While it's suddenly fashionable to talk about women in racing, the discussion is rather empty without giving a nod to Janet Guthrie. While most fans will remember her simply as the first woman driver to race in the Indianapolis 500, Guthrie also carved out a small career driving NASCAR as well.

For her troubles, she is being honored today with induction in the Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talledega. By troubles I am referring not only to the treatment she received by her fellow drivers but also her valiant efforts to drive on inferior equipment.

It's ironic that Danica! has had so much popularity while less than 30 years ago Guthrie was but a novelty in racing. Perhaps if she looked more like Jaclyn Smith she would have had a wider range of support.

I was engaging in a discussion on the ESPN Message board with a Vulture about IRL drivers being in over their heads. I mentioned that I thought Scott Brayton – who at the time of the IRL/CART split was considered one of the top Open Wheel drivers to participate in the new series – was no less qualified because he dies on the track. The Vulture responded that Brayton was also unqualified.

75 starts and the best he could manage was one podium (3rd), a 5th and a couple of 6ths. 75 starts and he wrecked 11 times, including the race immediately before Indy in 1996. By that time he was lucky to have finally gotten a full time ride again after sitting out two years. Like most of the field fillers at Indy for most of recent history, he was way over his head.

Here is the where part I pull out the quote about statistics and damn lies. As anyone who was watching open-wheel racing in the mid-90s knows, Brayton was a very good driver who had a very bad engine. Here’s a nice summary from Wikipedia:

During the mid-1980s, Brayton helped introduce the powerful (but unreliable) Buick stock-block V-6 to Indianapolis. In 1985, he qualified 2nd but finished 30th when the engine expired. He would not finish the race again until 1989, when he scored his best finish at the Speedway, 6th place but seven laps down. He would equal this finishing position in 1993, driving a Lola-Cosworth.

When Buick pulled out of IndyCar racing in 1993, John Menard continued developing the engine under the Menard V-6 name. Brayton, now without a regular ride in the IndyCar series, joined the Indy-only team in 1994. Their belief in the powerplant paid off when Brayton won his first pole position in 1995, at an average speed of 231.604 mph. Again, persistent problems with the Menard engine relegated him to 17th place at the finish.

In 1996, Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George established the Indy Racing League, and the Menard team signed up to compete in their first full season of IndyCar racing. Because the established "stars" of open-wheel racing competed in the rival CART series, Brayton (and rookie teammate, Tony Stewart) were considered legitimate contenders for the IRL title. After a bad start to the season, Brayton asserted his competitiveness by winning his second Indy pole after a dramatic qualifying session in which he withdrew an already-qualified car to get a second chance at taking the top spot.

It is also noted that Brayton's fatal accident was the result of tire failure during a practice run, which does nothing to support the argument that he was “in over his head.”

I decided to look up some statistics on accident percentages on current drivers and compare them with Brayton’s career. While the drivers atop today’s standings all had lower percentages, there were several who were not only worse but A LOT WORSE that Brayon’s 14.7%. Check this out:

Tomas Enge - 18 starts, 7 accidents (38.9%)
Tomas Schekter - 64 starts, 21 accidents (32.8%)
Ed Carpenter - 38 starts, 12 accidents (31.6%)
Eddie Cheever Jr - 72 starts, 14 accidents (19.4%)
Scott Sharp - 118 starts, 20 accidents (16.9%)
Scott Dixon - 52 starts, 8 accidents (15.4%)
Scott Brayton - 75 starts, 11 accidents (14.7%)
Buddy Rice - 53 starts, 7 accidents (13.2%)
Buddy Lazier - 93 starts, 11 accidents (11.8%)

Anybody else notice anything strange about this? I mean, look at the first names of the drivers. It’s just really weird how the names trend in terms of percentages. Regardless, it looks like Brayton compared favorably to two other Scotts who have proven they belong in the IRL.

Do you think the other drivers would noticeably stay away from the Vision and Cheever teams (the top 4!) if they knew these percentages? No wonder these teams don’t have sponsors.

One last item: Sure it’s a small sample size, but let’s note the guy who started the discussion.

Paul Dana - 3 starts, 0 accidents (0.00%)

Iif you’re going to make an argument about unsafe drivers then at least use the drivers who are actually unsafe as an example. Otherwise please stop the Vulture madness, and just enjoy the racing.

Old No. 2 must be obligated to spout these online commentaries, because his latest doesn’t tell you much of what you don’t already know.

Helio's best competition right now is his Marlboro Team Penske teammate, Sam Hornish Jr., as well as Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon. Hornish, Dixon, Wheldon, and Andretti Green Racing drivers Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti are all in the same group as far as the way they are running on the track; but Castroneves just seems to be a notch above all of them right now.

Spiderman is a nose (maybe Tony Kanaan’s) away from winning all three races this season and he’s “just a notch above“ the other drivers? I guess everyone is entitled to their opinions, but right now Mr. “drive it like I stole it” has led OVER HALF (266 of 500) of all laps in the series. C’mon, that’s at least two notches, right?

I’ll spare you a breakdown of the whole piece, but here’s the money quote.

One driver to watch next month is Danica Patrick…I'm expecting big things out of her next month.

Yes, Old No. 2 has caught Danica! Fever or Mania or whatever it’s called. Either that or this is a puff piece designed to drum up support among passive viewers by mentioning the only driver they know. Whatever the reason, allow me to take Rusty’s premise of “Motegi is the best indicator for how next month's Indianapolis 500 could turn out” and compare teammates:

Driver A starts 14th at Motegi, finishes 8th, best finish at Indy was 4th.

