Danicamania 2009

[Digger]

Here we go again...

The risks, rewards of a Danica-NASCAR merger

Patrick is the hard-charging driver/cover girl/swimsuit model who turned the venerable Indianapolis 500 on its ear in 2005, at age 23, by leading the race for 19 laps and finishing fourth, unprecedented achievements by a woman. Since then, she has become the face of the I.R.L., its most marketable asset and a driver for perhaps the best team, Andretti Green.But her contract with Andretti Green expires after this season, and speculation about Patrick’s next career move is heating up. Will she remain in the open-wheel world of I.R.L.? Is the globetrotting Formula One circuit an option? Or will she jump to the stock cars of Nascar's Sprint Cup series, the richest and most visible racing league in the United States?

<snip>

The most intriguing option is Nascar, the major leagues of North American motor sports and the citadel of good ol’ boy racing. Not only has a woman not won a Cup race, there has not been a woman who has run a full season. And no Sprint Cup driver has appeared in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, twice, wearing a bikini and heels.

“She would have a huge impact on Nascar,” said Humpy Wheeler, the chairman of the Wheeler Company consulting firm and the former president of Lowe’s Motor Speedway in North Carolina. “Sixty percent of the Nascar crowd is male, and they like the current drivers, but there’s not any pretty ones out there.”



Max Muhleman, the principal of Private Sports Consulting in Charlotte, N.C., agreed.

“She would be a ticket-selling machine, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “She would rock the turnstiles. As a woman and a cute girl, she would be a special kind of sensation.”

(I guess neither of them have seen Gabi Dicarlo in their lifetime)

<snip>

“Danica entering Nascar would certainly provide the sport with a deep level of marketing impact,” Cohn said. “And it would provide Nascar with one of the biggest stories of the year, generating a significant amount of media coverage, consumer and fan engagement, and corporate attention.”

(because NASCAR doesn't have consumer and fan engagement or coporate attention)

<snip>

Guthrie said she never raced for the money and seemed disappointed that Patrick might be driven by a net-income imperative. “Like many people, I really regret seeing those soft-porn photos that will be around forever on the Web,” Guthrie said, referring to Patrick’s appearances in Sports Illustrated and other magazines. “But if that’s what she wants to do, it’s worked for her. She made, what, $7 million last year?”

Patrick said she saw Formula One as an unlikely place for her to land because she did not want to travel the world. And there are elements of the Nascar experience that concern her, including the length of the Sprint Cup schedule, 36 races, compared with the I.R.L.’s 18. She added that she would need to join one of Nascar’s elite teams to have a fair expectation of success.

(Formula One probably wouldn't allow her to race anyways since FIA is more racist and sexist than NASCAR supposedly is)

...

Who writes this crap?

 

[Digger]

Danica needs NASCAR more than NASCAR needs Danica.

Besides, anyone hoping to run in NASCAR's 3 elite divisions (Spitcup, Nationwide, Trucks) must have, at least, 2 ARCA Re/Max Series (one speedway and one superspeedway) in order to be approved for NASCAR competition.

The ARCA Talladega 250 is this Friday. She doesn't have time.

 

[MRM]

Could you imagine what would be said the first time she ran into Harvick, Robby G, or Stewart?

 

[barelypure]

“She would be a ticket-selling machine, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “She would rock the turnstiles".

Danica needs NASCAR more than NASCAR needs Danica.

You would think if you were going to post something you would at least read what you are posting. With the fannies in the seats going down and the eyeballs on the TV ratings going down if she could bring more viewers to bear then of course NASCAR would benefit by having her.

And, with the money she's already won and her obvious talent I don't think she's hurting to bad on keeping biscuits on the table...

 

[SlowNeasy]

danica in nascar will never happen. i like her and like her where she is. she's good at it. she doesn't have the right kind of racing background to be competitive in nascar for at least 3-5 years, if ever. the schedule, cars, contact, bigger fields, etc... are all against her. stay put danica. after getting that hefty new contract of course. <g>

 

[SST55]

I'm going to sound like a male chauvinist pig and I apologize in advance.

