From sex symbol to real threat

Although much of the mainstream media hailed Danica Patrick's IRL victory as a boost to IndyCar racing and predicted that Patrick's marketability would soar, it's interesting to see the reaction of popular sports blogs, where her historic win topped the discussion, according to Sports Business Daily. Not surprisingly, some (including the Deadspin and The Big Lead) found reason in Patrick's win to question the validity of auto racing as a sport or invited degrading, sexist comments from fans. What will be interesting over the next few months will be to see how mainstream coverage of Patrick evolves, as she has proven the ability of women to threaten the dominance of men in this sport.