They ran the Indianapolis 500 last Sunday for the 87th time. Gil DeFerran won, Helio Castroneves was second, (both driving for Roger Penske) and Tony Kanaan, driving for Michael Andretti, was third. All three are from Brazil.
The 500 has become the showpiece of the Indy Racing League, created to allow American drivers a chance to shine where their talents were developed … on ovals. Hasn’t turned out that way.
Alex Barron in sixth was the highest placing American. Rookie of the year was Tora Takagi, who finished 5th.
Chevy was the only American engine in the race. Buddy Rice drove the highest placing Chevy to eleventh place. Of the first seven places, six were powered by Toyota, with Kanaan’s Honda breaking up the sixpack.
There was one driver who did not make much of a splash in the 500 but who can’t say she did not get her share of pre-race coverage. The gender pronoun means, of course, that we’re talking about Sarah Fisher. Fisher, from central Ohio, started 23rd and crashed into 31st when her engine locked up and her car slid into the wall.
But it’s another activity by Fisher, made possible by her racing. That is something none of her competitors this year can do.
Fisher is working on an engineering degree and is lending her presence to a new Girl Scout campaign called “Girls Go Tech.” The campaign started in May.
Fisher displayed the Girl Scout servicemark on her car and her driving suit at the 500 this year and will continue to do so for the rest of the IRL season.
The campaign is intended to encourage girls’ interest in science, math, engineering and technology. The Girl Scout Research Institute says that its studies show that girls tend to make career choices based on role models, rather than academic interests. So they need some role models who are involved in technology pursuits.
The association with Sarah Fisher is seen as a way to get girls to realize that, with some perseverance they can find success in non-traditional fields.
I can’t help but think, no condescension intended, that a female approach to an engineering problem could result in a fresh, creative, solution.
The “Girls Go Tech” campaign though is more than a patch and a decal. The effort includes public service announcements aimed at making adults, educators, corporations, organizations, legislators and the media aware that they can help more girls see their futures in math, science and technology.
A couple of retirement stories. Funny how I am developing an interest in other peoples’ retirements.
Michael Chang ended his career as a player on the professional tennis circuit on Tuesday when he was knocked out of the French Open by Fabrice Santoro. Chang chose the French Open as his final event because that is where his pro career took off in 1988.
At the age of 16 Chang was given a wildcard entry into the tournament. He responded by playing his way into the third round. At 17, he came back and became the youngest champion ever. Fighting cramps, he upset the powerful Ivan Lendl in a round-of-16 match and went five sets against Stefan Edberg for the title.
It was the first time an American had won the French since Tony Trabert 35 years earlier.
Tough as he was, it turned out that the ’89 French title was the only major of his career.
As Michael Chang ends a 17 year career, Patrick Roy (Wah) has announced he has had enough after 18 in the National Hockey League.
Considered one of the greatest goalies in NHL history, Roy is the career leader in wins with 551 and in games played with 1029, as well as playoff victories and shutouts. Earlier this season he became the first goalie to play more than 60 thousand minutes.
He won two Stanley Cups with Montreal and two with Colorado. He is the only person to win the Conn Smythe Trophy three times. The Conn Smythe goes to the MVP of the playoffs.
He took the so called butterfly style of goal tending started by Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito in the 1960’s and 70’s and kicked it up a notch, putting more action and aggression into the position than ever before.
Both Michael Chang, who kicked off and ended his career at the French Open Tennis Tournament, and Patrick Roy, who grew up in French speaking Quebec, will be missed by their respective sports.
Ironique, nez pas?