Danica Patrick prepares to jump to NASCAR full-time

[big dog cowboy]

Danica Patrick prepares to jump to NASCAR full-time

By Jay Busbee
Wed Aug 17 04:58pm EDT

It's time. The country's most marketable driver is days away from committing to run in NASCAR full time.

For weeks, reports have circulated that Patrick was contemplating the jump from IndyCar to NASCAR. ESPN, citing multiple sources, reported on Wednesday that Patrick has made her decision and will announce her intentions to run full time in the Nationwide Series, the equivalent of NASCAR's Triple-A minor league level, beginning in 2012. She'll continue to race in the No. 7 GoDaddy Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, her sponsor for her first two part-time years in NASCAR.

More intriguing are reports that she, like many other Nationwide drivers, will run select Sprint Cup races as part of Stewart-Haas Racing. The endgame there would be a full-time Sprint Cup seat for Patrick starting in the 2013 season.

Recently, Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel argued that if Patrick was going to make the jump, she needed to do so "full throttle" — in other words, compete in the biggest races as soon as possible, including the season-starting Daytona 500, where even a win isn't out of the question. (Ask rookie Trevor Bayne, who won this year's race.)

Read more: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog...es-to-jump-to-NASCAR-full-t?urn=nascar-wp3191

 

[Yeagermeister]

I don't blame her. Indy Car is going no where.

 

[mldardy]

Let me know when she does something relevant. This is a big WHO CARES.

 

[CowboyDan]

Good for her. She's got a lot of talent and though it's a shame for Indy, she's making the best move for her career.
I really miss the days when Indy had Sullivan, Mears, Unser Jr., Fittipaldi, the Andretti's, Rahal, etc........man that was some great racing.

 

[ShiningStar]

did anyone out of nascar notice?

 

[mldardy]

Good for her. She's got a lot of talent and though it's a shame for Indy, she's making the best move for her career.
I really miss the days when Indy had Sullivan, Mears, Unser Jr., Fittipaldi, the Andretti's, Rahal, etc........man that was some great racing.

:bang2:Just stop.

 

[CowboyDan]

:bang2:Just stop.

You don't think she has a lot of talent? Why not?

 

[mldardy]

You don't think she has a lot of talent? Why not?

She hasn't done anything and she isn't that good of a driver. She won one joke of a race and hasn't been close in anything else especially the big races.

 

[hookemhorns72]

She hasn't done anything and she isn't that good of a driver. She won one joke of a race and hasn't been close in anything else especially the big races.

I don't blame JR for getting her to race for him. Maybe he could actually beat her!

 

[CowboyDan]

She hasn't done anything and she isn't that good of a driver. She won one joke of a race and hasn't been close in anything else especially the big races.

She's won an Indy race, finished 3rd at the Indy 500 (6 top 10 finishes in the race), has a ton of top 5 (6) and top 10 (61) finishes in the Indy Car series, and she's shown a marked improvement in her 2nd year in Nationwide with 3 top 10 finishes in what, 19 races? I think this shows that she's got a lot of talent.

Don't let all the marketing and the fact that she's a female cloud your eyes, this girl can drive.

 

[Yeagermeister]

I don't blame JR for getting her to race for him. Maybe he could actually beat her!

 

[mldardy]

She's won an Indy race, finished 3rd at the Indy 500 (6 top 10 finishes in the race), has a ton of top 5 (6) and top 10 (61) finishes in the Indy Car series, and she's shown a marked improvement in her 2nd year in Nationwide with 3 top 10 finishes in what, 19 races? I think this shows that she's got a lot of talent.

Don't let all the marketing and the fact that she's a female cloud your eyes, this girl can drive.

That race she "won" was a joke. You are trying really hard but she sucks as a driver. Great she has some top 5 and 10 finishes. So do a bunch of other drivers who also have 3 times as many wins as she has. She doesn't deserve the pub that she gets.

 

[CowboyDan]

That race she "won" was a joke. You are trying really hard but she sucks as a driver. Great she has some top 5 and 10 finishes. So do a bunch of other drivers who also have 3 times as many wins as she has. She doesn't deserve the pub that she gets.

Explain why the race she "won" was a joke.

Look, I'm not saying she's Mario Andretti, but I would never say that she's not talented. That's just an ignorant statement. Show me some drivers that have 1 win and 67 top 10 finishes in their first 6 years in Indy.

 

[mldardy]

Explain why the race she "won" was a joke.

She "won" the race after the leaders ran out of fuel on the final lap, finished 5.8 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves

 

[CowboyDan]

She "won" the race after the leaders ran out of fuel on the final lap, finished 5.8 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves

So now it's a joke if you win a race by completing all 300 miles before anyone else, keeping your car in good shape and your fuel mileage efficient enough? (you know that Indy car drivers control their fuel mix manually, right?) I don't discredit professional racing wins.

 

[Doomsday101]

So as you may have heard or read, there are multiple reports saying that Danica Patrick will announce her plans to run full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and part time in the Sprint Cup Series in 2012.

I have to tell you, folks, I like what I’m hearing. I think Danica truly wants to be in NASCAR. And you know what? NASCAR needs Danica Patrick. The sport needs a female or minority driver that will be in good equipment — no matter whether it is in Nationwide, Trucks or in Sprint Cup. I certainly am not knocking the efforts of any current or former female or minority racers; they are all doing what they can with the equipment given to them. I think for the first time a minority or female driver will be in really good equipment — JR Motorsports’ equipment — as she has been while testing out the waters in NASCAR the past few years.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/sto...o-NASCAR-full-time-would-be-right-call-081711

 

[Doomsday101]

I have watched her in NASCAR and she has done a good job. She is a good driver and learning more and more. Seeing her Race at Daytona in Feb to where she is now and how much better she is at bump drafting is night and day.

 

[viman96]

Everyone at this level has major talent. I'm not a big Danica fan or Nascar for that matter. I'm more into road racing. I do appreciate the talent it takes to run oval though.

 

[Doomsday101]

Everyone at this level has major talent. I'm not a big Danica fan or Nascar for that matter. I'm more into road racing. I do appreciate the talent it takes to run oval though.

All Professional racers make it look easier than it is

 

[Stautner]

She "won" the race after the leaders ran out of fuel on the final lap, finished 5.8 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves

I don't have a strong opinion on this - not really a big racing fan (Danica's cute though) - but drivers win races all the time in part because other drivers have car problems, get low on fuel, or any number of things.

Isn't a big part of winning imanaging your pit stops to in a manner that gives you the best chance to win? I don't get downgrading the driver/race team that wins because they do that better than others in a race.