Over the last season, Twitter has exploded as a way for many racing personalities to deliver messages directly to both their fan base and the media. Saturday afternoon, Danica Patrick did just that.
"I am heading off to New York for an announcement about next years plans! I will be on GMA Monday morning!" twittered Patrick.
This left the question of whether or not NASCAR would be included in her announcement still unanswered. Good Morning America is on ABC. That network carries a handful of IRL races, including the Indy 500. Sister network ESPN also carries the entire NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule.
This is the series in which Patrick was reportedly seeking a part-time ride. Visits by Patrick to JR Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing were widely reported. Randy LaJoie offered on Twitter that his company, the Joie of Seating, had built and delivered a NASCAR racing seat for Patrick.
Minutes after Patrick offered her Twitter comments, a response came from Michael Waltrip. "And the 1st runner-up was?" asked Waltrip. This seems to suggest that Waltrip knows MWR is not going to host Patrick's NASCAR debut, but is curious about just who is.
USA Today's Nate Ryan followed with his Twitter comments. "My understanding: Only Indycar plans...NASCAR still not finalized/signed."
It was November 6th when ESPN the Magazine's Ryan McGee reported "Sources: Danica Near NASCAR Deal" on the ESPN.com website. Click on the headline to read the entire story. McGee suggested Patrick was on the verge of a two-year deal with JR Motorsports for select Nationwide Series races.
What made this story so interesting were the quotes from Dale Earnhardt Jr. directly. ""She's really serious about coming to NASCAR. A lot of people, I guess, thought that it was just a media hoax or her kind of blowing smoke," Earnhardt Jr. said. "She's really serious about it, and she's going to do it with somebody."
We look at things from a NASCAR TV and media perspective here at TDP. Patrick again is going to capture a significant audience on Monday. NASCAR fans are just looking for the first sign that she will be bringing her unique presence and personal brand to the sport.
Love her or hate her, Patrick knows how to work the media.
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