Danica to NASCAR

[Don]

AutoRacingSport.com

" Danica could still run Daytona Nationwide race "

" Her NASCAR debut is very much in doubt, but Danica Patrick and JR Motorsports made it official she will race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana and the following week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Her GoDaddy.com-sponsored Chevrolet will have points from a year ago, which means she will not need to qualify. Patrick’s first NASCAR race could be the Nationwide race at Daytona. Team co-owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick, however, will allow her to make that call following an ARCA race earlier on the high-banked track."

“The race is basically a Cup race. Some 30-odd drivers from (Sprint) Cup running that race, and is that the right time for me to start or not? I’m really not sure,” Patrick said Thursday at the JR Motorsports press conference in Mooresville, N.C. “You only get one grand opening, as I’ve heard. We want it to be the right opportunity. We don’t want to overcommit and under-deliver.”

[Don]

" She has not really … won races and done the stuff over there, numbers‑wise,” Petty said Saturday. “She’s just a marketing machine. So when you look at it like that, from what she does on the race track, I hope she’s successful. "

“But let’s look at the facts and be blunt about it: She’s going to help the sport. She’s going to help the publicity of the sport. She’s going to help a lot of that stuff. But in the end, will she perform on the right side? It’s going to be all on her shoulders to do that.”


http://www.scenedaily.com/news/artic...or_racer_.html

[Cobrabill]

Originally Posted by Don

" She has not really … won races and done the stuff over there, numbers‑wise,” Petty said Saturday. “She’s just a marketing machine. So when you look at it like that, from what she does on the race track, I hope she’s successful. "

“But let’s look at the facts and be blunt about it: She’s going to help the sport. She’s going to help the publicity of the sport. She’s going to help a lot of that stuff. But in the end, will she perform on the right side? It’s going to be all on her shoulders to do that.”

[Don]

By STEVEN COLE SMITH

" You will likely recall that 11 female drivers either took laps at the ARCA Series test at Daytona International Speedway in December or were on the testing list. But a glance at the entry list for the Feb. 6 race suggests that with less than a month remaining before the green flag falls, not many of them will return for the event.

As of Jan. 12, there are 46 entries for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, and only four of the named drivers are women. In the No. 88 is, of course, Izod IndyCar Series star Danica Patrick, making her heralded debut in a Chevrolet owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.--or, actually, Dale's sister Kelly.

The other female drivers: Alli Owens, the Daytona Beach native, driving a Venturini Motorsports car; Amber Cope, one of the twin platinum-blond nieces of former Daytona 500 winner Derricke Cope, in a Dodge that he owns; and Leilani Munter, the driver-model-conservationist, in a Mark Gibson-owned Dodge.

There are three "to be announced" driver slots in the lineup, and it is still possible that some of the female drivers who tested at Daytona will enter.

That week, the focus at Daytona will definitely be on female drivers, not only because of Patrick but also because the track is hosting the debut of the "Women in the Winner's Circle" exhibit, assembled by pioneering female driver Lyn St. James. On Feb. 10, there will be a major celebration at the track of women racers, and St. James has invited virtually every living past and present female professional race driver to attend--including AutoWeek columnist Denise McCluggage, who is a big part of the exhibit. "


AutoWeek | Updated: 01/13/10, 10:10 am et

Article URL: http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...SCAR/100119954

[Wayne Maybury]

Nelson Piquet Jr. is reported to be moving from F1 to NASCAR this year. He didn't do very well in his F1 effort.

Wayne

[Don]

Wayne......wasn't he the Renault driver involved in the planned crash, which assisted his team mate when the accident required the safety car to be on the track, allowing for a pit stop under yellow/red flag conditions, or was it another driver ?

[Wayne Maybury]

Don

I will have to check to be sure, but I think you are correct. Brigatori (sp?) was banned for life for concocking that idea but he has appealed the decision. The FIA and F1 don't mess around with slaps on the wrist when a rule is broken.

Wayne