The Danica Patrick Era dawns

[jcollins28]

She is being smart and not jumping into NASCAR right at the top. Idiots that keep claiming she is not a top driver are either against her because she is a woman or just being stupid because of all the coverage. She does have the talent, that is clear. It will take a year or two to judge how good at NASCAR she will be. ANYONE claiming they know now are total morons.

The fact remains she has one win as a professional. She has also spent her career racing with one of the better teams in the IRL and racing against a diluted field compared to what Indy racing used to be. Yes she fared well yesterday. California will be a whole different ball game then the wide open nature of plate racing though. She is not the worse driver but she is not quite reached the status of a "top driver".

Top driver's have a collection of wins a Championship or two and take advantage of using superior equipment. She has all the tools to get there but she could not get it done in Indycar with less competition and not as many accomplished drivers. She should be able to run up front in the ARCA ranks but at California she will be racing on a downforce track and racing in the Nationwide series. She will be lucky to crack the top 20.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

If she is a top driver then what would you call the rest of the field in ARCA?...Top drivers don't race NASCAR. I will give you the fact that there maybe a few NASCAR guys that are extremely over qualified for their chosen line of work but the top drivers, well they race in F1 not NASCAR.

That's why they are all trying to get into NASCAR!

 

[jcollins28]

That's why they are all trying to get into NASCAR!

Define all? Piquet is here because he is black balled in F1. Villeneuve can't get a ride anywhere and JPM is tired of Max and Bernie's crap and for that I can't blame him. If you really think Shumacher, Kubica, Vettal or Lewis Hamilton is anxiously waiting for a chance to drive in NASCAR then that truly is funny...BTW guys like Piquet and JPM would have left F1 and went to open wheel here in the US but Tony George pretty much killed open wheel in this country so the only ball game in town sadly is NASCAR.

 

[Hoofbite]

She should just do Playboy already.

Nobody cares about her racing.

 

[Cochese]

She should just do Playboy already.

Nobody cares about her racing.

Agreed, sorry to all the racing fans, but I see more interesting maneuvers on the illinois tollway.

 

[Doomsday101]

If you've ever watched IndyCar, she should be use to going 3 wide at 215 mph. Speed is not the problem. She's used to higher g-forces and having to react quicker. That won't be the problem.

IROC should have included racing in different disciplines like the Race of Champions does. NASCAR drivers tend to not fair as well in international competitions because that's not their comfort zone. When a driver changes discipline its not a comparison of leagues but a comparison of driver. Someone like Juan or Dario in 2008 grew up racing precise, quick cars where they've been taught to react quickly, shift precisely, hands here, hands there, point the nose directly. In NASCAR you're going to longer brake points, large body roll, liberal shifting points.

I think she will do well but like many of the drivers who have come over to NASCAR it is going to take some time.

As for how she did this past Sat. I thought she did a great job, after having an accident and falling to the back of the pack she was able to work her way back up into the top 5 and would have held that spot but she was looking to win not be in the top 5 so in her 1st start she walked away with 7th.

 

[Doomsday101]

If she is a top driver then what would you call the rest of the field in ARCA?...Top drivers don't race NASCAR. I will give you the fact that there maybe a few NASCAR guys that are extremely over qualified for their chosen line of work but the top drivers, well they race in F1 not NASCAR.

Yeah that is why Indy guys are moving on to NASCAR. NASCAR make you drive a car it makes you understand the draft it is not about the fastest car on the track it is about taking a car and working it unlike the littel fairy racing league they call F1 or Indy.

 

[burmafrd]

now that is truly ignorant but not surprising.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

Define all? Piquet is here because he is black balled in F1. Villeneuve can't get a ride anywhere and JPM is tired of Max and Bernie's crap and for that I can't blame him. If you really think Shumacher, Kubica, Vettal or Lewis Hamilton is anxiously waiting for a chance to drive in NASCAR then that truly is funny...BTW guys like Piquet and JPM would have left F1 and went to open wheel here in the US but Tony George pretty much killed open wheel in this country so the only ball game in town sadly is NASCAR.

Oh Please. Most of the guys you mentioned couldn't carry Jimmy Johnson's helmet. I just love the snobs who look down on NASCAR because they think it's some redneck sport.

The truth is that it has more fan interest (at least in this country, which is all that really matters) than any other motor sport. I mean, they broadcast the ARCA races which is like the minor-minor leagues of Stock car racing. You are lucky to even see two Indy car and F1 races on TV. What does that tell you?

Plus the demographics have a much larger cross over appeal than F1 and Indy car.

