Sunday, May 29, 2005

Robby Gordon v. Danica Patrick

Robby Gordon, perennial NASCAR idiot and occasional Indy 500 participant, has come out to say that he will not compete in the Indy 500 again unless IRL "evens the playing field". Why even the playing field? Because Gordon believes that Danica Patrick has an advantage over the rest of the field due to her 100 lb weight. Sayeth Gordon:
"The lighter the car, the faster it goes," Gordon said. "Do the math. Put her in the car at her weight, then put me or Tony Stewart in the car at 200 pounds and our car is at least 100 pounds heavier.

"I won't race against her until the IRL does something to take that advantage away."

Well, well Robby. That stinks of chauvanism. Why, you might say. After all, it is a fact that a lighter car will go faster. Two reasons. First, why is Gordon choosing Patrick as his target on this? After all, by that logic, Robby Gordon is giving away 50 pounds to 155 pound Jeff Gordon every week on the NASCAR circuit. Does that mean Jeff Gordon has an unfair advantage because he's smaller and his car goes just a little bit faster? Why isn't Robby Gordon asking that Jeff Gordon go out with a 50 pound weight in his car?

Second, what about the strength advantage Gordon and his fellow 200 pounders have over the 100 pound Patrick? Believe it or not, it does take some upper body strength and endurance to control these cars for 500 miles. Granted, there is more of it required in NASCAR than IRL, but just watch their hands when they have the in-cockpit camera views today, and watch how much movement there is to control these 1500 pound vehicles at 230 mph. Gordon is ignoring this obvious advantage he has over lighter drivers.

The lovely Mrs. Jib had this to say on the topic, "That p***y! He's just afraid of being beat by a girl." Although I haven't said it as eloquently as she, I agree with her. After all, Gordon never complained about racing against the less competitive, 120 pound Sarah Fisher in past races. Robby, if you are so afraid of the weight disadvantage, lose some weight, tubby.

Update
Drat! I've been fisked. Wendy from Boots & Sabers and the Badger Blog Alliance corrects me in the comments. NASCAR does add weight to Jeff Gordon's car to make up for the weight difference. I still stand by my Sarah Fisher comparison, though. Good catch, Wendy.

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