Danica Already Wearing Thin With NASCAR

Danica Patrick's stock car racing career is 3 races in length. She ran the ARCA event at Daytona, and finished 6th. She ran the Nationwide Series event at Daytona, and crashed out on lap 65 (not of her doing). She ran the Nationwide Series event at California this past Saturday, and finished 31st, two laps down. She is scheduled to run the Nationwide Series event at Las Vegas this weekend, and then will take a two month break from stock cars to get back in her Indy car.

Her public face during this has been good. She has been humble, and said all the right things. She's earned praise from all corners, particularly at Daytona, for her driving skill and attitude. The public loves Danica mania, delivering very high TV ratings for the events she has participated in.

However ...

Danica the prima-donna is apparently on the loose.

Unofficial sources have leaked out that behind the scenes, Danica has been bad mouthing Dale Jr. According to her, she's a better driver than he, she doesn't respect him, and the only reason he signed her to drive his car was the money involved. Those sources and others report that Dale Jr. isn't exactly happy with her behind his back antics.

Dale Jr. is NASCAR's golden boy. NO ONE bad mouths him, or Junior Nation goes nuts. Danica is all about the money - that is what this entire foray into NASCAR is all about. Why would she be biting the hand that has given her a lucrative ride and all the rope she needs to establish herself in the sport?

I don't know for sure, but have a couple of ideas.

First, she doesn't like NASCAR. Horsing the big stock cars around is a lot of work. The crowd she is forced to hang around with isn't the 'elite' bunch that hangs around Indy car.

Second, another team has approached her about moving to Cup racing much sooner than was planned with Dale Jr.'s plan. She may be trying to piss him off enough to cut up the contract. Danica has never been known for patience.

Third ... maybe she's just a spiteful, self-loving prima-donna who can't get along with anyone.

I don't know ... but she's killing what should have been a great thing for her, for Dale Jr., and for NASCAR.

Danica Shows Off In Stock Car Debut

Danica Patrick made her stock car debut yesterday, in the ARCA series race at Daytona. Though not NASCAR exactly (ARCA is two steps down from Sprint Cup racing), it was her first competitive race in a full bodied, NASCAR style stock car. The car was No. 7, sponsored by Go Daddy, and was fielded by JR Motorsports (Dale Jr.'s Nationwide race team).

Danica held her own throughout the race, was competitive, and surprisingly calm. Midway through the race she was bumped, spun, and knocked off the track by a no-talent rookie (who also caused two other accidents in the race). She displayed superior car handling skills to keep the car from hitting the wall, a fact that was fawned over by the broadcast team. Instead of blowing up, she got back at it, climbing up to as high as 5th, before settling for 6th at the finish. She had a chance in the last few laps to get to the front.

I admit to believing she would not be successful in stock cars. However, after watching her getting rubbed from behind, from the side, and in the front all day long (insert your own joke here) then overcoming a spin and finishing in sixth ... I might just have to change my mind.


Images courtesy SpeedTV and GoDaddy.com

Update 2/8 - Following her success on Saturday, Danica announced today that she will run the Nationwide race at Daytona this coming Saturday. Her Nationwide debut had been scheduled for the week after at California, but she and her team added Daytona to her schedule. We'll see how well she does - the Nationwide cars handle much differently than ARCA cars, there are more of them on track, and the racers in that series are a bit more 'aggressive'.

Danica Heading to NASCAR

Following up on my earlier post speculating on Danica Patrick's move to NASCAR ... it's a lot closer to happening now than it was then.

Danica has had ongoing discussions with several NASCAR teams about moving over. The strongest links have her hooking up with Tony Stewart and his Stewart-Haas Racing Team. Tony has acknowledged the ongoing discussions, and has pretty much confirmed that financial issues are the center of the discussions now.

Her path to NASCAR, if you can believe the folks who are leaking out the information, will keep her in a full IndyCar schedule for at least 2010. She will also run select NASCAR Nationwide and Truck series races when the IndyCar schedule will allow, to break her into the world of stock cars. This should allow her to get in a good 12-15 races in the heavy stock cars, given that the IndyCar schedule only has 19 races on it.

This approach, if it is true, is smart. It allows her to get a dose of this type of car - either she gets valuable experience on her way to the upper level of NASCAR, or she turns up her nose at it and goes back to open wheel racing exclusively. How long she would remain at the lower levels remains to be seen (she is not known for patience), but other open wheelers who have made the transition successfully have spent 2-3 years down in the minors.

This whole thing is about money and fame. She has maxed out both in IndyCar, although she still only has one victory. To expand her 'brand' and marketing machine, she needs a larger stage, and NASCAR is it. I would not be surprised if she doesn't make it, but I am pulling for her. She would be good for the sport. I can just imagine her and Kyle Busch butting heads and fenders out on the track! Besides, she would then become the most overrated driver in NASCAR, taking that title from Dale Jr. (sorry Junior Nation fans ...).

Photo credit Sports Illustrated

Most Overrated Driver in IndyCar - Going to NASCAR?

Meet Danica Patrick ... IndyCar driver and marketing machine.

Danica, 27 years old, drives a 230mph IndyCar for Michael Andretti. She is a competent driver - anyone who drives these cars for a living has to be. But, looking at all the hype surrounding her, you'd think she's God's gift to racing. Her career so far has one win to show for it, a fuel mileage strategy win at a track in Japan.

She is pretty, she is a hothead, she is the face of IndyCar racing. Her name is recognized throughout the world, even outside of racing where folks don't have a clue what an IndyCar is. She was groomed for this since an early age - exposure on TV hosting Sunday morning car shows was our first glimpse of her as a teenager - we knew the name before we knew she was a racer.

There are two other good looking young ladies that drive in the IndyCar series - but hardly anyone knows it because they don't have the marketing machine behind them.

She is in the final contract year at Andretti-Green Racing. Rumors are hot and heavy that she will move to NASCAR. Jack Roush, NASCAR Ford team owner, has publicly stated he'd be interested in signing her, though his insistence that she wold have to spend a couple of years in the Nationwide developmental series before moving up to a full Sprint Cup ride may throw cold water on her interest. She seems too self absorbed to spend any time out of the top league. However, the lure of NASCAR money and exposure may be enough to bring her over.

She's on the cover of this month's NASCAR Scene magazine. She's the 'Go Daddy' Girl. She's all the buzz in both IndyCar and NASCAR garages - amazing for a driver who has one win.

IndyCar and the public love her. Her teammates and competitors can't stand her.

The picture above is from her Sports Illustrated photo shoot, one of the milder photos. Thank goodness we don't have any other NASCAR drivers posing like this (sorry, all of you Junior Nation fans!).

One might think that she'd be too small to handle the big, heavy stock cars. IndyCars are light, and not a handful to steer. I don't think that will be a big issue - Mark Martin, 50 year old NASCAR driver, has won three races this year, and only weghs 130 pounds!

If she does get a fat contract to come over to Roush or some other big team, I fully expect her to fall flat on her face, and go right back to IndyCar - just as almost every other driver who has preceded her on that path has done.