THE INDIANAPOLIS 500-MILE RACE!
Yes, folks, I spent most of the morning and half the afternoon watching that annual event. That's why I'm only now posting here! I used to be extremely interested in motor racing, back in the '60s and '70s; but since then I've confined my enthusiasm to two phenomena: the entirety of the Formula 1 tour (which I don't follow closely anymore) and the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.
Now, what interests me about this Memorial Day weekend spectacle is the fact there are women driving in the race. Janet Guthrie and Lynn Saint James drove in the Indy 500 years ago, but then a considerable span of time ensued before women reappeared. The three women who drove in last year's Indy 500 were there again this year.
MILKA DUNO(Born 22 April 1972 at Caracas in Venezuela)
Milka worked as a model and an actor whilst earning four (4) master's degrees at university. She's even published a book for children, which emphasizes determination and hard work. She's smart! In motor racing, Milka's a very good grand touring car and sports-car driver; but women have not been accepted as drivers by motor-racing insiders in the U.S. - a "foreign" woman even less so.
To her great credit, Milka doesn't give a damn about what others do and/or think; so she's forged ahead with her Indy car career in spite of loudmouthed bigots such as Ashley Judd (an actor whose husband is an Indy car driver). Fellow driver Danica Patrick recently decided to jump on the anti-Milka bandwagon, but I'm hoping she'll have second thoughts and jump off. Milka races better than about one-third of the male drivers, who apparently are immune to criticism, plus she's gorgeous and popular; hence, jealousy becomes a factor.
In today's race, Milka came 20th out of 33 entrants. Since she hasn't a ride with a top-drawer team, the race announcers never even mentioned her name.
SARAH MARIE FISHER(Born 4 October 1980 at Columbus in Ohio)
Sarah has been a motor-racing driver since childhood. She's managed to establish her own racing team, which means she's a savvy businesswoman in addition to being a fine driver. However, the team operates on a shoestring budget; hence, Sarah struggles to field a car capable of winning. As the late Formula 1 world champion Graham Hill once said to prospective sponsors: "Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?"
Both Milka and Sarah suffer from lack of
serious big-name sponsorship. Their cars display the names of big corporations, to be sure, but the money from those corporations doesn't flow like water the way it does for the top drivers. Consequently, Sarah has to cobble things together from one race to the next. She's brave and determined.
In today's race, Sarah came 15th out of 33 entrants. Again, as was the case with Milka, we never heard her name mentioned once the race began. It's all about money.
DANICA SUE PATRICK(Born 25 March 1982 at Beloit in Wisconsin)
Danica is a superior driver who could win any race if she was driving for a wealthier team. Mind, she's got a good ride compared to Milka and Sarah; but as today's race showed, the straightaway speed just wasn't there when needed. I admire Danica because she's a
really good driver and also because she knows how to positively interact with corporate mainstream media of communication. That latter capability is one of the reasons sponsors like her so much.
In my view, however, she needs to stop being jealous of Milka and take a more evenhanded approach when criticizing drivers who don't kowtow to her. In other words, she's a bit of a princess; but with more years under her belt I'm guessing she'll mellow in that regard. As far as posing for photographs in bikinis goes, all I can say is she's young and she may as well do that while she can.
In today's race, Danica came 3rd out of 33 entrants. That's damned good! She's on the podium at the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race! If her car had a bit more speed, she might have won the race. Thus ends my report. Good day!
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