Unlike the the F1 and Indy cars, NASCAR actually tests the drivers skills. They work the wheel, the draft and the pits. They actually have a jack man to lift the cars. Not some silly little mechanism that they punch a button and the car lifts up for them.

You want to test how good a driver is? Then put them in a stock car, not some of these make believe cars like you have in F1 and IRL.

 

[zrinkill]

Who????

 

[Cajuncowboy]

Who????

You don't know who Danica Patrick is?

 

[Doomsday101]

Oh Please. Most of the guys you mentioned couldn't carry Jimmy Johnson's helmet. I just love the snobs who look down on NASCAR because they think it's some redneck sport.

The truth is that it has more fan interest (at least in this country, which is all that really matters) than any other motor sport. I mean, they broadcast the ARCA races which is like the minor-minor leagues of Stock car racing. You are lucky to even see two Indy car and F1 races on TV. What does that tell you?

Plus the demographics have a much larger cross over appeal than F1 and Indy car.

Unlike the the F1 and Indy cars, NASCAR actually tests the drivers skills. They work the wheel, the draft and the pits. They actually have a jack man to lift the cars. Not some silly little mechanism that they punch a button and the car lifts up for them.

You want to test how good a driver is? Then put them in a stock car, not some of these make believe cars like you have in F1 and IRL.

I agree. Indy and F1 do not have to deal with bump drafting and the rest of the contact that takes place in NASCAR. I actually like all racing but I do think NASCAR test the drivers skill and ablity much more than any of the racing leagues.

 

[zrinkill]

You don't know who Danica Patrick is?

Is she that Go Daddy chick that does the commercials with the strippers?

 

[Cajuncowboy]

Is she that Go Daddy chick that does the commercials with the strippers?

Yep, that's her.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Is she that Go Daddy chick that does the commercials with the strippers?

What makes you think those girls are strippers?

 

[Cajuncowboy]

What makes you think those girls are strippers?

Hey, talent like that only comes with practice.

 

[Doomsday101]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Using a baseball analogy, Danica Patrick is going from one impressive showing in a Class A game to a Triple-A league in one week.



That sounds pretty imposing. Actually, it's much worse.



The reality is Patrick is going from a weak Class A league to a Triple-A game with almost all big leaguers in the lineup.



That gives you some idea of the jump Patrick is making to race in the Nationwide Series event at Daytona on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, ESPN2).



And that's why the people around her were hesitant at first to commit to having her race in the Daytona show.

"It's pretty much a [Sprint] Cup race," Kelley Earnhardt, Patrick's boss at JR Motorsports, said during the media tour. "So many Cup drivers will be in it, Dale [Earnhardt] Jr., Tony Stewart and many others. She knows how important it is for her to have the respect of the other drivers."



Patrick earned some respect with her remarkable showing in the ARCA event Saturday night at Daytona, finishing sixth after almost crashing and working her way back to the front in the final laps.



Most observers came away from that race believing Patrick greatly exceeded expectations. It all but forced JR Motorsports to put Patrick in the Nationwide race this weekend.



This isn't just any old Nationwide race. It's probably is the most difficult Nationwide event of the season.



Many of the best drivers in Sprint Cup will compete in the race. They are pros at knowing how to use the draft in a high-speed restrictor-plate event in which the cars are bumping and banging on every lap.



Patrick got her feet wet in that style of stock car racing last weekend, but ARCA is not NASCAR, and it's certainly not a Daytona Nationwide event.



Patrick is on top of the world at the moment after her impressive showing in her stock car debut. Expectations for her first NASCAR race were high enough before that event. Now they're through the roof.



Back to the baseball analogy: Danica doubled off the wall in her first Class A at-bat. But she's playing in The Show now, so don't expect the same results.



If she brings the car home in one piece and finishes in the top 20, tip your hat to her and realize she made an equally impressive effort in a much tougher game.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

Yeah, I think it's naive to think she will be as stellar in the Nationwide race. This is not like IRL and F! where it is 90% car and 10% driver.

Will be fun to watch. I just hope she doesn't wad the car up but you KNOW the "Big One" will be waiting and hopefully she can avoid it.

 

[zrinkill]

What makes you think those girls are strippers?

Oh I do not know.

 

[Doomsday101]

Yeah, I think it's naive to think she will be as stellar in the Nationwide race. This is not like IRL and F! where it is 90% car and 10% driver.

Will be fun to watch. I just hope she doesn't wad the car up but you KNOW the "Big One" will be waiting and hopefully she can avoid it.

True and as they point out this is not a normal nationwide event because most of the top sprint car drivers will be in this race as they prepare themselves for the Sunday race. At least she will have 1 guy in that race to help her and that will be car owner Jr.