Danica to Nascar??

R

RustyFan4Ever

Guest
63934.1

Ray McNulty: Next step for Danica should be NASCAR
By Ray McNulty
sports columnist
June 1, 2005

There's only one place for Danica Patrick to go from here.

And it's not Nashville.



Or Milwaukee.

Or Pikes Peak.

Nobody cares about those races.

Not really. Not the way they care about Charlotte and Talladega and Daytona. Not even with America's auto-racing sweetheart behind the wheel.

Yes, this year's Indianapolis 500 became must-see TV. But only because Patrick, who possesses the supermodel looks and high-speed driving skills needed to bring Victoria's Secret to Victory Lane, proved she was more than just a pretty face.

The race was, for the most part, what it usually is.

Boring.

All the way to the anticlimactic, yellow-flag finish.

Only when it appeared Patrick had a real chance to win, working her way into the lead on the 190th lap, did anyone not standing and cheering at The Brickyard have any reason to get excited.

That's when what's supposed to be "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing" finally became worth watching. That's when ABC's ratings soared.

For the final 15 minutes of an otherwise uneventful afternoon.

But the race ended. Patrick finished fourth. Nobody got killed.

See you next year.

Already, the buzz created by the novelty of a woman driving in the Indy 500 has dissipated. And, truth is, there will be no noticeable carry over to the next stop on the Indy Racing League Series.

We watched the Indy 500 because Patrick was driving.

We watched Patrick drive because it was the Indy 500.

It was a compelling combination.

But let's face it: Most of us aren't going to sit home on a summer afternoon and watch Patrick drive anywhere else on the IRL circuit.

Here in America, open-wheel racing simply doesn't start our engines. It is, for all intents and purposes, a foreign sport. In fact, only 14 of the 33 drivers who started Sunday's Indy 500 were Americans.

We might as well have been watching soccer.

Here in America, we prefer the paint-trading, bump-drafting, cussin' and fussin' of NASCAR, where born-in-the-USA drivers race hard in revved-up Chevys and Fords and Dodges.

As the ticket sales and TV ratings will attest: NASCAR is our kind of racing.

And Patrick, if she can handle driving heavier cars with fenders, immediately would become one of the sport's biggest draws.

She's as likeable as she is attractive. She's as tough as she is talented. She has star quality.

Think Shania Twain . . . at 200 mph.

NASCAR is the big show of auto racing, and Patrick belongs on the grandest stage.

And if she wins?

She could do for auto racing what Mia Hamm did for soccer: Little girls across the Fruited Plain will grow up wanting to be like Danica.

So it's only a matter of time before Patrick makes her move. She is, after all, only 23, only a racing rookie. She's still learning, still getting better, still finding out how good she can be.

And she might want to take another run at Indy.

But, eventually, she needs to jump to the big leagues and mix it up with the NASCAR boys at Charlotte and Talladega and, especially, Daytona — because there' only one place for her to go if she wants to become a real, American auto-racing idol.

And it's not Pikes Peak.
 
Why should she leave IRL? What does she have to gain by trying NASCAR? If that's what she wants to do, best of luck to her. But damn folks, why don't we wait until she at least wins a pole or even a race before making her out the be the best since an Andretti or Unser?

I'm not trying to take anything away from here by any means and I think she'll do well this year....probably win a pole and a race or two. But there's no reason to start saying "where she should go" and "what she should do".
 
ummm she have alot to gain from joining nascar Money, for starters and face it Nascar is #1 series in the USA.Noone cares about the IRL Series and she would be smart to get out of there and come to Nascar were people are watching.When she comes to Nascar and I belive she will and do well this could what helps them topple the NFL.
 
Yeah! She will have to have a much better record before anyone would invest more millions in her.. MaryKay comes to mind.. As a first try company.. Fredricks is a reach but who knows?
Betsy
 
ummm I didn't see too many empty seats at Indy. There might be more people who care about the IRL than you think.
 
so under this assumption...shouldnt the winner of the Indy 500 go to NASCAR also? we dont know how great of a driver she is...she only led a handful of laps at Indy. People are talking like she dominated the race and lost it at the end.

I hope she does good...but just because she's female does not mean she should get an automatic jump to Nascar...see Shawna Robinson about that...people thought just because she was female she should be racing in the top series...that was just a few years ago...what is she racing today? i know she's not even racing in the busch series..she just didnt have the talent to do it.
 
fergy1370 said:
Why should she leave IRL? What does she have to gain by trying NASCAR? If that's what she wants to do, best of luck to her. But damn folks, why don't we wait until she at least wins a pole or even a race before making her out the be the best since an Andretti or Unser?

I'm not trying to take anything away from here by any means and I think she'll do well this year....probably win a pole and a race or two. But there's no reason to start saying "where she should go" and "what she should do".
Click to expand...

actualy she did win the pole for the japan race.

but i think it would be great for her to come to nascar. it would make sense since there is more money. maybe she can be hte first woman to pull double duty on memorial day.
 
i think its a good idea about danica going to nascar.
if that's ever going to happen robby gordon just might leave nascar also hahaha
 
Originally Posted by shadowflames
i think its a good idea about danica going to nascar.
if that's ever going to happen robby gordon just might leave nascar also hahaha
Click to expand...

nope.....he wouldnt...if you would have read the statement he made about all of that he stated that in Nascar the cars are equal weight. If she raced in Nascar, then her car would weigh the same as his does...unlike in IRL.
 
