Danica Patrick Leads Daytona 500 Field

Although the ASC’s coalition of sports doesn’t include motor sports, some of us are auto racing fans. So we’d like to congratulate Danica Patrick on her recent qualifying time that earned her pole position for the 2013 Daytona 500.

Danica deserves tremendous praise for her accomplishment. We’d like to point out that Title IX had nothing to do with her success. While that might sound curious, we have good reason to go to pains to point it out. Many years ago, earlier in her career, the Wall Street Journal actually tried to make the connection between her success in auto racing and Title IX even though auto racing has never been a sport sponsored by the NCAA.

As Patrick said herself:

“I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl,” she said. “That was instilled in me from very young, from the beginning.”

We should also point out that Patrick isn’t the only female race car driver that doesn’t expect to get any breaks from her competitors, and won’t be handing them out either. Back in the Indy Racing League where Patrick first came to prominence, Simona DeSilvestro and Katherine Legge are still tearing it up and looking to win the Indy 500 title that eluded Patrick. Good luck to all of them, and anyone who doesn’t ask for anything from sports but the opportunity to compete and a level playing field.