Who Is Indycar's Bad Boy?

[Chamoo]

Nascar has Kyle Busch, Formula One has Lewis Hamilton (and a multitude of others on any given day), and Champ Car had Sebastien Bourdais.

Now those drivers and simply examples, and might not be who you think of as a Bad Boy in their respective series, but that's irrelevent.

Who is the one person that plays the antagonist the best in the Indycar Series?

I know, in recent years, I would had picked Danica to be that character, however she has mellowed out this year so much, it's hard to find any fault with her character.

And once I get past her, I can't really find that one person who would be willing to say something that pushes the boundaries of what should or can be said, or perhaps goes out of their way to cause someone elses race a significant misfortune (if you know what I mean).

Once you figure out who you think is the best antagonist the league has, spout off some new options for antagonists, who you think would play the role well.

I think we need some bad guys (or girls) in the series to make things interesting. Even if we get PT back fulltime, too many people like him for people to hate him.

Some of you will say that Milka is the perfect Antagonist because she is a terrible driver, but I'm looking more for character traits then driving talent.

My pick for the biggest antagonist in the Indycar Series is unfortunately Dan Wheldon, which is sad.

[NickFalzone]

Scheckter should be that guy, but his rage seems to be cooled off this season (probably bec he's on thin ice sponsorwise). I don't know why I think this, but Moraes kind of feels like the bad guy, at least for the first 2/3rds of 2009.

[anthonyvop]

Hamilton and Bourdais...bad boys?

[F1boat]

Why do you think that Danny is a bad boy?

[beachbum]

In today's racing market, no one seems to want to rock the boat and possibly offend a team owner. Even among the owners, AJ seems to have mellowed and is even politically correct most of the time. As suggested, Danica had the spot locked up, but this year was a contract year so we got 'bunnies and rainbows'

[Chamoo]

Hamilton and Bourdais...bad boys?

When you go on the forums and stuff like that, Hamilton is always the one that seems to be getting trashed, in my opinion of course. Piquet Jr. now fills that role, but for completely different reasons.

As for Bourdais, he was the guy that fans wanted to see lose, and his competition with PT turned him into the bad guy. Especially after Mont Tremblant when he had his little confrontation with Bobby D.


Why do you think that Danny is a bad boy?

As for Dan Wheldon, he just seems to be very arrogant. This is just my opinion, and when I said he was the bad boy, I did say it was sad, since he really isn't a bad boy at all.

[anthonyvop]

When you go on the forums and stuff like that, Hamilton is always the one that seems to be getting trashed, in my opinion of course. Piquet Jr. now fills that role, but for completely different reasons.


What boards do you go to?
Alonso and Massa are bashed much more on the English speaking boards.

[SarahFan]

needs more http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp-is6S_b_g

[Chris R]

uhhh, ummm - I hate to say it but nobody has enough public personality to be a "bad guy" - racing in general has been overrun with "PC"....

[drewdawg727]

Hands down, Marco.

[Jag_Warrior]

uhhh, ummm - I hate to say it but nobody has enough public personality to be a "bad guy" - racing in general has been overrun with "PC"....

Very true, Chris, but it's especially PC and somber in the IRL right now. Wouldn't you say? Even Grand Am has Max “The Axe” Angelelli. And the NHRA has a whole cast of characters, some would say led by John Force and Tony Schumacher. In ALMS, there have been some hard feelings between the Risi Competizione Ferrari team and a couple of the Porsche teams - started by Jaime Melo's aggressive driving a year or so ago. The World of Outlaws has the long running feud between Steve and Mark Kinser. NASCAR is full of them: Kurt and Kyle Busch, Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart among them. And whether it's Hamilton, Massa or Alonso for F1... they ALL get people talking.

Chamoo's question is right what I was getting at in the post about Piquet, Jr. coming over to the IRL (though I doubt that he will). Years ago, AOWR always had a "bad guy" or antagonist or two. At the very least, there were personalities that stood out from the crowd: Paul Tracy, Robby Gordon, Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Jacques Villeneuve, Greg Moore, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Max Papis, et al. Heck, Danny Sullivan made the funny papers when he was on Miami Vice and there were all those rumors about him playing bedroom bumper tag with (very married) Christie Brinkley.

