Working both sides of the street in 2011 gave Danica Patrick an opportunity to leave a lot of issues on the table when she was pressed about her racing future. She made sure to tell the NASCAR media she was still pondering her future plans right up through late July when she confirmed the NASCAR switch.
In a Sports Illustrated article last week, Patrick's former IndyCar owner Michael Andretti told a different tale. "In January of '11 she had to let us know what she was doing for '12," Andretti told reporter Brant James. "We purposely put it in the contract so in case she decided to leave, we had time. I'm glad we did that."
This weekend, Scenedaily.com's Bob Pockrass followed up on this topic when speaking to Patrick at the NASCAR Preview in Charlotte, NC. She had a new spin on why she hid the reality of her NASCAR plans.
"It was just part of my contract – it was just the date I had to tell them what my decision was," Patrick told Pockrass. "That’s just a contractual thing. There are lots of contractual things that go on behind the scenes with drivers and teams."
"At the end of the day, we had a lot of good times and a lot of success," she continued. "We won together and I’ll never forget that. But that was just a contractual obligation I had to do. I was pretty sure the NASCAR thing was going to work one way or another."
Yep, she was pretty sure the NASCAR thing was going to work out because behind the scenes multi-million dollar deals were being done for both Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series rides in 2012. All the while Patrick was essentially working a marketing plan that involved a fundamental deception of the NASCAR media and fan base.
Go Daddy is the company that is paying the way for Patrick's transition to NASCAR. The picture above is from one of the new Super Bowl ads Patrick and Go Daddy girl Jillian Michaels will be featured in this year. So far, none of the commercials feature NASCAR content...so far.
Patrick's full time arrival to NASCAR is going to be highlighted by her attempt to get into the Daytona 500 field with help from Stewart-Haas Racing. In the blink of an eye, the fact she is actually racing full time in the Nationwide Series will be eclipsed by the possibility she could win "The Great American Race."
FOX has already latched onto this publicity generating topic and used Patrick when promoting the upcoming Daytona 500 during the NFL playoff game on Sunday night. While Darrell Waltrip got a nice nod on his Hall of Fame induction, it was Patrick that once again raised eyebrows with the possibility of a woman in the Daytona 500.
Monday, host Steve Brynes will start another season of the only daily NASCAR news and interview show on SPEED called RaceHub. Byrnes has worked very hard to forge a personality for this franchise that features a one-hour topical show produced Monday through Thursday during the season.
SPEED is owned by FOX and was moved to Charlotte years ago to become the official NASCAR TV network. While the deal fell through, the result is that SPEED finds itself located in NASCAR's backyard with almost unlimited access to the key personalities in the sport.
Last week the network announced that the first in-studio guest of the new season of RaceHub was going to be Patrick. Not the current Sprint Cup Series champion, not the NASCAR on FOX announcer just inducted into the Hall of Fame and not the Sprint Cup Series owner last seen with his airplane in pieces in Key West.
Veteran writer Larry Woody talks about what is about to happen when Patrick hits Daytona with making the 500 and winning the Nationwide Series race in mind.
"The only thing that’s dead-solid certain is that Patrick will create an early-season sensation unsurpassed in the sport’s history," said Woody in the Murfreesboro Post. "Next month at Daytona, Patrick will be the talk of the track. She will dominate coverage of the Nationwide Series and when she makes her Sprint Cup Series debut it will overshadow everything else in the vicinity."
Each new season brings a new hot driver who comes into Daytona with lots of buzz. Patrick has JR Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing and Go Daddy signed, sealed and delivered. She has the racy TV ads, the modeling pictures and her own fragrance.
Monday on RaceHub it should be interesting to see just what new marketing topics this experienced saleswoman introduces in her interview. Byrnes is a media veteran and has a way of getting to the heart of the matter. These days, the heart of the matter is whether or not Patrick is there to win, place or just show.
"Can she or can’t she? Nobody knows," says Woody. "But, watching her try is going to be the most intriguing NASCAR storyline to come along in a long time. Patrick pandemonium is barreling toward NASCAR."
That TV exposure from SPEED and FOX begins Monday. Expect it to build and be at a fever pitch by the time practice and qualifying begins in a couple of weeks. SPEED carries the twin Daytona 500 qualifying races, ESPN televises the Nationwide event and FOX beams "The Great American Race" around the world.
The common thread among these items for 2012 is Patrick. With the IndyCar excuse gone, Patrick is now on the spot to deliver just like any other competitor. It's going to be fascinating to watch the NASCAR TV partners deal with this new and unique challenge. She's back and this time, it's for real.
Update 12PM ET Monday: Patrick just announced on the Charlotte Media Tour at SHR that she has added the Coke 600 to her Sprint Cup Series schedule. That means that she will not be in the Indy 500 this year. Pretty big news, especially for IndyCar.
Update 12:30PM ET Monday: Greg Zipadelli just told the media that Danica Patrick will be locked into the Daytona 500. He would not say where the points would come from to lock in that car. This is huge news, expect the media to run with it over the next couple of days. Patrick in the "Great American Race."
We welcome your comments on this topic. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.
55 comments:
Kyle Petty is dead-on about Patrick. She is nothing but a marketing tool and will be just a footnote in NASCAR history.
If she does end up winning a race in Cup, it will be on fuel-mileage (her only win in 7 years in Indy cars), or at a restrictor plate track.
I'll say this tough: She is smart to make her millions while she can. I'm sure she is making double or triple what she was making in Indycars.
Saleswoman is the correct term, JD. I'm still waiting for the marketing to meet the hype. She's only advanced this far by implied sexuality on the GoDaddy ads. That's all the casual fan knows her for, good race car driver is just the assumption. Shawna Robinson would have loved the performance-free attention Danica is going to get next month.