She's 5'2" and weighs 100 pounds according to a Wiki article I just read.
I know she's got talent but wonder if she has the physical strength and stamina to handle a cup car? The cars are heavier, races are longer, and then there's the heat to contend with that's not present in open wheel cars.

I'm just wondering, please don't kill the messenger, I already apologized remember?

<edit> But she will sell tickets!

 

[MRM]

I'm going to sound like a male chauvinist pig and I apologize in advance.

She's 5'2" and weighs 100 pounds according to a Wiki article I just read.
I know she's got talent but wonder if she has the physical strength and stamina to handle a cup car? The cars are heavier, races are longer, and then there's the heat to contend with that's not present in open wheel cars.

I'm just wondering, please don't kill the messenger, I already apologized remember?

<edit> But she will sell tickets!

Have you seen AJ Allemendinger, John Andretti, or Jason Leffler? They're not exactly Buddy Baker or Junior Johnson in stature.

 

[SST55]

True, they're not Buddy Baker or Jr Johnson but they're also not 100 pounds.

Now I do know a little about this, strength between men and women. I'm sure Bp will jump in and correct any inaccuracies.

My daughter has been a EMT/Paramedic for the past 6 years, she's also a vol firefighter. Come next month she'll complete her second year of college,pre-vet.

She's now enrolled in the state fire academy to become a full fledged FF1.
They make no distinction between male and female candidates, she has to perform the same as a 6'4" 225 pound guy.

It is grueling. She'll make it, she's even more hard headed than me. best way to get her to do something is to tell her she can't,,then stand back.

I don't know if Danica has that drive, to me, IMHO she doesn't.

FWIW, here's my daughter and her two friends, Dakota and Deniro

 

[Digger]

She's 5'2" and weighs 100 pounds according to a Wiki article I just read.
I know she's got talent but wonder if she has the physical strength and stamina to handle a cup car? The cars are heavier, races are longer, and then there's the heat to contend with that's not present in open wheel cars.

Don't forget the races are also twice as long in Cup. Even the Nationwide races are longer than most IRL races.

If she came to NASCAR, I'm sure she'd get a top ride. I'm sure she'd sell tickets, but I'm saying NASCAR doesn't need her. There are plenty of women in the stock car ranks right now who have a lot of talent and potential. Okay, They aren't Danica Patrick in the looks department. But Janet Guthrie, Shirley Muldowney and Bunny Burkett weren't exactly knockouts either.

NASCAR doesn't need Danica.

 

[Digger]

She'll make it, she's even more hard headed than me.

That's saying something .. sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

Danica is about the only thing that can save Nascar, but she would command so much money that it will never happen. Her salary and endorsements would easily be the highest in Nascar, and the few drivers with the "Good Ol' Boy" mentality (Junior for one) would go ballistic.

The IRL is steadily chipping away at the Nascar audience. There was a huge crowd at Long Beach to see the IRL Grand Prix, a race in which Patrick finished 4th. The IRL will make sure and keep their #1 star, no matter what it takes.

It is funny that Nascar may need the help of a 5'2, 100 lb. lady to save it's falling attendance and T.V. ratings. One thing that really hurt Nascar was a report recently released to the public which said that the average Nascar fan earns below the median income in this country. So Nascar fans feel the financial pinch more than just about any other sports fan. Nascar brought this on themselves, with the boxes that they run around in, the non-competitiveness of most of their races, the staged finishes (always a mysterious yellow with a couple of laps to go) and the Gestapo like tactics that Nascar uses to rule their sport. Their drivers are either boring, or sound like Jed Clampett's family members. They can not conduct a simple interview without taking 3/4's of the time to thank their sponsors, though that time is diminishing with the diminishing sponsorships. Nascar has seen it's best days, and they are behind them now. A major chance is needed for them to start to climb in popularity again. While Danica would be a welcome change, that is not going to happen.

