'Danica Rule' Is Confusing, Controversial

Does move intended to even out drivers' weights even do that?
By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 23, 2008 10:31 AM CDT
'Danica Rule' Is Confusing, Controversial
This combo of May 2008 photos shows the starting field for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race to be run Sunday, May 25, 2008 in Indianapolis.    (AP Photo)

Danica Patrick will carry 35 pounds of ballast in her car in this weekend's Indianapolis 500 to make up for her tiny, 100-pound body. But even those who agree that ballasting is the fair way to account for differences in racers' body sizes aren't sure the IndyCar system is entirely fair, the Indianapolis Star reports.

"All we did was reduce the percentage between the lightest and the heaviest to a point we're comfortable with," says the president of the IRL, who won't specify the weight classes used to calculate required ballast. But fair or not, Patrick isn't worried about lugging around some lead: "It's not going to be an issue." (More Indy 500 stories.)

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