Driving a racing car is in fact quite demanding and even violent, but this depends greatly on the type of car. Formula One cars, Indycars, and Prototype sports cars are by far the most physically demanding racecars on the planet due to the G forces generated by both change of direction and deceleration. In NASCAR however, you don’t see G forces that are as high or as violent as what you see in open-wheeled or prototype cars. Since stock cars race primarily on ovals, the G forces generated tend to be lower and also softer in nature, due to the fact that the cars aren’t changing direction in the instantaneous way that an F1 or Indycar can. Deceleration in other cars is just as violent, but again, you are never really using the brakes on a stock car oval such as Daytona, and stock cars don’t generate anything like the stopping power of an F1 car, due to their weight and somewhat rudimentary steel brake rotors. Fact is, NASCAR isn’t all that physically demanding. Compare a portly Tony Stewart to F1 ace Fernando Alonso, or Indycar veteran Tony Kanaan. They’re in a completely different league.

Danica’s biggest advantage is the fact that she’s smaller and lighter than everyone else. In a racecar, weight is everything and removing any excess pounds is a priority as it will gain you time.

I am always a bit peeved whenever a person is publically advertized as “the first [woman, minority,etc] to do_______.” WHY do you do it? In this story, why didn’t you focus on her religion( whatever it might be) instead of her gender? Eg “Danica is the first Aethiest to win the pole position,” You didn’t because it is irrelevent, like I feel, so is her gender. Would you announce a person who won the pole position as “the first obese person to win the pole position” ? No, you wouldn’t. The first red head? These are all physical attributes that are irrelevent! For all of my accomplishments it is condescending and irrelevent to attach my gender to it! I have done numerous firsts as a girl/woman, but that I was a female, I have always felt, was not pertenent and was actually distracting from my actual accomplishment. As a youngster I admired smart, accomplished adults – no matter their gender, ethnicity, etc. I think it does a dis-service to the young that they need to see famous people exactly like them in ordered to be inspired to do great things. In my growing years, I never saw, met, or heard of a woman engineer…but that is what I chose to become because there were engineers (men) that I admired. Also I didn’t have the media pointing out to me that it was an odd/rare goal. Stressing Danica’s gender/size is a constant detractions to her skills and determination to do what she loves.
Thank you.