 

[Digger]

It is funny that Nascar may need the help of a 5'2, 100 lb. lady to save it's falling attendance and T.V. ratings.

Attendance and TV ratings are down for every professional sport. Yes, the TV ratings are down for your precious IRL.

Would Danica bring fans to NASCAR? Yes. But NASCAR can live fairly strong without those fans.

IndyCar, on the other hand, would go back 30-50% attendance, lower TV ratings than MSDNC, and no media attention (except for Indianapolis).

 

[Digger]

Danica is about the only thing that can save Nascar, but she would command so much money that it will never happen. Her salary and endorsements would easily be the highest in Nascar, and the few drivers with the "Good Ol' Boy" mentality (Junior for one) would go ballistic.

The IRL is steadily chipping away at the Nascar audience. There was a huge crowd at Long Beach to see the IRL Grand Prix, a race in which Patrick finished 4th. The IRL will make sure and keep their #1 star, no matter what it takes.

It is funny that Nascar may need the help of a 5'2, 100 lb. lady to save it's falling attendance and T.V. ratings. One thing that really hurt Nascar was a report recently released to the public which said that the average Nascar fan earns below the median income in this country. So Nascar fans feel the financial pinch more than just about any other sports fan. Nascar brought this on themselves, with the boxes that they run around in, the non-competitiveness of most of their races, the staged finishes (always a mysterious yellow with a couple of laps to go) and the Gestapo like tactics that Nascar uses to rule their sport. Their drivers are either boring, or sound like Jed Clampett's family members. They can not conduct a simple interview without taking 3/4's of the time to thank their sponsors, though that time is diminishing with the diminishing sponsorships. Nascar has seen it's best days, and they are behind them now. A major chance is needed for them to start to climb in popularity again. While Danica would be a welcome change, that is not going to happen.

EVERY NASCAR Sprint Cup race is on broadcast or basic cable.

Where was Danica's first win? ESPN CLASSIC... a channel avaliable to only 20% of the nation.

Where is the IRL now? Versus, a channel many people still don't get.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

EVERY NASCAR Sprint Cup race is on broadcast or basic cable.

Where was Danica's first win? ESPN CLASSIC... a channel avaliable to only 20% of the nation.

Where is the IRL now? Versus, a channel many people still don't get.

You miss the entire point. No one is saying that the IRL is more popular than Nascar. What I am saying, and what can easily be proven, is that the IRL is gaining in popularity while Nascar falls. Danica Patrick is the most recognizeable name in auto racing today. Who does Nascar have to compete with her popularity? Some fool who would not be racing at all if not for his fathers name. He is not even one of the Top 10 racers in Nascar, but who else do they have to promote their sport? Gordon and Johnson are about as exciting as watching a Chess game. Edwards is O.K, but does not come off as the brightest bulb in the lamp. Nascar did not have this problem before they started to race boxes and took a Gestapo like attitude. Sure the economy has hurt them, but so have the self inflicted wounds.

 

[Digger]

who else do they have to promote their sport?

Wild Thing.

YW.

 

[SST55]

One thing that really hurt Nascar was a report recently released to the public which said that the average Nascar fan earns below the median income in this country.

Where might one find this report? Google and Yahoo searches return results that dispute your statement. Just search for "nascar fan income"

http://www.greenflagmarketing.com/demographics.htm
http://www.gem81.fanspace.com/demographics.html
http://www.gnextinc.com/demographics.html
http://www.toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com/NASCAR_demo.pdf

etc

 

[Digger]

Danica Patrick is the most recognizeable name in auto racing today. Who does Nascar have to compete with her popularity?

Danica Patrick isn't popular because of her racing. She's popular because of her constant narcissistic sexual innuendo.

As to comparing Danicamania with Junyer... Junyer had 3 or 4 wins within his first 50 races in a series which fields 43 cars. It took Danica Patrick 50 races to get 1 win in a series that fields 18 cars.

