Why Danica Patrick Will Not Win a Race

It has been three years since "Danicamania" taken over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the month of May and the media hype that follows her has slowly dissipated. In a sport where finishing first is ultimately the only thing that matters, a driver's performance week to week is even more scrutinized than the performance of say a pitcher in baseball. It's just the driver and the car, nobody else to blame but one's self for failure at the end of the day.

In 2005, Patrick finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500. The media whirlwind kicked up a storm afterwards as if she actually won the race. Sports Illustrated put her on the cover, while there was little mention in small print about Dan Wheldon, you know, the guy who actually crossed the finish line first. In the racing world, fourth place is really third loser. Try telling that to the story hungry media, who love to make something out of nothing.

Fast forward to 2007 and she is still winless. She has left behind Bobby Rahal, the man who was responsible for even giving her a ride in the IndyCar series to begin with. She has since joined one of the premier teams in Andretti-Green Racing. AGR has all the top equipment that Rahal-Letterman Racing did not have. No excuses for "the first lady of racing," right?

Wrong. For all the hype that has followed her since she broke onto the open wheel racing scene, she has been doing nothing but running in the middle of the pack race after race. To the racing purist, for a driver to be hailed as if they are a champion when that driver has not proven one's self on the track, that is a slap in the face to every other driver out there who is doing the best they can with as little in the way of quality equipment.

Yes, history will remember her as one of the best woman drivers in auto racing. That much is true, I will not argue with that. But, don't anoint her as if she is the next great driver to step into a race car. She is no Mario Andretti, she is no Rick Mears, and she is no Sam Hornish Jr.

Speaking of Hornish, there's a driver who should be promoted far better than he currently is. The man has dominated the IndyCar series for most of his career and gave race fans one of the most thrilling finishes in Indianapolis 500 history last year. He has three championships and one Indy victory on his resume. Outside of the diehard fans of open wheel racing, they say Sam who?

Racing is purely about going fast and trying to finish first, not making finishing eighth out to be the equivalent of a podium finish. Patrick, given the right equipment with AGR, could conceivably win a race, but I really do not see it happening with the degree of talent in this league with the likes of Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, and Dan Wheldon dominating race after race like they have for the last two seasons. It's a nice story, but in racing the only true story is who is hoisting that trophy at the end of the day.