Volume 23 Backseat Drivers: What are your thoughs on the Danica Patrick/ Dan Wheldon incident in the IRL?  Did Danica act accordingly?  What would you have done if you were Dan Wheldon?Patrick/ Dan Wheldon incident a few  

Arianne:Daddy always said; “Never hit a girl”.  Maybe Daddy should have elaborated. In this case, Dan Wheldon did what he had to do, which was…. nothing. He turned the other cheek to avoid the backlash that would have ensued had he lput a hand on DanicaPatrick. This respect should go both ways.  She was undoubtedly acting out of pure emotion but the same could have been said for any push, shove or slap that Wheldon might have unleashed.  When men and women compete together in any type of sport, the rules should be the same for everyone. I think most people will agree that Wheldon proved he was a class act by respecting a woman and a fellow competitor.  

Maryann:Not really sure about this one, in my honest opinion, I think what she did was wrong. If he had come up to her after a race, and did that to her he would have been crucified by the press and other drivers. If she wants to race with the men, she has to act like one of them. It seems that she pulled out the girl card when she was mad. That wasn't right at all.

Sheree: Honestly, I feel what happened, happened.  Get over it…Girl drivers can  be just as aggressive as male drivers, and its about time Danica laid it all out on the line. I can’t say I would have done anything different if a male competitor ticked me off too! Racing is racing, NO MATTER what sex you are! Some times I think females harbor more hard feelings then men do, and if someone got into me and I had a beef with them, I would have done the same exact thing. Whether its right or wrong doesn’t matter, drivers get into fights with each other all the time! In saying that, emotions are emotions, and all I can say is, watch out boys…The ladies are on the PROWL!

Paulo: "After reading several news about the Milwaukee issue, I started to wonder: why is everyone on Danica's case so hard when in 1990, at Suzuki (Japan), the late Ayrton Senna took out Marlboro Ferrari (no less) driver Alain Prost by letting his own car drift enough to get into Prost's line. Several years later, he (my country mate) admitted it had been intentional, and nobody even blinked. Of course, the move gave Senna the 1990 crown. Are we all living over new rules, or are MissDanicaPatrick "bold moves" just convenient target for those drivers who seek targets? IMHO, every driver -- at IRL, NASCAR NEXTEL, Formula One and Copa Nextel Stock Car V8 (the Brazilian version of NASCAR) -- made "bold moves..."

Brianna:I love Dan and Danica...racing is racing.  Incidents like this happen all the time not only in motor sports but in any sport.  Talk is cheap just get on with the racing.  When the race starter says "Gentlemen and Ladies start your engines" then both genders need to act accordingly, like a gentleman and a lady.  Fight is out on the track not face to face in the pits afterwards.

Heather: I believe Danica did the right thing by confronting Dan Wheldon after the race. And yes, I stress after the race. I'm glad she didn't put anyone else in jeopardy. However, I feel her shoving Wheldon was not the right thing to do. Things like this should be settled with words, not fists.  By not retaliating, Wheldon came out ahead in this situation.t
 

Kris:I didn't actually see what happened that day because I was watching NASCAR coverage on another channel. But Danica, being a woman, is just more apt to show her emotions and she's more apt to carry a grudge around with her. Dan's action of just walking away was really the only thing he could do. Had the actions been in private, he may have been more willing to spar with her verbally, but I believe he did what most men do in a fight with a woman- stay quiet.

Lissa:No I don't think she acted accordingly.  Its one thing to go up to a fellow competitor after a race and have a 'friendly little discussion' with them, and it's another to go up to them and grab and shove them.  You have to have respect for your competitors, or else they're not going to have respect toward you.