NASCAR doesn't need Danica. Gabi DiCarlo (who isn't exactly hard to look at) is in Trucks already. Alli Owens will probably be in Nationwide before the season ends and has an enormous amount of talent. Do you not think they'll bring fans in to the sport? I assure you they will ... in fact, Alli Owens has brought a pretty decent fan base to ARCA.

 

[Digger]

Where might one find this report? Google and Yahoo searches return results that dispute your statement. Just search for "nascar fan income"

http://www.greenflagmarketing.com/demographics.htm
http://www.gem81.fanspace.com/demographics.html
http://www.gnextinc.com/demographics.html
http://www.toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com/NASCAR_demo.pdf

etc

I went to Ask.com, the official search engine of NASCAR.

http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2455&o=...average+income+of+a+nascar+fan?&search=search

 

[BigdaddyQH]

I went to Ask.com, the official search engine of NASCAR.

http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2455&o=...average+income+of+a+nascar+fan?&search=search

You are giving me quotes from a 2005 study? Who cares about 2005.

 

[Digger]

You are giving me quotes from a 2005 study? Who cares about 2005.

Please enlighten me, oh wise one

where I can find this newer study you quote and how the average income of NASCAR fans has dropped $50,000.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

Please enlighten me, oh wise one

where I can find this newer study you quote and how the average income of NASCAR fans has dropped $50,000.

Where did you get $50,000? You make it sound like you people actually have big moeny. You don't. Do you really think that the average Nascar fan makes over 100K a year? They sure as hell don't. Do you think that the average Nascar fan can afford to go to an NFL football game? The answer is NO. Why do you think their attendance has fallen through the roof? Why did they not sell out the Daytona 500? Why do they have to give away tickets at just about every race? If the average Nascar fan had money, their would be an INCREASE in attendance, because the tickets are cheaper than last year. What happened?

 

[SST55]

What color is the sky where you are? Do you have newspapers, radio, or TV? Have you heard about this thing called a recession? Banks failing and getting bailed out, Wall st tanking, 401k's turning into 101k's , Detroit in trouble, almost 9% unemployment, credit tightening, housing sales dropping along with their value?

That's what happened bunkie. Every sport is hurting for attendence. People who have jobs today are scared shi(r)tless of the pink slip coming this Friday. Many good people I know who had good jobs last year don't have them this year.

<edit> Allow me to add, I had plans to travel to Fla for speedweeks but the great state of corruption, Rhode Island, pulled back on state grants. I had 11 days to come up with $4900.00 for college tution. Needless to say I didn't go to Fla and my kids still in school.

 

[Digger]

Where did you get $50,000? You make it sound like you people actually have big moeny. You don't. Do you really think that the average Nascar fan makes over 100K a year?

The average income of a NASCAR Nextel Cup fan is 83,000, according to:

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Does-NASCAR-Stand-For?&id=191277

The average salary in America is a little under $30,000 a year.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_income_in_america

(CNN showed this statistic during coverage of President Obama's Address to Congress)

... but another study shows:

The average income of the NASCAR fan is $43,280

http://www.prime-timepromotions.com/partnerships.htm

Either way, it's still above the average American workers' income.

So, you fail.

Do you think that the average Nascar fan can afford to go to an NFL football game? The answer is NO. Why do you think their attendance has fallen through the roof? Why did they not sell out the Daytona 500? Why do they have to give away tickets at just about every race? If the average Nascar fan had money, their would be an INCREASE in attendance, because the tickets are cheaper than last year. What happened?

NFL is marketed differently and fans are blackmailed in to going to the games or they do not see the games. Even in an economic depression, the NFL will not change that -- and it is a failing marketing strategy. TV ratings have fallen, more games are not televised and more games are not getting sold out.

In case you haven't noticed, we're in a global depression right now that, even if we recover from it, will continue to have long-term economic burdens on anyone not making millions of dollars a year.

