Danicas 500

DanicaFreak

DanicaFreak

2021 Big Gator winner <Green Monster>
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http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-comme...ing-tough-speedweeks-danica-patrick-back-down


Best read on her race I have seen. Explains some things that the announcers did not talk about. To be honest, the save was the most impressive to me. She really can drive that car!

From the article:

At the very least, Patrick and her reconfigured team showed they're coming to the track to fight.

That's the general takeaway from the weekend. We had to battle through everything.
Danica Patrick
"That's the general takeaway from the weekend," Patrick said on a brisk walk from pit road to a golf cart awaiting her outside the garage area. "We had to battle through everything."

Despite having a relatively new crew chief and new team members, not testing during the offseason because of a cost-saving ban by NASCAR and crashing three cars in the days leading up to the 500, Patrick came away from Daytona with two 10th-place finishes in the preliminary races and a solid overall showing Sunday.

It could have been worse, and nearly was on a couple of occasions.
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She fought a car that was tight getting into the corners and lost some track position during the middle of the race because debris on her grill was causing her engine to run hot.

Late in the race, she had to drive down onto the grass after Justin Allgaier spun across the track ahead of her, costing her several positions.

"Probably the biggest thing in the race was saving it there on the apron when 51 [Allgaier] was spinning," Patrick said. "It was just a bummer that it was so hard to pass. Once it got three-wide at the end, there was no more room and there was nowhere to go. And those leaders blocked the runs so bad. So I don't know, I guess the only thing you can do to end that is wreck their runs, you know.
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No..no it was not. But she did save herself from a few wrecks. I fully believe that the incident with DH was in the minds of the guys behind her and they did not want to draft with her for that reason.
 
DanicaFreak said:
No..no it was not. But she did save herself from a few wrecks. I fully believe that the incident with DH was in the minds of the guys behind her and they did not want to draft with her for that reason.
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oh my poor girl.
 
Yes she sure will. Bank on it.
upload_2015-2-24_21-55-44.jpeg
 
DanicaFreak said:
A win is possible..I expect a win. Top 5 would be progress.
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o_O

She cant even get a top 5, how do you figure she would be good enough for a win? Outside of plate races, a win anywhere else is nearly impossible at this point.
 
You throw craps 150 times, sooner or later even a blind sow finds an acorn. A top ten would be realistic she has 4 of those in over 83 tries.
 
StandOnIt said:
You throw craps 150 times, sooner or later even a blind sow finds an acorn. A top ten would be realistic she has 4 of those in over 83 tries.
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A lot of drivers never win a race. She will.
 
Reck said:
o_O

She cant even get a top 5, how do you figure she would be good enough for a win? Outside of plate races, a win anywhere else is nearly impossible at this point.
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Atl was her best finish. Time to build on it baby!
 
StandOnIt said:
You throw craps 150 times, sooner or later even a blind sow finds an acorn. A top ten would be realistic she has 4 of those in over 83 tries.
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Guess it's time to refresh this list...

Danica Patrick career starts: 83

Active drivers who had a Cup win in their first 83 starts:

Jamie McMurray
Brad Keselowski
Kevin Harvick
Kasey Kahne
Trevor Bayne
Denny Hamlin
Tony Stewart
Clint Bowyer
Greg Biffle
Kyle Busch
Carl Edwards
Matt Kenseth
Joey Logano
Jeff Gordon
Ryan Newman
Bobby Labonte
Kurt Busch
Jimmie Johnson
Martin Truex, Jr.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
 
I think what irritates people more about DP is not so much about what type of driver she is but the inordinate amount of press she receives. For me I feel as I am being lied to when announcers and the media keep touting her achievements and racing acumen as I don't see it. IMO millions of others do not see it either and would prefer to have DP's results dictate her coverage as opposed to having every little thing she is involved in shoved down our collective throats.

For the record I have no ill will toward DP and feel she has the same rights as anybody to wheel a stock car.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I think what irritates people more about DP is not so much about what type of driver she is but the inordinate amount of press she receives. For me I feel as I am being lied to when announcers and the media keep touting her achievements and racing acumen as I don't see it. IMO millions of others do not see it either and would prefer to have DP's results dictate her coverage as opposed to having every little thing she is involved in shoved down our collective throats.

