backstretch, approaching us at 220 mph, while leading the venerable race near the finish.

Indy’s backstretch is a wide-open space with no grandstands between Turns 2 and 3. The end of the long backstretch, just before entering Turn 3, is a showcase for relentless, uncompromising speed. The last section of the backstretch burns the power and fury of Indy into your soul.

To see, and hear, 33 race machines dicing and vying for the groove going into Turn 3 at 220 mph is an experience that should be on all sports fan's bucket list. (A solo car qualifying doesn't fully capture this. Anyone who says qualifying is better than the race has never been to the race.)

Indy also produces the best sound in all of sports; better than the sound of a bat perfectly striking a baseball, or the sound of a collision between 250-pound football players, or the sound of a basketball arena erupting when the home team goes on a scoring spree. The sweetest sound in sports is the high-pitched roar of IndyCar race machines!

That day in 2005, in a flash Danica was through Turn 3, gobbled up the short straightaway, in and out of Turn 4, and on her way between the canyon of grandstands that is the front stretch, with famed Turn 1 up ahead. The world’s biggest stadium, filled with 300,000 fans, was witnessing a historic show.

Near the end of the 2005 race Danica had the fastest car. But her chief engineer guessed wrong with their end of race fuel strategy. Running a close second when the yellow flag came out with 13 laps to go, Danica’s team should have made a pit stop for fuel. (That would have alleviated concerns about running out of fuel, allowing Danica to run flat out. She would have been able to pass most, if not all, of the 15 cars still running in the race when the green flag came out with 10 laps to go. At worst she would’ve finished Top 5. At best she would’ve won the race.)

As it was, Danica finished fourth. With better pit strategy from Rahal-Letterman Racing she could have won the Indy 500.

That single race in 2005 was the pinnacle of Danica’s racing career. She was never better than she was that day, as a rookie, driving in the Indy 500. After that, Danica missed her opportunity to became one of the top drivers of her generation.

And there’s the rub. Danica became one of the top corporate endorsers – appearing in 14 Super Bowl commercials (more than any other celebrity). She’s all set to host the upcoming ESPY Awards show. Yet, despite her self-proclaimed wish to be remembered as a great driver, Danica was just another winless, average driver in NASCAR.

While there is no arguing Danica’s keen marketing savvy, it always felt like racing was the byproduct of endorsements instead of the other way around. Lewis Hamilton, the Brit who has dominated Formula One racing the past few years, operates from the opposite view; endorsement opportunities are the byproduct of being a great champion.

Undoubtedly, Danica faced obstacles because she’s a woman. The tired “old boys” network certainly made things more difficult for Danica; in the garage area, in the media, and from many fans.

When Danica lost her temper, she was chided for being a spoiled brat, or the b-word was used to describe her. Comparatively, back in the day when the great A.J. Foyt lost his temper, or more recently when Tony Stewart lost his temper, they were cheered as being intense competitors.

Nonetheless, Danica never seemed to fully embrace her chosen sport. It always felt like a stepping stone to the next thing. IndyCar was momentary until NASCAR came along. NASCAR was temporary until fashion design or promoting healthy products and retirement came along.

Clearly, Danica’s decision not to race NASCAR’s Infinity series hurt her development. In recent years, she stopped racing in the Saturday ‘minor’ league races. Meanwhile, NASCAR young studs, like Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, race in the Saturday races, as do some of NASCAR’s top veteran drivers, including Kyle Busch.

Danica revealed a lack of passion toward the sport by skipping the chance to get better racing on Saturdays, on the same track the main race would run on the following day. Maybe her sponsors and/or race team forbid her from racing on Saturdays, fearing an accident might knock her out of Sunday’s race.

It speaks volumes that Danica, after years of not driving an Indy race car, declined to work in a simulator as part of her prep for the Indy 500. For his part, team owner Ed Carpenter has been gracious when answering questions about Danica opting out of running the simulator.

Danica’s recent comments that she probably won’t follow the sport when she retires is a display of ambivalence you don’t see from the greats. A.J. Foyt is an IndyCar team owner. Kobe Bryant is still immersed in basketball. Jack Nicklaus remains connected to golf.

As it is, Danica teased us with occasional flashes of brilliance, like winning an IndyCar race in Japan in 2008 and winning the pole at the 2013 Daytona 500. But it was frustrating that she didn’t sign up for the ‘all-in’ motorsports class.

Danica clearly has big stage talent. Last weekend she qualified 7th fastest for the Indy 500. She has a competitive edge about her and an aura that the great ones have. However, it always felt like Danica was planning her next career move, rather than committing to improving her racing skills to achieve her desired status to be considered among the great race drivers.

You can’t help but wonder if Danica would have been better off staying in the IndyCar series. Given her endorsement prowess, she would have attracted top sponsors. And frankly, she is better at driving Indy race cars than stock cars. Who knows how many IndyCar races she might have won?

Admittedly, I am a Danica fan. And no one this side of Hillary has stirred the imaginations of girls and young women like Danica has, breaking through mountainous barriers, while becoming a huge celebrity.

On Sunday, I will be rooting for her as she races for the final time. Godspeed Danica! And like many other race fans, I will wonder what might have been.

Douglas FreelandMay 24, 2018