Danicar circus

A reader writes, Not that any true open-wheel fan needs any real explanation why the IRL (no, it is hardly a merged series; it is still the IRL) has failed miserably and the worst is yet to come. If you knew about it, just watch the replay of the once great Surfers Paradise race from Australia this weekend and the reasons become clearly obvious.

Reader feels Danica Patrick's lack of driving skill makes the IRL look like a circus

Not only was the broadcast archaic and uninspiring, but we got a full-fledged dose of a two-year old child, the hero of the IRL's ratings boost, greatest racecar driver of this century (according to the grossly inept media), and the only driver worthy of a F1 test drive (according to Honda – the main supporter of the IRL), throw a hissy fit (watch a video of Danica's latest tantrum in Surfers Paradise) and promptly blame all others that it was their fault that she stalled her car on-track, had multiple contacts with other drivers, and, despite being in arguably the series best team and car, was regularly 5 seconds (yes, 5 SECONDS!) off the pace in EVERY session and couldn't even make one lap in qualifying before crashing twice.

The great thing is that we got to see this 20th+ place car run around the track regularly during the broadcast, got to view numerous statistics showing how popular she is amongst American women athletes, and we even got to see her produce one of the longest brake lockups in recent memory (does she know what a flat-spotted tire does and how to prevent it?) from Briscoe’s in-car camera while she apparently thought she should battle the leader as he came up to lap her (selfish arrogance).

Obviously, many fans think she is the greatest and enjoy watching these WWF antics based on her popularity. Apparently her sponsors and certainly the IRL have hung their hat on her and think these behaviors are fine representations of how a professional racecar driver should act. For me, I just don't get it. I guess the good thing is that I (and most people) don't have to watch this unprofessional Danicar circus any longer thanks to THE greatest player in the IRL, Mr. Tony George, and his Outdoor Living Channel, er, I mean Versus TV package for the next 10 years. D. Hughes, Atlanta, GA