by Larry McReynolds

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Larry McReynolds: It doesn't matter if you're a woman or a man, you're only as good as the equipment that you're in. Uunfortunately a lot of the women who have been in NASCAR have not had top-notch equipment. But two names to watch closely are Erin Crocker and Sarah Fisher.

Crocker is a developmental driver for Ray Evernham who will put her in some Busch races this season. She's running some ARCA races right no. She sat on the pole at Nashville and ran right up front. And she's in top-notch equipment. An open-wheel driver like Patrick,

Fisher was signed by Richard Childress, and she's running races on the West Coast for Bill McAnally. I'm sure Childress has plans of moving her to the East Coast and running her in some ARCA and Busch races. But whether you're a man or a woman, and whether you weigh 150 pounds or 250 pounds, you're only going to be as good as the equipment you're in.

NASCAR weighs drivers

Ameet from Austin, Texas: There has been a lot of controversy about the weight of a driver and the speed of the car. IRL measures the weight of the car not including the driver. What does NASCAR do to make sure there is not an unfair advantage with regard to the weight of the driver.

Larry McReynolds: NASCAR weighs the cars without the driver, but the drivers weight is figured into the equation. NASCAR put a system in place about nine or 10 years ago when some in the garage area thought heavier drivers were being handicapped. Owners may not have looked at drivers who weighed 210 or 220 pounds when you consider drivers like Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, John Andretti and Ward Burton only weighed 150 to 170 pounds. That's a big difference.

NASCAR bases its scale on 10-pound increments. If your driver weighs 200 pounds or more, your car has to weigh 3400 pounds. If your driver weighs 190 to 199 pounds, your car has to weigh 3410 pounds. If your driver weighs 180 to 189 pounds, your car has to weigh 3420 pounds. It keeps working down to drivers that are 159 pounds or lighter. Those cars must weigh 3450 pounds. NASCAR weighs the cars before qualifying, after qualifying, before the race and after the race. You don't have to have the driver in the car because they weigh them twice a year — once at Daytona in February and again at Daytona in July. Nobody has any complaints about that system.

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I don't know that much about IRL cars, but as little as they weigh, a driver who weighs 100 pounds vs. a driver who weighs 200 pounds would make a difference. Is that the reason Danica Patrick ran fourth in the Indianpolis 500? No. She had a car that drove well. She was fast all month, and she needs to be highly commended. Whether you're a man or a woman, you've got to be very fit and have a lot of stamina. With what Patrick accomplished at Indy, she fits those criteria.

It's very sad that the success she had on Sunday is being overshadowed by comments about her weight. She did a phenomenal job, and she's only 23 years old. It's not like she's had a ton of IRL starts, and for her to overcome stalling in the pits, wrecking on the track and replacing the nose to finish fourth and come close to winning that thing, that's phenomenal. Let's leave any negative talk out of it.

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FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.

"Larry McReynolds: The Big Picture" is on bookstore shelves now, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.