This Week: A Salute to Women Drivers and Racing

You know, it seems that there's still a widely held notion that cars and racing are a purely man's domain even in these "enlightened" times. But nothing could be further from the truth in my opinion. Women have made great strides in not only the racing world, but have also taken on other car-related areas such as mechanics and customs that are usually dominated by us dudes, and I think that's a cause to celebrate. So ladies and gentlemen, start your engines for this week's video blog tribute to women drivers and women in the car racing world.

The catalyst of this week's video blog concept came courtesy of a chance meeting with the June 7, 2009 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle at a coffee shop. The front page of the sports section had an article debating the potential reality of IndyCar phenomenon Danica Patrick jumping to the big time NASCAR circuit when her contract with Andretti-Green Racing expires at the conclusion of the current season. Racing fans and critics alike have been making a fuss about Patrick since basically the beginning of her racing career, and her off-track exploits such as doing racy swimsuit pictorials and commercials have certainly added fuel to the fire. However, Patrick's having a damn good IndyCar season this year, finishing in the top 5 four times and placing 3rd in the all-important Indianapolis 500.

This video comes from her most recent IndyCar outing at the Texas Indy 550 from June 7, 2009. This particular stretch of video highlights Danica jockeying for position against Dan Wheldon for the number 5 position. Ultimately, Ms. Patrick would end up finishing 6th in the Texas Race. One reason I like this video is we get not just the "around the track" view, but also we get to cruise along with Danica from the camera positioned on top of her vehicle. Whether Danica Patrick is NASCAR bound or not, she's certain to continue attracting attention wherever she goes.