Kyle Petty: Danica "not a race driver"

Exactly.

I'll add

Sure racers want to win but not all of them will experience it one or multipule times at the highest level. Even if they don't win they are living their dream and the lifestyle they love. It is really hard to find fault in that.

It would be interesting to see just how much money Danica generates by racing. I don't mean how much money the #10 team makes. I mean the money Stewart Hass pays to the employees that work on the car and the parts co that SH pays for parts and the people that get paid to sell Danica T shirts in the hauler outside the track and the people that print those T shirts and so on. How many people benifit just from Danica racing. I bet the trail is HUGE

People don't hassle Paul Menard because his Dad pays for everything because one: Paul is a good guy that races clean and doesn't flaunt his position and two: Menard contributes millions in one form or another to NASCAR and in one way or another puts food on a lot of people's table.

Believe or not winning isn't always about coming in 1st.

 

Nobody's arguing her pulling power, and Petty would surely agree. He was talking about her level of talent.

 

You mean he could go fast, but couldn't race?

 

So, what is to be gained by him trashing another driver?

 

Trashing? Doubtful. I would think like most of use he simply offers his opinion. Like it or not...its his to offer and he was asked. So...he gave it. Don't agree?....oh well.

 

I understand that, people seem to get all hot and bothered when someone talks badly about Danica. Just trying to remind everyone that NASCAR is more about entertainment than anything else and always will be in order for the "sport" to survive.

 

It was doing just fine before DP showed up. Or did you guys forget this.....[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1b2OYvja_Q]1979 Daytona 500 ''The Famous Finish'' NASCAR - YouTube[/ame]





This did more for the sport than DP and the rest ever will.

 

Kyle raced his way to 8 Cup wins, and was 2nd in the points twice. Not a hall of fame career, but way better than danica will ever be. Plus...almost every driver in Cup [even the start and park drivers] have won track championships,and many races in the lower levels. Danica has one Indycar win.And that's about it,nothing else....

 

???

 

Actually I would say his most important contributions have been off the track with the tremendous amount of charitable acts he has performed through NASCAR and his foundation. Fans may not remember him in thirty years but the kids that have gone through Camp Boggy Creek will cherish those memories and experiences for the rest of their lives.

 

Why does anything have to be "gained"? He isn't "trashing" her, he's just giving his opinion of her talent. If his opinion is less positive than some ESPN mediot or NASCAR flack, so what? He's been in the crucible, they haven't. Nor has anybody here as far as I know. Frankly we could use more people who aren't afraid of giving their unfiltered opinion about athletes, politicians, celebrities, etc.

 

Yet in NASCAR a driver does not have to have to be the best or fastest car, they just need to be consistent. You say "if she has a legitimate win" yet what about all the other wins by male drivers who "Got Lucky" ie TK's Indy 500 win??

Right place at the right time.

 

I remember those days well. We used to drive and then walk for hours to hear them roar past ... just awesome! You could hear them coming for minutes ... !!
Pete

 

Has it been suggested that Kyle Petty was speaking directly from the NASCAR
script in order to keep Danica and NASCAR in the news?

If not, please allow me to be the first.

BHW

 

To this day, I still have the odd nightmare about plowing into those crowds.

But most of my rallying was on this side of the pond, back in the '70s, where hardly anyone knew what "rally" was, and we had few crowds.
The times I went into the weeds, there was usually nobody around.

I laugh at those Verizon "if I were a race car driver" ads. We didn't have runway models.
We could rarely get the local papers to send a reporter.


The problem with the "Killer Bs" is that they ran them on the same stages we used to run with low power RWD machines.
That's like trying to run a cigarette boat in a bathtub.
A Delta S4 on a stage that was a challenge to a Mini Coop? What were they thinking?
But the "B"s did bring out the crowds.
I guess it's like the "running of the bulls", for the spectators.

The Stratos is the machine I lusted after, from my lowly Fiat.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbfZayu6SQ8]Lancia Stratos Rally Car "THE BEST SOUND" - YouTube[/ame]

 

You mean...."Press on Regardless" !

 

My position exactly.

Good of Kyle to have mentioned what many of us would violently agree to.

 

How can you compare the Danica theme to menard?

Is kyle's thesis here that she has the best equipment, ALL the media attention and shows a complete inability to do anything but just ride around? She is a media machine but not a racer.

I'm confused...is anyone even talking about Paul menard?

 

Are you comparing Danica to tk?

Lo effen L.

 

In the shadows of his father?

Pretty profound comment. Let's put that in context since his father is arguably one of the most important racer in motors ports history.

That would put most in the shadows.

 

True w/ the obvious exception of her man hands

 

30 years from now no one will remember Kyle?

Seems an odd statement but ok

I suspect Felix will remember him. His NASCAR presence was built on Kyle. Kyle had wins, had poles and contested the Winston cup championship while with Felix.

I suspect many will remember Kyle for years to come for all of his charitable work beyond his racing. To those families effected, he transcends racing.

I suspect some will always remember him for being so stoic after the loss of his son Adam.

He has given quite a lot to the sport where comparatively Danica seems to take, take and take more.

Ok...enough of my defense of the man with the pony tail...this thread is about the show pony

 

I agree with about everything JTL has said in this thread. Kyle gave his opinion, said she was fast but not a racer. I was watching an interview with Nigel Mansell in the last month, which I posted here, where he described himself as a racer but people like Prost as drivers.

 

The lion!!!