For the record I have no ill will toward DP and feel she has the same rights as anybody to wheel a stock car.
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We have a winner. Agree 100%.
 
be9ak7ts16 said:
We have a winner. Agree 100%.
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I actually agree. The media is interested in her as a woman in a man's world....ironically Patrick wants to be thought of as a driver not a woman....driver. imho i am with Patrick. I want her to be rembered as a good driver who happens to be a woman
 
Paul Menard, Jerry Nadeau, Casey Mears, John Andretti, David Reutimann, Martin Truex and David Reutimann all have wins at non-RP tracks.

I don't think Danica's a great driver. Good, but not great. But, it's premature to say she will never win a race. Nobody ever thought Paul Menard or David Reutimann would win either.
 
While she hasn't yet come even close to living up to the hype, I will admit it's still a little early to completely write off her career. Everybody was ready to throw Joey Logano out of NASCAR just a couple years ago, and look where he is now. I don't think Danica's gonna do what Joey's done, but a win or two in her career isn't out of the question.
 
ToyYoda said:
While she hasn't yet come even close to living up to the hype, I will admit it's still a little early to completely write off her career. Everybody was ready to throw Joey Logano out of NASCAR just a couple years ago, and look where he is now. I don't think Danica's gonna do what Joey's done, but a win or two in her career isn't out of the question.
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With 4 lottery races each year almost any has a shot at winning and if you happen to hit the setup at a cookie cutter winning is not out of the question. IMO what will have to happen with DP is that a light switch will have to be turned on as she is not improving at a fast enough rate.

If it was the old days where you were driving for the Stavola's or Junie Donalvey learning your craft so you could catch on with a top team it would be one thing. However she has started with a championship winning organization that has the best of everything in terms of resources. At her age and her rate of improvement she will be having hot flashes by the time she cracks the top 10 regularly.
 
I think Danica has been very good for NASCAR, and of course she hasn't been done by (financially) too poorly either. In her favor, I think she is as internally competitive as any of the other drivers and is a racer at heart. She couldn't make the kind of money she is making doing something (anything) else, but then neither could anyone else in the Cup series - I think Danica is out there to win races (a race!) if she possibly can.

I think it is hard to race in this sport without help from other drivers - reference Kurt Busch sacrificing his starting position to drop back and help Danica out (a lot) during the Green-White-Checkered Duel Race #2 finish. And Danica doesn't seem to get much help from drivers who are not her teammates. Although I wonder, if I were running in third place coming out of four on the last lap of a race, with Danica and one other driver I had no ties to running side by side in front of me, I think it would be an easy call for me to push her to the win. A win for the sport and a no-lose for me, I'm not gonna win the race regardless. Probably get some good PR for helping her out.

Danica hasn't proved herself to be a better driver than all the drivers out there, but few have. I hope she gets a win somewhere, and I think it the Cup series would be (a lot) less interesting without her.

As for Danica fans, fans are what make this sport so great so more power to the people who invest (emotionally) in her success. I'm glad she got a win in Indy Car so at least people can't say she never won there, but I think a win in a Cup race would be received the world over with 1000 times more fanfare than her Indy Car win.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
With 4 lottery races each year almost any has a shot at winning and if you happen to hit the setup at a cookie cutter winning is not out of the question. IMO what will have to happen with DP is that a light switch will have to be turned on as she is not improving at a fast enough rate.

If it was the old days where you were driving for the Stavola's or Junie Donalvey learning your craft so you could catch on with a top team it would be one thing. However she has started with a championship winning organization that has the best of everything in terms of resources. At her age and her rate of improvement she will be having hot flashes by the time she cracks the top 10 regularly.
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I thought she might have a chance at restrictor plates, but so far I have only seen her run close to the front for very short times. She is so unstable that the drivers around her shuffle her out, or she wrecks somebody before they have the chance. She has better luck hanging back and trying to improve her position after a GWC comes out. I thought her next best opportunity would be road racing and she was in the running at Watkins Glenn once, but she freaked out and lost the lead, and then Villineuve booted her into the marbles. Since that time she hasn't been close to the front in qualifying or in a road race itself..Talent is way to stout in the road racing pool it is proving. 1.5's forget it. She had one decent short track outing, the slower speeds seem to work, but still along way from getting up front and winning, lots of speed difference between 1st and 10th. Sorry but I just don't think this particular driver is going to win a race anywhere in the Nascar cup series.
 
