INDIANAPOLIS 500 MILE RACE WILL HAVE FOUR LADY PARTICIPANTS!

The 2011 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race coming soon should be very exciting for those who would like to see a lady cross the finish line first.  The race, which will be televised live on ABC this coming Sunday, May 29, will have four ladies driving.  The average qualifying speeds for the four (based upon their four-lap averages over a total of 10 miles) was 224,267.  By contrast the pole winner, Alex Tagliani, qualified at 227.472.  However, if you were to average his speed with those of the other 29 male drivers, the numbers would be measurably closer.

This is really not a serious gender competition for me but I freely admit that I would be delighted to see the ladies do well and a win would be fantastic.  Perhaps my being the father of 3 “girls” and just one “boy” is a factor here.  Ladies I’ve known, particularly my mother and my mother-in-law, have caused me to have a great respect for their gender and the obstacles they’ve faced through history.   The bottom-line hope is that it’s a clean race and that no one gets hurt.  This kind of racing is truly a team sport and strategy can also make a world of difference.  I believe that luck is a key factor also.   Of the ladies, Pippa Mann is my favorite even though this will be her first race in an IndyCar.  If she can stay out of trouble early in the helter-skelter of the start and first 20 laps or so – I think she has a chance to do well.  She has never done a pit stop in a race before so this could be a factor also.  My emotional favorites among the men are number 43, John Andretti (a real gentleman), number 23, Paul Tracy (temperamental, unyielding), and number 67, Ed Carpenter (Sarah Fisher’s driver).

ABC broadcasting begins at 11 am.  The driver introduction is scheduled to occur at 11:30 and I expect the checkered flag to drop at noon – weather permitting.

Here are the ladies – a left click on the image should enlarge it for you:

The Ladies of the 2011 Indy-500