Danica to NASCAR

[SPF2245]

I hope she does well, Nascar could use the help. But I believe she'll be no more sucessful then Scott Speed, Villenueve, Franchitti, Hornish Jr. and any number of others who have tried their luck. Granted Tony Stewart and Montoya have made it...but lets be honest, Danica will never be at their level. But hey, she'll make the first few races, then when she can't qualify a couple times and can't get into the field because of the points system...she'll go back to IRL.

[Don]

JR Motorsports, Patrick announcement teleconference
Racing series NASCAR-NS
Date 2009-12-09

Danica Patrick Media Teleconference Transcript

IndyCar Star To Compete In NASCAR Nationwide Series For JR Motorsports

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=353551

[Excaliber]

It will take her at least two years, maybe three, to figure it out. It will take that long to see IF she can make the grade or not. Meanwhile, two or three years in and NO wins she will largely be "written off" as just another pretty face behind the wheel.

The only way we will ever know is if she stays with the program long enough to figure it out. She may well cut and run before that happens.

[Don]

USA Today

" Dale, meet Danica. Welcome to a world where a woman can model bikinis in swimsuit magazines, unveil a perfume line in a testosterone-charged arena and blaze a trail by leading the world's biggest race. "

" Danica, meet Dale. Welcome to a world where a driver races on national television every week, fans are renowned for fervent brand loyalty and Fortune 500 sponsors remain plentiful despite the economic downturn. "

" The NASCAR marriage of Dale Earnhardt Jr., the most popular driver, and Danica Patrick, IndyCar's transcendent queen, is as much about perfect timing as gargantuan personalities. NASCAR, plagued by lagging TV ratings and crowds, gets a popularity jolt, and Patrick gains millions of eyeballs to dazzle with her emerging brand as "a beautiful revolution." "

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor...ck-cover_N.htm

[Don]

AutoWeek Dec 28:

........" Danica logged a best lap ( ARCA Daytona test ) of 182.028, 5th fastest among 29 drivers...."

.....Ali Owens was the fastest woman, 182.957, of 10 who participated...."

Ali Owens , anyone know her background ?

[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

[rustyBob]

Leilani Munter.......driver.....model.......CONSERVATIONIS T????????????

[Ron61]

Well the Truck Series should look better for a while at least. I hopoe they do well.

http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/opin...uck/index.html

Ron

[RACERAL]

Danica has skid marks in her thongs after her first offical test at Daytona.... she was scared to death... Her interview was very telling..
They are throwing her to the wolves just for fun and to put asses in the seats.. if she don't get killed, she will indeed kill somebody else
I hope Nascar can see she is not even close to being ready..

[Ron61]

Unfortunately I believe that NASCAR is more interested in selling tickets than having her take time to get used to this kind of racing at a lower level. Everything is about money any more.

Ron

[tcrist]

I think that she would have been better off and been mentored (is that even a word) better if she had of went with Tony Stewart instead of JR. Tony is a better driver and mentor than JR. They both have the backing of Hendrick.

I think that she should spend at least a partial season in ARCA before she even thinks about running a Nationwide race. Her races should also be on some of the small or intermediate tracks to start with.

I actually think that she might do fairly well. Sure she has only won only one Indy race but there are probably male Indy drivers with no wins that no one would even worry about if they went straight to full seasons in the Nationwide series.

Everyone is worrying about Danica because she is female. She is a better driver than probably most anyone here. I say that because I have no idea how many pro drivers there are here on CC.

That is just my opinion of course.

[Ron61]

Terry,

Cope's twins are going to run some in the Truck series this year. I don't think anyone is down on Danica because she is a woman. I just think all of the hype is to much and that she is now going to be put into a spot of doing well or looking really bad. There is a lot of difference in one of these cars and an Indy type car. Also she needs to learn to race 6 inches apart with 45 other cars around her and this is going to take time. A lot of people think of Jr. as a failure because he isn't the driver his Father was. I would hate to be in a position of having to follow in the footsteps of any super star in any sport.

Ron

[tcrist]

Ron,
Don't get me wrong. I am a Dale Jr. fan. I still think the effects of that fire in Infenion got to him.

In fact I am still a Dale Sr.and DEI fan and I like to see DEI doing good. Gone or not I am still a fan of Dale Sr.

You ought to see my racing room/home office. Dale Sr. & Dale JR. are the theme.

[tcrist]

Does anyone notice that what ever the topic is these sponser links between posts grab onto them and pop up with links to it. It's very irritating to me. I feel like I am being tracked with every key stroke.

[Don]

Just for discussion purposes:

* Is racing open wheel a few inches/feet, at a higher speed ( 220 mph ) , apart without lifting testing the skills of the driver more than a stock car, remembering for the most part touching the other open wheel car, however slightly, will more than likely cause one or both to exit the race. Seems there is a higher margin of error in full fender cars w/o wrecking.

* At Daytona, etc , in ARCA, truck, Nationwide, speeds are mostly the same, yet the driver expertise overall is better in Nationwide. In some of the races, there have been just as many wrecks in the Sprint series, especially at the end of the race

* 2009, Danica finished 5th, highest finisher for the 4 car Andretti Team, and highest finisher for a driver other than those on the Penske & Ganassi Teams, must have done something right

* While Dale JR has been challenged the last few years, past experiences at Daytona etc type racing have been positive.

All that said...... recognizing and admitting the challenges of attempting NASCAR racing is a good start. Janet Guthrie mentioned you drive the car, not necessary to carry it on your shoulders.

[rustyBob]

Open wheel cars are more dangerous by far.........
NASCAR cars have the "rubbin is racen'" comfort zone.......
If NASCAR was open wheel,JJ would not be a 4 time champ......
and i think Dale Jr. lacks focus.....to many other things to focus on......
Danica will do just fine, shes no rookie when it comes to raceing fast cars.........

[Ron61]

Terry,

I agree that I don't think Jr. has been the same since the fire at Infineon. I am also a big fan of Dale Senior and have several of his die cast cars and books. I have one of the die casts that was made just exactly as it looked after he wrecked it at Talladega. Had several people ask if I would sell that one.

Ron

[Bill Bess]

It's always funny to me when people say negative things about NASCAR and compare it to other sports. I wonder how many other sports require as much hard manual work, team coordination, perfection of different functions, equipment performance, drivers skills and concentration, and a hell of a lot of luck to be a winner. Don't forget about all the real danger involved on a weekly basis . There's not much margin for error and no second chances if you get too far behind the competition.
You don't have big bench of drivers sitting there to send in when the driver gets tired or something isn't working.
Back to Danica, she will have plenty of supporters and plenty of haters, but she will do just fine no matter how long it takes and Jr. will help make that happen.

[Ron61]

Bill,

NASCAR themselves have brought on the negatives. Try watching Speed TV. All they have is NASACAR this and NASCAR that. As for comparing it to other types of racing, that happens in all sports. I never said that Danica couldn't do well. I said that I don't think she will do well for a while as there is a huge difference in cars and the type of racing. How many times have you seen 40 open wheel cars so close together at 180 MPH that a move of an inch can set off a huge wreck? I am a fan of hers in open wheel but do not expect much from her this first year in NASCAR. Once in a while there is a new driver that does very well their first year, but not many.

Ron