Kartherine Legge Gets Screwed; Women in Open-Wheel? Anyone? Bueller?

So let's recap ...

Katherine Legge is no longer driving for TrueCar Racing, which, after a lot of hoo-ha last year, is apparently scaling back its support of female drivers, as evidenced by replacing its female driver in IndyCar with a male. Which prompted this grand mal whine post (you've been warned) ...

First, Katherine Legge got shanked ... again. The whole 2012 season was kind of a shit sandwich for Katherine, with the Lotus thing being the shit in said sandwich. (Update: Katherine's statement re: said shanking is here. Dragon/TrueCar's statement claiming there was no shanking here.)

The Lotus-powered car Katherine had to drive up until Indy had all the fierce power of a circus clown car (ask Simona De Silvestro about it). Then came the desperate negotiations/drama pre-Indy to get rid of the sLotus and get a Chevy. That forced Legge into a last-possible-second Indy rookie test situation. Which forced Katherine Legge to get up to 220-ish on what's hailed as the world's most famous, hardest race course under the glare of the Indy 500 attention, with her sponsors realy really really wanting to be in the race ... in about an hour. And she did it.

Compounding all this were the difficulties/inexperience inherent in a new team (Dragon Racing). But, they figured it out -- big hat tip to Legge's teammate Sebastien Bourdais here who helped shake the car down and say "it's still screwy" (paraphrasing) -- and after killing her rookie test Katherine qualified easily. (Read her comments about it here.)

But then, since Dragon had to drop a buttload of cash to get out of its Lotus predicament, they could only get/afford ONE Chevy engine, so Legge had to share the ride with Bourdais. Awesome for both! Partial season is better than no season and all that, so everyone soldiered on. But I strongly believe their was a bunch of rancor and gnashing of the teeth within the team as a result of this whole Lotus debacle.

Besides her total performance at Indy, which was impressive if you look at it objectively (hahahahahaha I used "objective" connected to racing), Legge finished P9 in the finale at Fontana, and would have likely done even better if she had not made a rookie-mistake of speeding in the pits.

So yesterday she got tossed by TrueCar, which decided to keep their cash with Dragon Racing who gave it to Sebastian Saavedra. Adios, Katherine. Just like that.

Welp, that's racing, and -- while I have nothing against Saavedra who I don't even know -- I'm pissed about it for two reasons. One, I'm a fan of Katherine's. She's a little enigmatic. She's not the super warm fuzzy extrovert. She's not super sharing of every detail of her life. She's not a crusader for a cause. I can relate to this. In some sense I think Katherine just wants to drive the f-ing car and isn't super excited about all the "soft skills" (schmoozing, etc.) that go with racing.

Which brings up the second reason I am pissed: I greatly dislike the requirement in racing that most drivers have to grub for money all the damn time in order to drive. Success in racing today is almost as much about personal marketing skills as it is driving skills, and that sucks. That's true in very very very few other sports. You don't see Kobe or LeBron having to work the hospitality suite before every game.

Parents and coaches in junior high and high school don't pull baseball players aside and say "You know, if you make  bunch of connections and develop some mad PowerPoint skills, you could make it to the majors!" The hoops you have to jump through to drive a race car are so insane I would never do it in a zillion years. The grubbing for money element of racing -- which existed to some extent even in the "good old days" --  I hate it. It's probably the worst in IndyCar since money is so so so so scarce and drivers have to suppliment the crappy marketing ROI with heavy-duty schmoozing.

I even realize I'm being bi-polar here -- which again makes me a racing fan -- because like every one else I love it when it works for my driver. So when Katherine attracted TrueCar sponsorship because she was female -- it was the "Women Empowered" campaign after all -- I was happy. I didn't want racing to be a meritocracy then. And who knows if it was strictly talent-based how the Women of pressdog® I root for would fair. But I'd prefer that, frankly, to the cash grubbing that is endemic to the sport.

But can racing EVER be purely merit based? No. Why? Because the role of money is so HUGE in racing it's this massive variable that talent can't overcome. Rick Mears in his prime couldn't have stayed on the lead lap in a Lotus on an oval last year. A shitty car and a great driver means at best mediocre results, especially on an oval. So the idea that the car is like a basketball, the same for everyone, is ludicrious and blows the merit-based arugment to shit. Was Danica Patrick REALLY a better oval driver than Sarah Fisher in 2006? REALLY? It's just impossible to say yes or no due to the equipment/team talent factor -- hence the decades-old debate over such questions. Danica attracted more money and that was a factor in her success. Danica has said so herself. How big of a factor? Cue the continuing debate.