 

[SST55]

Andy, I think he's ignoring us,,,,,,

 

[WNY24Fan]

Even before things got this bad, I wondered how NASCAR fans afforded going to more than one race a year. I'd look at ticket prices, add in all the other expenditures and wonder, how do these people afford this?! One weekend costs as much as it would to take a family of four on a half-way decent vacation and when you're not taking vacations since it seems like too much, are you really going to spend your money on a race for one or two of the family? I don't think so. I always wondered why a blue collar sport charged white collar prices for its races. No matter WHERE we live, we are all toothless rednecks, doncha know?

It's actually much less expensive to go to the Indy Car race here.

 

[SST55]

Super Bowl ticket prices absolutely floor me. 2 grand and up last time the Pats were in it around here. They sold every ticket too. Add in air fare, lodging and food <whew> makes a NA$CAR ticket look cheap!

It's the motel/hotel bills that are the killer, look at how the prices jump 2x,3x,5x the normal rate when NA$CAR comes to town.

 

[speedwayphoto]

Ok, few points i would like to make.............

it was said on here that NASCAR doesn't need a woman to improve ratings or sell tickets, ( as I read it....) Well, if you look thru the history books, you will see NASCAR and promotors have LONG since done this....... When a certain track down south ( Ga. I believe it was...) was having trouble sellin tickets, the promotor bought a car for Louise Smith to drive, see also Eythl Flock. When a certain track was strugglin in Virginia, they brought in Wendell Scott...... the first black driver. When Charlotte Motor Speedway was losin ticket sales to ARCA because the best they had was banned, and he was drivin in ARCA, they ( NASCAR) brought back Curtis Turner....... as a marketin gimmick in the early to mid seventies, Humpy Wheeeler had a car built for a fan vote..... the best ( ie one who got most votes) local driver got to race in the 600. This is NOT somethin new. IF and I think that is a big IF, decides to come to NASCAR, it will def help NASCAR, to a point. I agree with what has been said tho. There are several other drivers that I can think of that have a better shot at "makin it", but Dannica is a media and corporate powehouse that any sponsor would have to think about. So who knows....... I know if it were me, I would go with NASCAR........ far safer, better publicity, and the chance to make LOADS of money........ sorry IRL fans...... but the indy cars take some serious hits, and well, sometimes those guys don't fare too well. But they are FAR safer than 10 years ago.........

As far as comparin Dale Jr to Dannica.....GoDaddy musta thought that was a pretty good combination...... ( im just sayin....lol)

and as for the salary bein below the average...... yea, we hear that all the time, from people who just plain don't know anybetter. If you would look through the infield, and outside the track, there are on any given Sunday hundreds of thousands, daresay millions of dollars in RV's, etc there......... Look at the price of gettin into racing......... I would venture a guess that at say Talledega this weekend, there will be close to a billion dollars in the area of the track, ( Cars, racecars, haulers, RV's, etc.....)

 

[Digger]

Speaking of fast women and stock cars, look who's fastest at Talladega in the ARCA Series.

 

[WNY24Fan]

and as for the salary bein below the average...... yea, we hear that all the time, from people who just plain don't know anybetter. If you would look through the infield, and outside the track, there are on any given Sunday hundreds of thousands, daresay millions of dollars in RV's, etc there......... Look at the price of gettin into racing......... I would venture a guess that at say Talledega this weekend, there will be close to a billion dollars in the area of the track, ( Cars, racecars, haulers, RV's, etc.....)

That's exactly why I wondered why they called NASCAR a blue collar sport. Look at all the money invested by the people there. We couldn't even afford to rent one of those monster RVs for the weekend and pay the gas. Well, maybe we could, but then you have to pay a ton for reserved camping passes if you want a decent place to park, AND buy race tickets. Even if you don't stay at the track, the motels even in "nowheres-ville" charge 3 or 4x what they normally charge AND will make minimum stays. A lot of them are not what you would even call a decent motel room under regular circumstances. Add that all up and it's a hell of a lot of money. I think those who travel from race to race are WHITE collar... They sure don't earn (or earned) what my blue collar husband does, esp. with a family to raise.