DelsFan said:
I think Danica has been very good for NASCAR, and of course she hasn't been done by (financially) too poorly either. In her favor, I think she is as internally competitive as any of the other drivers and is a racer at heart. She couldn't make the kind of money she is making doing something (anything) else, but then neither could anyone else in the Cup series - I think Danica is out there to win races (a race!) if she possibly can.

I think it is hard to race in this sport without help from other drivers - reference Kurt Busch sacrificing his starting position to drop back and help Danica out (a lot) during the Green-White-Checkered Duel Race #2 finish. And Danica doesn't seem to get much help from drivers who are not her teammates. Although I wonder, if I were running in third place coming out of four on the last lap of a race, with Danica and one other driver I had no ties to running side by side in front of me, I think it would be an easy call for me to push her to the win. A win for the sport and a no-lose for me, I'm not gonna win the race regardless. Probably get some good PR for helping her out.

Danica hasn't proved herself to be a better driver than all the drivers out there, but few have. I hope she gets a win somewhere, and I think it the Cup series would be (a lot) less interesting without her.

As for Danica fans, fans are what make this sport so great so more power to the people who invest (emotionally) in her success. I'm glad she got a win in Indy Car so at least people can't say she never won there, but I think a win in a Cup race would be received the world over with 1000 times more fanfare than her Indy Car win.
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Regarding other drivers helping DP or pushing her etc that sort of thing is only applicable at the 4 lottery races. At other tracks if you have the power you can pull out and pass without the aid of anyone else. I don't doubt that DP is competitive but many people in all facets of life are.

Nascar needs all the people it can get spending money and speaking well of the series and whoever helps get that accomplished is an asset. If being emotionally involved gets people to spend more dough and support the series at a higher level then bring them on. I doubt if I will ever understand how a person can be that involved with a person or group they don't know (well other than teeny boppers) but it is obvious some fans are uber attached and I say good for them!
 
StandOnIt said:
I thought she might have a chance at restrictor plates, but so far I have only seen her run close to the front for very short times. She is so unstable that the drivers around her shuffle her out, or she wrecks somebody before they have the chance. She has better luck hanging back and trying to improve her position after a GWC comes out. I thought her next best opportunity would be road racing and she was in the running at Watkins Glenn once, but she freaked out and lost the lead, and then Villineuve booted her into the marbles. Since that time she hasn't been close to the front in qualifying or in a road race itself..Talent is way to stout in the road racing pool it is proving. 1.5's forget it. She had one decent short track outing, the slower speeds seem to work, but still along way from getting up front and winning, lots of speed difference between 1st and 10th. Sorry but I just don't think this particular driver is going to win a race anywhere in the Nascar cup series.
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Maybe if she was 10 years younger and had a few years experience in X cars things would be different but at this stage I just can't see everything coming together for her. I don't know if she wants to start a family but the clock is ticking on that too. If she wants a child or two that will take important time away from her time in the seat.
 
Kevin Harvick's the only driver at SHR, right now, who's been consistently competitive and that entire organization has been in constant turmoil for the past two years or so. So, I mean, it seems a bit unfair to put it all on Danica.
 
I wish I could strap on a helmet and get in a car and push her on a plate track...Kills me to see others avoid drafting with her. I think as Ive mentioned before Its a product of the "Denny Incident". I am a Danica Fan with my eyes wide open. I know she needs to have a much different season this year. I hope other drivers realize she is just, imho trying to protect her line and her right to be there....This will be an interesting season.

To me, I really hope she can win on a road course. The ultimate would be to win at the glen in the rain
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Kevin Harvick's the only driver at SHR, right now, who's been consistently competitive and that entire organization has been in constant turmoil for the past two years or so. So, I mean, it seems a bit unfair to put it all on Danica.
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Actually, They might be more vested in her with the upheaval this year. That can be a good thing!
 
If Danica does ever win a race, I hope she gets it honest. On more than a couple of occasions we've seen NASCAR throw an invisibris caution when Danica is about to go a lap down or about to fall out of the lucky dog position. So hopefully if she gets that win, it won't be because of any shenanigans on NASCAR's part.
 
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