Plus, what a FUBAR festival of politics and intrigue racing is. Since the car is so critically important to the performance, and there are a bunch of people who work on the car, and personalities like owners and sponsors involved, racing is more of a team sport than maybe any other. To illustrate: Tom Brady can be a complete and total prick off the field (I have no idea if he is or isn't but let's suppose) and it doesn't matter as long as he is awesome on the field. As long as he hits the open receiver in stride it doesn't matter if he's as exciting as the bubonic plague with "sponsors."

But in racing, you can be really good on the track (Ryan Briscoe) and still out of a job for some reason only known to God that relates back to these "soft skills" I hate, or the fact that you've not grubbed for money well enough. At the end of the day, in today's racing on-track performance alone just isn't enough.You gotta be tight with the right people or you're done. You gotta have legions of fans to go with that on-track performance. So if Penske runs out of money and has to go from three drivers to two and then the third driver has to look for a job, racing resume could be the fifth most important thing on the list of hiring criteria, behind "how he looks in a suit" or does he make the big sponsor laugh? Can he play tennis? It's all just lunacy and making me both bi-polar and mental, as you can probably tell.

So if a driver like Katherine is preceived as anything but whatever by all these personalities drivers have to work with expect, then she's out even if she does light it up on the track. Welp, that's racing. I've seen behind the rope in racing just enough to see some of the bullshit, intrigue and Festival of Rumors that goes on and it's not pretty at all.

Second, cue the open-wheel female exodus -- Um, OK, only Simona De Silvestro is in for a full season of IndyCar, and the ladder system seems estrogen free as well. Simona is where she is because her sponsors love her, personally, as opposed to any team. See rant above bout that. Ashley Freiberg has bolted from Star Mazda to a sports car series. Shannon McIntosh appears to be done with open-wheel and glad about it. Female sprint car drivers (just like the males) are seeing opportunity in the NASCAR ladder. The pipeline of female open-wheel drivers seems pretty empty. Probably doesn't bother anybody except those of us who support women in racing.

So, to use a phrase I find odious, I guess "it is what it is." My advice to everyone seeking employment is always "go where the jobs are." Same applies to racing. Better to drive something with fenders than nothing at all. And don't look under the rocks in racing ... lots of icky bugs wriggling around under there.

Comments

[Brett]

Giving someone a job (or sponsorship in this case) just because of someones gender is just as not giving someone a job (or sponsorship in this case) just because of their gender!!!

If you want to complain about how a driver is getting screwed because they don't bring a lot of money with them why not make a post about a Indy pole winning driver, a multiple race winning driver and an almost (except for a brain fart mistake leaving pit road) IndyCar champion?

[Roy Hobbson]

"Success in racing today is almost as much about personal marketing skills as it is driving skills, and that sucks. That's true in very very very few other sports."

That is why IndyCar is not technically a "sport." It is a touring, business-minded entertainment production. Like a play. No play can consist entirely of the world's most talented actors - it would be too expensive. By contrast, the NFL & NBA & PGA & MLB & European soccer leagues & professional bowling & professional boxing & the NHL consist ENTIRELY of world's most talented/deserving athletes in their respective sport.

That's not to say that IndyCar drivers aren't athletes, because they are. It's just that they may not be the most talented athletes available, because entertainment production aren't cheap & somebody's gotta pay the bills.

[Tammy Kaehler]

Racing is one crazy-a$$ sport, and that's part of its appeal. But when people you like (and I'm a big fan of Katherine's also, for exactly that quiet, professional, "I want to race" demeanor) get screwed, it's pretty frustrating.

I was so excited for TrueCar's effort last year, and I'm pretty disappointed they've abandoned it already. Sure, it was a gimmick, but it got nice attention and helped out some of the many (males and females in this boat) deserving drivers who just need a little luck or $$ to make it.

It's all really a bummer.

[Ted Wolfram]

Let's put the blame (and YES I do mean blame), where it belongs....at the door of IndyCar.

Unless and until IndyCar changes the formula away from "spec" cars with leased engines, and set a series of rules that control costs...if you can't bring a sponsor or sponsors to the dance...you can be as good as Brisco, or have as much promise as Ms. Legge, or be as promotive as Pippa...and you won't get a car or a chance.

