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Indy Racing League To Count Driver in Weighing the Cars
HOMESTEAD, Florida — As regulations go, this one is causing more than the usual amount of media interest. Andretti Green Racing stands to lose the most from the new Indy Racing League regulation that the driver will be counted in the total minimum weight of a team's racing car. The Andretti team's ace, petite Danica Patrick, barely tips the scales at 100 pounds.
An IRL spokesman quoted by USA Today emphasized that the new regulation is "not a Danica rule" and pointed out that many Indy drivers are on the small side. The heaviest this season, in fact, is the far-from-obese Ed Carpenter, who weighs in at 165 pounds. Still, that is a 65-pound weight differential between his car and hers once they climb in. It has been estimated that Patrick's team could benefit from as much as a 1-mph average advantage because of her light weight.
Under the new rule, drivers will be divided into three categories based on their weight, and the heavy group will get weight cut from their cars, while the lightest will get ballast added.
Patrick, who drives the number 7 Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, says it's not her fault she's small — and adds that she hopes winning despite the new rule will be the ultimate revenge for her and her team.
You can see Danica for yourself this coming weekend, when she and the rest of the IRL drivers will open the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway — or the Monday after, March 30, when she will be featured on the ABC TV program Oprah's Big Give.
What this means to you: With all this weight talk, we can't resist adding that the inaugural IRL race will feature a driver named Will Power. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
An IRL spokesman quoted by USA Today emphasized that the new regulation is "not a Danica rule" and pointed out that many Indy drivers are on the small side. The heaviest this season, in fact, is the far-from-obese Ed Carpenter, who weighs in at 165 pounds. Still, that is a 65-pound weight differential between his car and hers once they climb in. It has been estimated that Patrick's team could benefit from as much as a 1-mph average advantage because of her light weight.
Under the new rule, drivers will be divided into three categories based on their weight, and the heavy group will get weight cut from their cars, while the lightest will get ballast added.
Patrick, who drives the number 7 Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, says it's not her fault she's small — and adds that she hopes winning despite the new rule will be the ultimate revenge for her and her team.
You can see Danica for yourself this coming weekend, when she and the rest of the IRL drivers will open the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway — or the Monday after, March 30, when she will be featured on the ABC TV program Oprah's Big Give.
What this means to you: With all this weight talk, we can't resist adding that the inaugural IRL race will feature a driver named Will Power. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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