FemaleRacingNews.com is different. If you are a regular reader you know that we tend to showcase the ladies who don’t get a ton of media attention. We’re asked all the time why we don’t cover Danica. We don’t to give other ladies the chance and not be overshadowed. I do have some reservations about Ms Patrick and they are all merited I promise. I waited until after the 500 to write this because I wanted to wait for the hype of the weekend die down.  I founded this site in 2007 when Danica and Ashley Force (Hood) were really the only ladies making news. I knew there was others out there thus this site was born.

Each race weekend we live tweet to keep everyone updated. Today we were watching the Daytona 500 on TV and watching NHRA live via the computer to make sure that the ladies were covered. Before the 500 started we tweeted this:

Danica has made it both harder and easier for female drivers. Her marketing that at one time was her ace in the hole is now coming back to haunt her. The racy commercials and pictorials with Sports Illustrated and Maxim (she wasn’t the only female driver in Maxim to be fair) are now frowned upon due to the young girls who are looking up to her. Harboring resentment for her accepting opportunities she was presented with will do nothing. It’s how we believe (or are lead to believe) she caught the attention of the teams that she has drove for. If you go back and look at her racing resume. If you go all the way back to her stint in Toyota Atlantic’s she holds one win. Her win in Indy Car and that’s it. Her singular Indy Car win is that of a fuel mileage race. This is what bothers me. We put her on such a high pedestal. Surrounding her with hype. Without much to back up why she is where she is.

The Daytona 500 is not the race it used to be with the advances in the sport. Tracks like it and Talladega, Super Speedways, have the reputation of being boring. Now I’m not saying that these tracks don’t take skill to drive they do. However they are tracks that rely more on your car set up and your team making your car good. There’s no shifting, it’s foot to the floor all the way around the track. Which takes balls (steel ovaries if you will). No denying that by any means. The fans have made it known that the racing is boring. To have such a prestigious race be viewed the way it is sucks. Earlier we tweeted this:

We received several “I’m unfollowing you” tweets back after it was posted. No one cared to hear our explanation. Due to the nature of how Super Speedways have developed there is several drivers who have only won at Daytona and no where else. It’s a crap shoot when it comes to picking a winner because it’s really just one of those things. When the tweet was posted we didn’t expect everyone to get it. We want more for Danica than to just win the 500. Here’s what we mean.

Scenario #1: Danica wins the Daytona 500 then goes the rest of the season with a string of bad luck. Wins no more races. Then people really start doubting her ability again. Like they did all last season. Who’s to blame them right? Her resume isn’t that impressive.

Scenario #2: Danica finishes in the Top 10 a couple races and then goes to Texas and wins. Then with that momentum Charlotte. Finishes out the season with several more Top 10s. Then she’s proving herself to everyone that she can live up to the hype that surrounds her.

To me that makes more sense. People  were telling me “Danica winning the 500 would be great for NASCAR” honestly I don’t care about NASCAR I care about the hundreds of female racers who want to be where she is. For them to be successful we need her to be overall successful. Not just win the 500. We need her to back up her driving to shut people up. NASCAR is different from IndyCar women aren’t as openly welcomed. To make things easier for the ladies waiting for their time to shine take my word for it when I say that a solid Top 10 is exactly what we need.

Also more on #SteelOvaryNation soon! It’s a project we are working on with some awesome people!

Thanks for reading!