Danica's just doing her job

Scott Dixon wanted the world to know how he felt about Danica Patrick after the series visit to Iowa and didn't mince words, slapping the term "menace" on her. Was it deserved? Aggressive - yes. Driven, tough, uncompromising - yes, yes and yes. A menace? Um, no.

Does Danica make it hard to pass? Does she block? Does she push? Yea. Has she caused crashes - or even near crashes - this season? No. Have there been drivers who had no business being out there - weaving, pushing drivers out of their groove, being off the pace. Yes, many times.

In a run of three recent races Marco Andretti's driving caused three crashes but nary of criticism outside of the team. I'm a big believer in Andretti's abilities and, thanks to open and honest discussion between Andretti-Green's drivers, Marco was more focused by Iowa - his front-row start at Richmond proving that.

But why did Dixon's statements get so much press, and why say anything at all? Because he is talking about Danica and he did win the Indy 500 - and the media loves to pick up on any nugget of controversy surrounding her.

Bottom line - had anyone been critical against Marco, it wouldn't have caused so much interest as it has when Dixon hits out against Danica.

In some ways Scott's statement, made in the heat of the moment, may have been more than he genuinely meant. But, as he was quoted in an article in the Indianapolis Star, "Obviously after the race you're more hot-headed than anything and that's probably when you're going to say things, but some of the things she does in races are too much."

There are many of those who are critical about Danica's driving, particularly other racers. But I've always felt that when the criticism isn't shared by race officials then the truth is somewhere toward the middle. Yes, she's aggressive and won't make it easy for others to pass her, but she's not going to cause a wreck to prevent the pass.

At least one driver compared her to Scott Sharp, who had a similar reputation. While Sharp was certainly aggressive, like Danica, I don't recall a steady stream of wrecks following his career.

Bottom line - driver's are paid to race - to win, not to make friends or play nice. Some use tactics and strategy to move ahead; some use engineering skill to work the car to the front; and some, like Danica, use speed and technique to get to the front. Sam Hornish, Jr. did, to great affect. And not many complained about him...