You know, I'm not a prude. I know and use my share of 4-letter words (usually when no one can hear me) and I understand swearing in the heat of the moment, TO A DEGREE. But, there is a point where that is just plain unacceptable. Like last season, when Kurt Busch's foul-mouthed post-race diatribe with ESPN reporter Jerry Punch went viral on the web. Kurt lost a coveted ride over that, and I can't say it wasn't deserved.
This past weekend, Danica Patrick, highly touted to be the 'greatest female racer ever' (yet to be proven, I might add) came on the radio during the race at Bristol and littered the radio feed with enough F-words to put her in an R-rated One Star gang movie. This is the role-model I want my God-child to look up to??? This is a competitor who thinks that being treated like one of the boys means swearing like one of the boys? If Danica thinks that makes her the equal to the other drivers in NASCAR then perhaps she is missing the point completely. Granted, Lynn St. James, Janet Guthrie and Shirley Muldowney were not pinup gals trying to race--but they didn't even attempt to be. They burned with the desire to race because they loved the sport and were not worried about trying to attract sponsorship by any means other than sheer talent.
I'm trying to overlook Danica's sex-pot attempts in those shoddy Go-Daddy commercials where you start to wonder, watching those, how she was ever seriously considered as a true racer. Indeed, the Danica you see at the track is missing the lush hair-extensions, sexy makeup and star treatment you see in those ads. I can understand trying to capitalize for the sake of getting a sponsor--to a degree. I do not agree with her attitude that swearing like an R-rated gangsta is needed, necessary or even desirable in a racer. The only thing it proves is that she cannot control her vocabulary on a national broadcast. Especially since she is portrayed as a role model to young gals and (yes) guys who want to become racers. If you are taking your kids to the races, be careful which radio frequencies you let your kids listen to. You might just want to avoid Danica's channel.
Maybe she did good getting a competent finish at Bristol in the Nationwide race, but her foul-mouthed diatribe during the Cup race earns her an F (that's for "FAILURE") in my book.