 

[SST55]

You are correct WNY24fan. Expensive. I have options when going to Daytona. One of the guys sister works for a travel company, we can get a condo for the week. Most recently the Maverick, $210 a week split between 6 guys.

One of the women I worked with is married to a charter boat Captain, he takes the boat to Stuart from RI every winter and works it down there during the winter. We can sleep at their house, on the boat, or wherever we pass out

Lastly is the RV, while nice it's expensive @ 4 mpg. We park it at the Marina the boat is at. Rusty will lease/rent a minivan for a month for us to use if we take the RV.

Even with all these "cost saving measures" it's 2 grand minimum. Tickets for the races at Daytona, New Smynra and the other track which I've drawn a blank on, anyway it's near New Smynra. Food, we eat well. Drink, we do a lot of that. And that's not counting those places with the scantily clad wimmenz they drag me kicking and screaming into.

And if we take a car down to run the World Series, it's crazy expensive. 3 years ago, New Smyrna

 

[Mopardh9]

danica in nascar will never happen. i like her and like her where she is. she's good at it. she doesn't have the right kind of racing background to be competitive in nascar for at least 3-5 years, if ever. the schedule, cars, contact, bigger fields, etc... are all against her. stay put danica. after getting that hefty new contract of course. <g>

She isn't physically strong enough to endure the 36 races that the season would bring. She is a tiny girl, she barely stands 5 feet tall and she weighs 110 or there abouts. Danica might be able to run a limited schedule, but I doubt she could last the entire Cup season. I agree stay where you are Danica and maybe you can win Indy one day.

 

[Spike]

I hope to never see this hideously ugly ***** with an 11 year old boys body in NASCAR. Her godaddy commercials trigger my gag reflex.

Seriously, how can anyone think shes hot, attractive, cute...or hell, how can anyone not think shes a dude? She looks like a post op transexual whos doctor didnt do a very good job. In fact, I have no problem speculating that her body was equipped with a ***** during the early stages of her life.

Bar non, the ugliest famous "female" today by a wide margin.

 

[wilson89]

She has no reason to go to Nascar. Why did Hornish, Franchiti, and Montoya all come to Nascar? There Indy 500 winners. Hornish and Franchiti where also former series champs as well. Danica has not won Indy, has not won the championship and has one win on a weekend where half the cars where at Long Beach and the other half where at Japan.

 

[Digger]

I hope to never see this hideously ugly ***** with an 11 year old boys body in NASCAR. Her godaddy commercials trigger my gag reflex.

Seriously, how can anyone think shes hot, attractive, cute...or hell, how can anyone not think shes a dude? She looks like a post op transexual whos doctor didnt do a very good job. In fact, I have no problem speculating that her body was equipped with a ***** during the early stages of her life.

Bar non, the ugliest famous "female" today by a wide margin.

 

[SlowNeasy]

I hope to never see this hideously ugly ***** with an 11 year old boys body in NASCAR. Her godaddy commercials trigger my gag reflex.

Seriously, how can anyone think shes hot, attractive, cute...or hell, how can anyone not think shes a dude? She looks like a post op transexual whos doctor didnt do a very good job. In fact, I have no problem speculating that her body was equipped with a ***** during the early stages of her life.

Bar non, the ugliest famous "female" today by a wide margin.

lol - it's not danica's femininity this post makes me question. <g>

 

[Digger]

For Patrick, NASCAR would bring endorsements, not wins - Mark Beech - SI.com

Last week the New York Times devoted considerable space to speculation on Danica Patrick's future in the IRL. Her contract with Andretti Green is up after this season, and she seems to be seriously considering a switch to NASCAR. "One of the things I think of is the exposure level that you get in NASCAR with the ratings and viewership," she told the paper. "Their numbers are so much larger than ours, and with that comes a bigger following, comes more popularity, comes more demand for you to endorse other products. So I think it would be an exponential sort of growth."