The difference between other series "bad guys" and the closest thing the IRL has to a bad guy (Danica), is their bad guys tend to be muscling for wins or running up front while they talk smack. Danica just talked smack... and played the gender card when it was convenient (I'm tough. I'm bad. But I'm a girl, so you can't hit me! Nanner, nanner, boo, boo!). Ashley Force stays above that sort of stuff as she wins. But her Daddy will take a swing at you if you mess with her or his teams.

The IRL should beg Nelson Piquet, Jr. to come over here. Tony George should max out his credit card to get him over here next year and get him in a good car. And let him act like the arrogant little pri## that he is. I think he'll be up front and maybe even win right away (on road courses). And he'll probably crash into people too. And he can act a fool when he does. Even better!

[bblocker68]

Marco has potential. Daddy set the bar for him.

[indyracefan]

Marco is the bad boy in more ways than one.

[beachbum]

Marco is the bad boy in more ways than one.No matter how much he whines, the moniker of "bad boy" just doesn't fit Marco. Heck, they had to dub his voice on the Gillette ads, plus Danica could probably flattened him with a weak right hook. Of course, that all depends on your definition of "bad boy".

[indyracefan]

No matter how much he whines, the moniker of "bad boy" just doesn't fit Marco. Heck, they had to dub his voice on the Gillette ads, plus Danica could probably flattened him with a weak right hook. Of course, that all depends on your definition of "bad boy".


Bad in this case refers to personality, driving (be it in an IndyCar or a scooter in the garage area) and chances of becoming a consistent winner.

[ykiki]

EJ Viso has all the makings of a "bad boy", if only he had Paul Tracy's temperment. After all, the guy's got a pet python - and that's got to count for something!

[drewdawg727]

Marco fits both words. Bad (driver and attitude) AND boy

[call_me_andrew]

By what stretch of the imagination are Hamilton and Bourdais bad boys?

[ykiki]

By what stretch of the imagination are Hamilton and Bourdais bad boys?

I don't get the Bourdais one either. In CART/ChampCar, it was Bourdais vs. Tracy, with PT as the "bad guy" - and fans loved PT as the bad guy!

[Jag_Warrior]

By what stretch of the imagination are Hamilton and Bourdais bad boys?

He's talking about anatgonists. When Hamilton threw down the gauntlet in his rookie season, and let it be known that he wasn't playing second fiddle to Alonso, I think many saw him as an antagonist. I enjoyed it. I saw it as very Sennaesque. And Bourdais, he did come off as fairly arrogant much of the time. And he did stand up to PT that one time... sorta/kinda. He contributed to the drama. But Tracy was the master of that. He is missed.

But it's not about taking a swing at someone. I think Chamoo just means a racer who isn't a total PC robot. Someone who'll shake a monkey out of the tree every now & again. But if it's on Dan Wheldon's shoulders, things are worse than I thought. I've been waiting for that guy to break into a Richard Simmon's routine after a race for years now.

[indyracefan]

I would have liked to seen PJ Chesson get a legitimate shot at being the 'bad boy'.

[bravefish]

Viso and Moraes have good potential.

[SoCalPVguy]

Who Is Indycar's Bad Boy?


Tony George

[Jag_Warrior]

^^^ Ladies & gentlemen, we have a winna! ^^^

[F1boat]

Who Is Indycar's Bad Boy?


Tony George


hahaha!

[call_me_andrew]

Who Is Indycar's Bad Boy?


Tony George


I was waiting for someone to say that.

[anthonyvop]

I was waiting for someone to say that.
I was going to but it was toooooooo easy.

[nigelred5]

Moraes seems to have the potential, but it seems they calmed him down the past few races. My idea of a bad boy in racing is definitely, the Paul Tracy, Senna, Kyle Busch, Robbie Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Sr, Darryl Waltrip type driver.
Good strong skills, plenty of results to back up an intimidating driving style. You're safe going wheel to wheel with them all day every day, but piss them off and the'll put you off in a flash and there's no apologies coming or expected. We definitely need PT back in Indycars.

[Mark in Oshawa]

There is no bad boy. TG is not a bad boy, he is a naive boy...was 14 years ago, isn't any smarter now.

Now...the IRL NEEDS a bad boy, but the only thing they have is a brat....mind you we really haven't any good temper tantrums from the princess...