Weighty Issue: Petite Patrick Critical Of New IRL Rule

Patrick Upset With IRL's New Minimum Car Weight Rule

The minimum weight for IRL cars beginning this season will include the driver, and, as a result, driver Danica Patrick feels she will be "penalized for being petite," according to Nate Ryan of USA TODAY. Patrick, who at 100 pounds is listed as the series' lightest driver in the '07 IRL media guide, said of the new rule: "If someone's going to take a hit, it's going to be me. It's disappointing the league decided to do that. In so many other sports, athletes don't get penalized for being too strong or too tall or too fast." IRL VP/PR John Griffin said that the rule is "intended to reduce the difference  between the lightest and heaviest drivers, which is a gap that can range from 75 to 100 pounds." Griffin: "This is not a Danica rule. You look at guys like Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti, and they're light guys." Griffin would not disclose the cars' minimum weight, but said that drivers are "broken into three weight classifications." The heaviest would have weight reduced from its car while the lightest would have a "maximum 35 pounds of ballast added." Patrick "admits to having had a slight speed edge from weighing less." In an '05 AP story, rival teams "estimated Patrick might gain nearly 1 mph because of her weight" (USA TODAY, 3/25).