Danica Patrick makes NASCAR history & finishes 4th at Las Vegas today.

[Elwood P Dowd]

She is driving a limited schedule for the Dale Earnhardt Jr Nationwide team. That's the highest finish ever for a female driver in NASCAR Cup or Nationwide racing.

[ClarkUSA]

1. Good for her. Didn't she have a tough time last year?

She has guts, talent, and drive. The beauty is incidental but we all know sex appeal is what sells storylines.

[Tikki]

2. She's a skilled driver...

Tikki

[provis99]

3. Women enters NASCAR and doesn't Win.

4th? That sounds like a feel-good-for-the-women crowd celebration of mediocrity.

[Elwood P Dowd]

4. She is a fulltime Indy Car driver that's running a limited schedule in NASCAR.

Also, she only has a few races in these cars, which are totally different animals from Indy Cars. A 4th place finish under the circumstances and against drivers with several years experience is quite a feat.

[spanone]

11. not really. a top five finish would be a cause for celebration for any driver

[Botany]

5. In 100 races she has won a total of 1 time and never in a major race.

I hope she makes dump trucks filled w/ money and that she has a long and
safe career but as a driver she has never really done squat.

[GSLevel9]

6. and Jeff Gordon just ended a 66 race draught...

Danica will do just fine!

[Botany]

8. In 592 NASCAR races Gordon has won 82 times

A 13.9% winning rate

Danica has won 1 time in 98 races

roughly a 1% winning rate and she has never won a major race.

Again I wish her all the best but the hype around her is over the top.

[howaboutme]

7. OK

Good for Danicka. Another celebrity who gets the gold while Americans generally get the shaft.

When I see our country being sliced and diced and divided by class, but it is done by the richest and the have mores, I'm not really not into highlighting gender.

If she wins she is the best-est. If she doesn't she isn't I don't care what her sex is.

I don't mean to be or sound flippant, but the MSM has been playing sexist games with us for decades and they have used them to divide us while the richest take us to the cleaners.

[david13]

9. She's a good enough driver. She's in the top echelon of the

pros. That's no easy achievement. The winning edge in these races is frequently so tiny and also depends a lot on the car, the tires, and a whole lot of luck.
And like somebody else said she's not a true nascar driver, she's open wheel.
Sure she get's the celebrity and all; good for her.
dc

[catnhatnh]

10. Good for Her!

That is a seriously good finish. Other past females in Nascar in recent years were Patty Moise, Tammy Jo Kirk, and Shawna Robinson, each of whom made contributions to the sport. In total at least 13 women have reached Nascar's top series despite the obvious handicap of gender expectations.

The hard fact is that few of them have ever been given extended opportunities in equipment prepared by top tier racing teams. Racing contains many prejudices and few now recall the scorn heaped on Tony Stewart when he entered the series. He came from open wheel (formula 1/Indianapolis style cars) and the fans all "knew" he had "no chance".

Life and racing changes slowly and only when a pioneer shows the way. I hope Danica is one of them.

[itsrobert]

12. Good going. At this rate, she may actually win one in the next 400 races

That would be 1 more than me.