Anyone ever consider the money is not her biggest concern?? She obviuously loves to race and it appears IRL cars are the one's she likes to race. NASCAR is a totally different car and she still has a lot to show in IRL.
 
If it was only the love of racing she would prolly still be in go-carts! No it is about the desire to be the BEST at something and the fame and fortune that follows. She, as the rest of us, would JUMP at a chance for a ride on sundays!
Betsy
 
If it was only the love of racing she would prolly still be in go-carts! No it is about the desire to be the BEST at something and the fame and fortune that follows. She, as the rest of us, would JUMP at a chance for a ride on sundays!
Betsy
Click to expand...

not necassiarly.....now maybe most of us on this board would jump at a chance to drive in Nascar, but then again we are all Nascar fans...IRL is a completely different style of racing, where you basically drive an airplane on wheels.....a lot of people that watch IRL dont care for Nascar style racing and visa versa....if she is a big fan of the Indy Style of racing, she's not at the top of her league yet...and that would be F1, where she would probably make more money than if she were to drive in Nascar.
 
God forbid someone doing something they loved.....maybe she hated go-carts.

I wonder if most of us know as much about ourselves as we know about everyone else.
 
I'm not even going to suggest what I think Danica should do, because it is her business where and what she drives.

I do think its a shame that her talent is not seen by more people simply because the series does not get the huge TV exposure.
 
Looking at this picture of her, I've got something...
Well, never mind, just look at the picture. :growl:
danica110.jpg
 
Yowsers...
Me thinks she would make some of the NASCAR boys a little uncomfortable on and off the track. :eek:
danica206.jpg
 
Danica is doing what she loves and has a dang good head on her sholders.
There have been many Nascar drivers with a history of open wheel racing (Tony Stewart for one) who have done well in Nascar.
Her heart, mind, skill, etc. will help her decide her own future in racing....amen
 
Looks to like she has a good head on her shoulders. Arms, legs and a lot of other body parts. :D
 
I have a couple questions.

Who here had any idea of just who Danica Patrick was two weeks ago (hell, who knew who she was just one week ago)?

And, aside from the 5 or 10 minute blurb by ABC last Sunday before the Indy 500, knows anything at all about her?

Everything I know about Danica Patrick I've "learned" since last Sunday. I know I can't state any facts about her abilities as a driver, her experience, and certainly not her future plans about any career in racing she may have. I simply don't know who the heck she is or her plans. And my bet is that next to no one here does either. I did watch her race and she did show me that she can drive a race car........but she wouldn't be in the Indy 500 if she couldn't do that anyway. She's being hyped (read that as being used) by the media and the sport to boost interest. It happens all the time and, as long as the driver knows it (which I'm sure she does), it's just fine. I just find it interesting that so many have been taken in so quickly.
 
No she should stay in the IRL.
Sarah Fisher was in the IRL and doing O.K. then she went to NASCAR and is racing in the NASCAR West Series.
So if Danica comes to NASCAR she won't be as big of a star as she is in the IRL.
 
THe USA Today had a story on her just about everyday last week. Odd facts She is a drop out but has her GED. She was fired by her mom at the family business. She would not get to work on time. The family bus. is making glass window panes. It paid for all her early racing. Her mom said if D needed more money they would just make and sale more glass.LOL She moved to England to learn all she could on open wheel cars.
I think she will stay in open wheel cars. It would be great if she was the only American in F1. That would be a huge story.
 
Peter Jennings, Robert Di Nero, Richard Branson, Joe Louis, Andrew Jackson, Rosa Parks, H.G Wells and Sonny Bono are few other drop-outs. Of course they didn't gain notoriety over one fine weekend in May. Personally, I don't see the big $%^*&(* deal. So she drives a race car. There are women who live in every community across the land - including my mother - who do a hell of a lot more before 7:00am than she probably does in an entire week.

But, good luck to her. Especially when the media is done with her.

Now, will someone please do a top-ten list about all this? :)
 
The one thing I don't here people mention is the quality of ride she is in. What did she do to deserve the ride that was the defending champion? If she goes to NASCAR what kind of ride would she get? She's not getting Jeff's ride, she's not getting tony's ride. She would probably get something similar to what Shawna got and where is she now?
 
In the Sports Illustrated she made the cover for, she says, she wants IRL to kick NASCAR's butt, I dont see anything of that order happening, alteast anytime soon.
 
I think the open wheel cars lost a lot of fans when the whole CART/IRL thing happened. I'm not really an open wheel fan, but I'd rather watch ANY form of auto racing than watch a bunch of over-paid bozos chase a ball around. I think Danica is good publicity for the sport, I think she showed that she can drive and I think she also showed that she is a rookie. I'd like to see how she does with a little more seat time. Rahal is no dummy. I think Danica has a lot of potential.
Plus she's easy on the eyes!
 
fergy1370 said:
ummm I didn't see too many empty seats at Indy. There might be more people who care about the IRL than you think.
Click to expand...


Indy is its own beast. Watch any other race in the IRL series and I doubt you'll see one track more than half full. Look at the forums here on this site. There are TWO threads showing on the IRL list and one is about a wood model replica car. This is one week after their biggest (only) race! The F1 forum has more than twice as many threads and the Champion Series even has more. People don't care about IRL.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom