Weight Matters

More Danica backlash. As things have cooled down, folks are starting to look a little more critically at Robby Gordon's comment that Danica Patrick enjoys an advantage over her male (and larger) competitors because (a) she weighs less than they do and (b) the IRL, in a change from almost every other motorsport, does not include the driver when enforcing the minimum weight requirement of the rules. Robby may not have a lot of tact, but he has a point. I know from experience.

This year and last I have autocrossed in the same class, STS (Street Touring Street tire), in similarly prepared small cars. Last year, in my current-generation Sentra, I struggled to crack the top three and was regularly 2-3 seconds off the winner. This year, in my 1st-generation Neon, I'm in the fight every event and within .5-1 second of the winner (unless I win, of course). The main difference between the two car? Weight - the Sentra weighs about 250 pounds more than the Neon. Not only does that help the same 145 horsepower go further in terms of acceleration, it makes the car brake better and handle better. I've even seen recommendations on autocross discussion boards that drivers lose weight in stock and near-stock classes as a way of becoming more competitive.

Now, the IRL braintrust might be correct that, on an oval, the weight differential doesn't mean that much. But still, if you can wait .1 of a second before braking coming into the pits or power back out of the pits .1 sec quicker than everybody else, that's an advantage. Is it unfair? No - Danica's in the same shape that a small male driver would be in. But any advantage is an advantage, PC politics be damned.