Danica Patrick Is a Serious Racer

The 2010 Indy 500 has now zoomed into the record books. I missed the finish, and the middle, and in fact missed most of the race, but did catch Jack Nicholson waving the green flag at the start, and the lap 2 crash that brought out the first yellow. I saw midway through the race when Tony Kanaan had moved into second place after starting in the 33rd position. Pretty exciting stuff in my book, and I understand that the finish was equally exciting. Congrats to Dario Franchitti for his second win.

Now, let's turn to Danica Patrick. I'm a bit amazed at how strong some of the critics rant on her, as if she has no right to be out there with all these cool racers from all over the world. O.K.... how does one get into the starting lineup at an Indy race? First, some people with a lot of money have to believe you are a pretty good racer and that you will not embarrass their brand, or wreck those million dollar cars every time you get into the cockpit.

Danica gets criticized just for showing up. Then she gets criticized for qualifying nearer to the back than to the front. When she finishes fifth or sixth, she is criticized for not winning. Come on, guys. She whooped butt on 27 other drivers. She avoided mishaps with superquick reaction times when necessary. She did not put her machine into the wall. She performed exceedingly well in that pressure cooker environment called Pit Row with its complicated rules on how fast you can go or what you can and can't do. Will Power, the other driver I was rooting for, drove away from the pits with the fuel dispenser still connected to the car. Bad move, Will.

Anyways, I may get booed for comparing her to Michael Jordan, but in one respect the comparison is apt. She has caused a lot of people to pay attention to racing again. Even when she did poorly at NASCAR, she did bring a lot of buzz and some new eyeballs at a time when ratings have suffered and their fan base is eroding. No, I am not saying she is yet the superstar standout of Jordan, but she is more than competent and has earned her spot the hard way, just like everyone else in sports. She didn't drive 180 mph and then get a wink and a nod and "Aw shucks, girlie, you can start in the race because we want women in the sport of racing."

There were actually four women in the starting grid this past Sunday. They averaged more than 224 miles per hour to get there. The accidents we saw were not caused by women drivers who didn't know what they were doing. Men drove cars into walls all by themselves. And though Tony Kanaan did a great job of working his way to the front from the back, Danica put in a good day's work to do the same, and finished within striking distance.

So, kudos to Danica. Good luck with the next phase in your career.

Sun Worship and Solar Powered Cars

The Indy 500 it's not, but my guess is that the winners achieve a fair measure of prestige amongst their peers. And isn't that what counts? Danica Patrick is making a lot of money these days, I'm sure, but what she really desires -- and has earned now -- is respect.

It's not a race the Joe Sixpack is eager to see on the Speed channel, but for sheer bottom-line satisfaction, a race by solar-powered vehicles has a certain level of Star Trek aura about it. The fastest car averaged almost 44 miles per hour. I'd be interested in hearing what it sounded like. A golf cart? A hum? Or just wind?

The story unfolded like this:

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (06/08/2009) — The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project team came away this past weekend with a decisive first-place finish in the 2009 Formula Sun Grand Prix, a closed-track race at MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, Texas.

With its latest solar-powered car, named Centaurus, the team of engineering students from the university’s Institute of Technology completed 487 laps on the 1.7-mile, road-style track (827.9 miles total) throughout the three-day race. This was 94 more laps than the second-place finisher University of Kentucky. Northwestern University placed third. The University of Minnesota team also ran the fastest lap at two minutes and 20 seconds. Eleven solar car teams from across the country participated in the event this year.

“The team did a great job, helped others and pulled off a very clean race,” said Adem Rudin, the student crew chief of the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project team. This is the second consecutive Formula Sun Grand Prix victory for the University of Minnesota team. The race was last held in 2005 at the Heartland Park Raceway in Topeka, Kan., where the University of Minnesota solar car Borealis III took first place.

If you would like to support the team and its solar power research, here are some contacts that would love to hear from you.

Notice that they had the event in Texas. Odds are that Duluth MN was not a consideration. For back pocket trivia, did you know that Duluth has more overcast weather than London? I always thought London was synonymous with fog and dark, damp weather.

A theme song for Duluthians on a typical day: Waiting for the Sun. The lyrics go something like this. "Waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting..."

While we're thinking of suns and solar energy, here's the opening poem from a chapbook titled Helping the Sun Grow, by Elizabeth Sandy.

An Incipient Sun Worshiper

In the morning I look to the east,
To the pearly, luminescent glow,
And, like an ancient priest
I try to help the sun to grow.
"A warm day, a fair day," I softly cry.
And nature helps me as I strive.
Everything seems so timid and shy,
But warm, soft, pulsing and alive.
Then dark fog and uncertainty is dispersed
As Sun goes swinging gloriously high --
The underworld once more is cursed --
Our God giving light and warmth to the sky.
How easy to worship the wonderful sun,
If your mind is so unscientific.
So let's drift back five thousand years
And our days will all be terrific.

If you don't have sunshine today.... make your own! And share it brightly.
e.