Driver B starts 18th at Motegi, finishes 5th, best finish at Indy was 1st.

I’m no former NASCAR driver, but if I had to put money on one of those two I’d go with B as in Buddy Rice. You would think a paid analyst would point out things like “Patrick has raced well but her teammate was better” instead of this “Let’s all love Danica” drivel. Sadly, you would be wrong.

While this weekend's Indy Japan 300 at Motegi was exciting, it was kind of a boat race. Spiderman started on the pole, went essentially wire to wire, climbed the fence, and even broke out another “I drove it like I stole it” after winning. So in the end, it was an exciting race for field position other than the lead.

What made this race different from every other race was that the broadcasters were unable to control the video feed for much of the race. I am presuming Nippon TV or some such entity had all the cameras and was directing the race while Marty, Scotty and Rusty were chatting about what they saw - not unlike Myster Science Theater 3000. Also, Dr Punch was in the pits without his other two sidekicks – and really, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Anyhow, here a few things I noticed watching this really strange race:

The first 17 laps were gone. Didn’t happen. Perhaps someone lost the feed at ESPN, but for whatever reason the introduction and pre-race interviews were shown TWICE, then suddenly we jump ahead to the 18th lap. This was truly uncalled for since the race was broadcast on ESPN 12 hours after it occurred? How does this problem not get fixed in 12 hours? As a result, those first few laps are like the missing minutes from Nixon’s personal tape collection.

I was amazed at the speculation of what caused Scott Sharp’s car to spin left on a restart at lap 41, resulting in a frightening wreck for Jeff Simmons. While three separate announcers were guessing if the cause was a flat tire, a broken suspension, or oil on the track, NO ONE seemed to notice the car at the back (I think it was Marco Andretti, although the crawler indicated it was Giaffone) spin exactly the same way in exactly the same spot at Sharp’s car. I’m thinking it was probably not enough Oil Dry or one doozy of a coinicidence.

Speaking of the Simmons, after the week he had I’m guessing perhaps the No. 17 Ethanol car is actually cursed. Maybe it's because it's green (hey, Tony Kanaan hasn't won at Indy.)

As bad as it was seeing the No. 17 upside down, the scariest moment was watching Mr. Judd take out his tire changer on a routine pit entry. It was reported the victim returned to the track on crutches later, but it looked like the poor guy would have torn every CL in his leg. Mr. Judd should offer his wife for the duration of the poor fellow's recovery.

While Rusty was talking about Tony Kanaan’s charge to the front, the television feed kept showing Danica! in 8th place. Nice to know the mania has spread overseas as well. I would have guessed they would have kept showing homeland driver Kosuke, but I didn’t notice much coverage of his race.

Perhaps the strangest bit was Kanaan telling Dr Punch he just got off the phone with his mom and she said to thank Old No 2 for talking about him. I love my mom, but I don’t call her immediately at the end of my work day. Maybe this just says a lot about the current proliferation of telecommunication around the globe.

UPDATE: The mystery spinner at the back of the field on lap 41 was actually Buddy Lazier.

While it rained enough to cancel qualifications in Motegi this week - meaning the starting grid will be based on current standing in series points - there was still time for some drivers to test their vehicles. Indeed, there was time for some to even wreck their vehicles.

While preparing for his first race as the replacemnt for the late Paul Dana in the No. 17, Jeff Simmons touched the wall in both turn 4 and the entry to pit lane. Simmons was examined and released from the local medical facilities, but one can't help but wonder which Paul Dana Vulture wants to start berating Simmons for not being ready to drive yet.

Lost in the endless stories of the tragic death of Paul Dana was the slightly less earth-shattering news that Danica! was pursuing the marketing of her own fragrance. That’s a perfume for those of you in the rest of America.

Now, presumably this will not make someone smell like they just spent several hours in a firesuit on a hot summer day, but no matter the scent I’m not quite sure who would buy this. Does a guy buy it to make his girl smell like Danica? Oh, that wouldn’t go over very well now. Does a girl buy this to make herself smell like her man’s favorite reason for not spending time with her on Sunday? I’m guessing no.

No name has been released yet – in fact, as of last month Danica! was still looking to close an endorsement deal. However, you can peruse several suggestions including "Deep Throttle," "Va-Va-Vroom," and "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines."

While many race fans (perhaps even most) expected 2005 series champion Dan Wheldon to make the jump to Formula One this season, it turns out he was only offered a deal as a test driver. I believe that's called "dissing."

Boulder Dan says he still has his eyes on Bernie Ecclestone's brand of racing, perhaps as soon as next year.

Vitor Miera has 30 fans, and none of them are old enough to drive.

When asked why Vitor was her favorite driver, one fan mentioned "the color of the car he drove last year for the Rahal Letterman team and the fact that he was cute."

Cute car, cute driver...she'll never cheer for this guy.

Speaking of a never-was, Tomas Enge will be driving for the ever-busy Eddie Cheever, Jr this year in Motegi. Enge will look to build on his stellar resume of eight finishes in 17 starts.

The registrations are in for this year's running of the Indianapolis 500 and right now there are 38 entries comprised of 66 cars (backups and batteries are included.) However, only 26 of those entries have drivers.

I'm well aware the 12 driverless vehicles will not direct themselves around the track, so who knows what has-been or never-was will get the chance to drive this year. I wonder if anyone would be willing to give one of these folks a shot.