As much as she is a talented racer, Patrick is also a shrewd businesswoman, which is why I see her moving to NASCAR sooner rather than later. Coming off her second straight appearance in the SI Swimsuit Issue, she seems eminently marketable to the sport's male-heavy audience. And we all know that a driver does not have to win very much (cough, cough) to be marketable to said audience. Don't just take my word for it. Listen to former Lowe's Motor Speedway chairman Humpy Wheeler, "She would be a ticket-selling machine, there's no doubt about that," he told the Times. "She would rock the turnstiles. As a woman and a cute girl, she would be a special kind of sensation."

Financially, anyway, jumping to NASCAR would seem to be the smart move for Patrick. But I'm fairly certain that if she joins NASCAR with only one career victory to her credit -- her IRL win at Motegi, Japan, last spring -- she will retire with one career victory to her credit.

Consider this: Patrick has now raced in IRL -- which is a less competitive series than Cup racing -- for a little over four years, and for the last two, she's been running for the top team on the circuit, Andretti Green. From a driving standpoint, her situation is ideal right now. And it's not too shabby when considered from a business standpoint, either. She made about $7 million last year, after all.

What would await her in NASCAR? A lot would depend on which team she signed with, of course, but even if she joined forces with an outfit as venerable as Hendrick Motorsports, it wouldn't do much to mitigate the extremely steep learning curve that would be in store for her. A Cup car is far heavier and far tougher to handle than the open-wheeled IRL machines she's used to. No less a talent than Juan Pablo Montoya, with seven wins in six years on the Formula One circuit, has taken more than two years to develop into a Chase-competitive driver. And former IRL stud Sam Hornish Jr., who used to beat the pants off Patrick on a regular basis, just notched his first top-10 finish (at Phoenix last week) in 44 Cup starts.

I'm pretty sure Patrick knows all this. And while I don't doubt her commitment to winning races, I also don't doubt that she wouldn't be making the jump to NASCAR expecting instant success. At first, a move to Cup racing would be all about just one thing: hype. Those stunned by the mileage she has so far squeezed out of a four-year-old fourth-place finish in the Indy 500 haven't seen anything yet. The media frenzy around Patrick as a Cup rookie would be like nothing the sport has ever seen. It would be straining credulity to believe that, at the same time she's earning a mint of money from lucrative endorsement deals, she would be too broke up about finishing in the back of the pack 36 weeks out of the year as a rookie.

Athletes and beauty queens typically have short shelf-lives. Unlike most Americans, Patrick is a much more powerful earner in her 20s than she will be in her 40s and 50s. She has to strike while the iron is hot -- a fact of which I'm very sure she's quite aware. Nowhere will the iron be hotter for her next year than in NASCAR, even though attendance and television ratings are in a slump after years of unfettered growth. I don't have a crystal ball in which to gaze, just a gut instinct. And my instinct tells me: brace yourself. Here she comes.

 

[Digger]

Why Danica Patrick Is Not Coming To NASCAR - The NASCAR Insiders

It seems as though at a certain point each year, for the past few years anyway, we invariably get into the “will Danica move to NASCAR” debate. In the past she’s been pretty quick to brush the talk aside, but now something has changed.

This is a post I’ve been thinking about writing for a few weeks, but this recent New York Times article about Danica’s situation sparked quite a bit of discussion this week on the topic, and I figured I’d throw my two cents out there.

At the end of this season, Danica’s current IRL contract with Andretti Green Racing expires, and she will be a free agent. She is now saying that a possible opportunity to drive in NASCAR would be “interesting.”

A major draw for Patrick and her management team, is the level of exposure NASCAR has in this country. There is currently almost no comparison between the 75 million fan, broadcast on network TV, large corporate sponsorship world of NASCAR and the “seen on Versus” IRL. And if there is one thing Danica wants more of, it’s exposure. This is where her problems start.

First, Danica has now become more of a celebrity and a brand, then an actual racecar driver. She is the oddity in a sport dominated by males, and that makes her interesting and marketable. Her solid finishes at Indianapolis, the single win at Japan, and her on and off track antics made her famous, but it was the GoDaddy.com ads and racy photo shoots that brought her the celebrity status.

