Seventh in souvenir sales in 2016. If the people buying her gear aren't fans, please explain how she's outselling drivers with better records (including former champions).
https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...sales-fanatics-trackside-superstore/87578428/
http://autoweek.com/article/nascar-...ivers-merchandise-sold-youll-never-guess-no-4
(And before somebody says, "Well, those people are her fans, not NASCAR fans", the same could be said of all those people who get up and leave or change channels when Jeff Gordon or Dale Sr. had accidents.)
I don't see any other driver causing sell-out the stands or increased TV ratings. Why do you place that responsibility on her shoulders? If Dale Jr. was going to run at Daytona, would that also be a gimmick? He wouldn't draw any more fans than he's attracted in the past. Chase Elliott is going to run the entire season, but you're not complaining about him not putting butts in the seats. What's Kyle Busch doing to increase TV viewers?
All the original poster said was that her participation would be good for the sport, not that it would save the world. She'd drawn fans and she's getting media attention; those are the only things he said would come of this. For whatever reason, you're over exaggerating his statements to an extreme..