[vern]

The fact that most of us heard about Truecar as being mainly to support females in the sport of racing makes this news shocking from that standpoint & that a male now has her ride with what most assumed was mainly a female sponsored program. However many on Trackforum (not a bad place for info) have stated on this topic that Truecar was never really about just sponsoring females, or if it was they found out that wasnt productive, however its being said now this sponsorship program was for the team and not just Legge, which surprised most as well.

The basic argument is does a female deserve a ride just because she Is a female even though she is not at a competitive level in comparison with a male driver up for the same ride? Course get this--the male driver who now has "her" ride doesnt have much better stats then her but because he is much younger he is the better choice--so lets debate that one, as now apparently age of the driver is playing a role--OK--but--Nascar loves the younger drivers also. Remember, the younger Joey Logano got the Cup ride over the older Sam Hornish and they made a point of the age with that choice also??

This is bad for Legge but happens to lots of drivers. The main story though is about all of us who thought Truecar was supposed to be about supporting female drivers but now apparently NOT.

[Bill Sanford]

Great thoughts, Dawg. Let's not forget the other side of the coin...competence-challenged drivers out there on the track only because they bring big $$. Not naming names, just sayin'.....

[Dylan]

Wait... True Car is giving money to Saadavra??? That is messed up... wonder if he'll walk away from Dragon like he did to Herta? Its one thing for "The Quitter" to bring money to a team... its another for someone to give him money. That's really awful.

[redcar]

Legge got screwed. I'm not a Saavadra fan to begin with and could care less if he had a ride or not. And Jay "Yacht Club" Penske's act is getting old quick. I'm disappointed with Truecar for not keeping their dough with Legge.

But hey--now I have some bad guys to root against. And Good luck to Katherine.

[Ron Ford]

Saavadra an upgrade over Katherine Legge??!!
Reeks of a decision made in a yacht club parking lot.

[vern]

I just read on another forum that Legge now is suing over all this and while some may take her side, Truecars side or Dragons side, the one comment that stuck out for me I read was "Indycar doesnt need this", meaning more negative press. There are very few females in the top series of auto racing and it isnt going to help matters for females in the sport if Legge pushes this causing more negative press for Indycar. The other thing is regardless of whether she got a raw deal or not will more then likely deter any other team or sponsor from wanting to get involved with her over all this. We all know its tough enough for females in the sport to succeed as they need all the good press they can get and need to bring something positive to the sport to attract sponsors etc, which we know most females struggle with getting good sponsors.

Bottom line here--Iam not saying Legge is wrong or right as I dont know the details but I imagine Indycar is cringing right now over all this bad press, course they say all press is good so we'll see. IF by some chance she was wronged and wins something from all this and Dragon has to give her the ride--does she really want to be with a team she had to sue to get the ride, although most say her chances of winning this is slim or none? Too bad--and good luck to her but it appears she's in an almost no win situation--as they say "between a rock and a hard place". I admire her fighting for her job & career over all this though as she has little choice and drivers need to stand up for themselves if they think they were wronged, although you can sometimes win the battle but still lose the war--guess we'll see?

[DinahMoeHumm]

I've been a KL fan since she raced in Atlantics. No doubt she got the shaft. There is a "contact us" link at truecar.com. Not going to tell anyone else what to do, but, I used it to tell truecar what I think of them and whether I'd ever consider doing business with them.

[Josh]

It seems as if Jay Penske is one of the shadiest car owners in the paddock over the past 10 or so years. And that really says something in the IndyCar paddock!!

We can add Legge's name to the list of people Jay Penske P****d on.

Paul Tracy, Davey Hamilton, Rafa Matos, Steve Luczo, Gil de Ferran, the woman in Nantucket, and now Legge.

And whatever happened to all those web impressions he promised to IndyCar to get the Leader Card money for 2011 or was it 2012????

[Chiefswon]

I thought Politics was bad in corporate America....Wow. Hard to get my head around this..... Thanks PDog!

[Mike R]

I followed the lead of DinahMoeHumm and emailed Truecar. Don't know if it'll make any difference to anyone, but they'll have heard from at least two people now.
I'm really pretty pissed about the way Kat got shanked by Penske and Painter.

[pressdog]

Roy Hobbson #NailedIt as only Roy can. I agree with his analogy 100%. As long as you are OK with that reality -- and I condemn no one for choosing to be OK with it -- then you can enjoy the show and have a lovely time.

As usual, I appreciate the both the tone and content of the comments here.

[cartracer20]

Sent my thoughts to TrueCar as well. They need to know that their actions are hurting their image and their advertising dollars are getting them nowhere, so long as they are acting against their own mission statement.