There is no doubt in my mind that if she showed real interest in NASCAR, she would be presented a number of opportunities. But those possible rides wouldn’t come because of Danica’s ability, they would come because of her marketability. A team that landed her would have a great deal of leverage with sponsors because of her status, and I’m sure there would be no shortage of companies willing to pony up the $20 million+ to sponsor her.

But once the honeymoon period was over and people started realizing that Danica couldn’t get it done in a Cup car, this would all come to a screeching halt.

Over the last three or four seasons we’ve seen several open wheel drivers make the jump to NASCAR. Guys like Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, AJ Allmendinger, Sam Hornish, and Scott Speed are the main examples. And these drivers all came to NASCAR at the top of their game. Among them are multiple Indy 500 wins, IRL and CART Championships, Formula 1 Grand Prix wins and podiums, and countless series wins.

Guess how many Cup wins these drivers combine for?

One.

Remember that when you start picturing Danica behind the wheel of a 3400 lb. stock car.

If these top open wheel drivers have struggled to find success (some struggle to even make races), how can she expect to compete? In 66 career IndyCar starts, Danica has one win, 12 top fives, and 37 top tens. And in those 66 races, she’s only led 84 laps. Keep in mind that IndyCar fields are usually in the low to mid 20’s, and that her lone win came on a fuel mileage gamble. Not exactly what I would call domination.

The comparison between an Indy car and Cup car really ends after the fact that they both have four wheels, a steering wheel, and an engine. Indy cars are light, have tons of downforce, and are set up by engineers. Cup cars are heavy, have very little downforce, and are set up by the driver’s butt. Indy cars are finessed, Cup cars are manhandled. And that’s why I believe Danica would jump in a Cup car and be embarrassed.

(Don’t take this opportunity to slam me about men vs. women issues. If Danica Patrick were Dan Patrick I would present the same argument.)

Here is the interesting part though. I think she and her management both know and understand that she would struggle. I don’t personally believe she has any intentions of making the jump to NASCAR, despite what she may say in the media.

With the IRL season now in full swing, I think Danica is making a power play. By hinting at a possible jump to NASCAR, she is forcing not only the hand of Andretti Green, but also that of the IndyCar Series and Tony George. She is the only real draw for a series that has become mired in mediocrity, and she knows it. With most of their races being dumped to a second tier cable network, George and IndyCar can’t afford to let their only known and marketable driver walk. They need her to help maintain any semblance of acceptable ratings.

On the flip side, NASCAR doesn’t need Danica. And I honestly don’t think Danica needs NASCAR. She gets a ton of airtime without the added fan base, and something tells me her bank account isn’t hurting.

Moving forward, I believe we will see Danica re-sign with Andretti Green, although it may take a while. But something tells me her deal to stay in IndyCar will be a little sweeter then her current deal, thanks to the deep pockets of Tony George.

 

[SST55]

A very good way to open discussions about your future is to let your present employer know you may be seeking a change,,,,or they could just show you the door.

 

[Bucky Badger]

A very good way to open discussions about your future is to let your present employer know you may be seeking a change,,,,or they could just show you the door.

Or show her more money

 

[BigdaddyQH]

For Nascar's sake, I certainly hope that she does jump. But there are many questions that will have to be answered. First, who is going to pay her the salary that she will demand, which will probably be the highest of any Nascar Driver. Second. Which team will she drive for? She certainly is not going to signup with the likes of Michael Waltrip racing. She will go to a big named team. Here is a thought for you. Remember this is only a thought. Hendricks has had enough of Junior and his feuding family, so Hendricks dumps Junior and signs Danica. Junior then goes to Childress racing, the home of his daddy's success. Now that is headline power. That is how to jump start ratings and attnedance. Can you see the talk now? Is there anyone in here that would not love to see that happen? Sure it may be a quick fix for Nascar, but for a couple of years, this would be great.