Boogity Boogity Boogity - lets go marketing boys and girls!!
A few years ago I swore up & down that when my driver ( Tony Stewart) left driving I was done with NASCAR TV "coverage". I had slightly mellowed - until this Patrick all Patrick 24/7/365. She has not won a NNS race - yet she gets a Cup ride. And worse Tony is in on this junk.
And with that no small accomplishment comes hyper coverage.
As much as DW drives me nuts, I respect his racing accomplishments.
He deserves air time, Patrick - umm the word is No Heck No.
Yet because of trashy commercials here we go, so I'm gonna watch Daytona (I hope) & then I'm thinking college swimming? wrestling hockey - anything lacking the trashy hypercoverage of Patrick & her sponsor.
This ought to be fun seeing all the media tripping over themselves getting interviews from DP. But she'll bring new fans to the sport which should make BF happy.
The only "buzz" is only going to be created by the MEDIA. Fans have been exposed to Danica since she has run in the NW series but the MEDIA must feel its just not enough. Along with this column the MEDIA will gag us with the Danica factor.
Danica, Danica, Danica - the hype about her will be one more reason for me to watch less NASCAR programming.
I am leaning more and more to simply using trackpass to follow the race.
Nice to know that she can lie along with all the rest of them. How can you tell when a NASCAR (fill in the blank) driver, owner, managment is lying? Answer - their lips are moving.
As a woman all I can say is I hope that shoot did not take too long. Those shoes had to be killing her! Owwww!
I think Danica will be a successful marketing tool for NASCAR if she only has moderate success. She doesn't have to win races to be deemed successful for a long time. Finishing on the lead lap will be deemed successful. Like many celebrities, good looks, press availability and a good PR machine to keep her in the news will mean more than winning races.
Danica and Dale, Jr. can be the darlings of NASCAR without winning races. Danica sought the spotlight but Jr. had it thrust upon him because of his father.
From the beginning Danican't has done nothing but plan her marketing and branding. Those have always been first and foremost in her racing career, not the actual racing itself. If there was ever something that would make me watch less of the NASCAR shows than I do now (I only watch the races) it would be NASCAR's celebrity spokesmodel Danican't.
Fox will be split 50-50 between "All DW All The Time" and "All Danica All the Time". BSPN will be "All Danica All the Time".
I agree with GinaV24 & Buschseries61.
Ugh! I so hope you are wrong JD!
But I know you are not.
Less and less nascar all the time for me. Maybe German or English touring cars from now on!
Already over Danica. Have been for years. Will not be watching the Hub tonight simply because she is on it. She dangled the threat of a NASCAR jump seemingly every time her contract came up for renewal. Not surprised her IndyCar team put that clause in her contract to make her "put up or shut up" so early in the year so they could still have the time to make good decisions for their team when she made the switch. Kudos to them.
Thankful I have Trackpass so that I can watch the races on "mute" and avoid "all Danica all the time". Besides, I often learn more from the drivers/CCs/spotters on their radios (not to mention twitter) than I learn from the TV team anyway.
I do have to say I enjoy it when I'm trackside and Danica walks down pit road and draws the crowd away from the drivers I actually want to see/talk to/get an autograph from, though. Makes it easier for me to get those few precious seconds with my favorites. ;)
I could take the usual angle on this because I think most Planeteers agree to at least a point that Danica is overexposed...no pun intended. ;-)
However, I always have to return to being a capitalist (albeit a fair-minded one). Even if one dislikes it for any of the common reasons people don't care for Danica and/or the hype that surrounds her, the fact remains that any television outlet that would not push her to the limit would be foolish to do so.
As for any backlash...well, those that are anti-hype (or, out-and-out anti-Danica) have already been blown off by Fox and ESPN long ago. Their thought is that the "traditional" racing fan will watch anyway or, if they don't, they are not in the desired demographic anyway so no big deal.
This serves merely as a reminder that this season's television coverage will be just like last season. For those of the Planeteer state of mind, it will once again be a year during which sanity will only be preserved by using the various alternate means to enjoy our beloved sport such as the DVR, the mute button, use of MRN/PRN, Twitter, commiserating here in JD's comments section, and so on...or, for those suffering from extreme frustration like myself, only "running a part-time schedule" in 2012.
That being said, ratings are the name of the television game. Like it or not, Danica will bring ratings. Unfortunately, it also probably brings back ol' DW's creepy old man routine. :-s
I dont think she deceived the media. I think the media deceived themselves. They were the ones who made all this big deal about Danica's "decision". Its not like she could tell them what she had chosen to do because the announcement hadn't been made yet. Plus I dont think the Danica to Stewart Haas deal was done as early as this time last year. And its not like we didnt know what the outcome would be. It wasnt a big secret that she was coming over here full time. Thats just my opinion.
Roland,
I think it's important to remember that in this column Michael Andretti relates that Patrick told him in January of 2011 she would not be returning to IndyCar.
Right up until August, Patrick told the media, including SPEED on TV, that she had not made up her mind. That was just not true.
If she wanted to say no comment, then fine. If she wanted to say the details are still being worked out, no problem. What rubbed folks the wrong way is that what she chose to say was not true.
JD
Greg Zipadelli just announced that Patrick will be locked into the Daytona 500. He did not say where the points would come from.
This is pretty big news. She is in the big race. Here we go!
JD
What I'm reading is, she told Andretti she was leaving....he didn't say she had signed a contract with a NASCAR team at that point, just that she planned to (apparently). But that doesn't mean the details were all worked out or there was a contract in place. Presumably if something had happened & it fell through (like if Go Daddy changed their minds), she might have had the option to try and make a deal with some other IRL team. So the only thing she said that was 'deceptive' was that she was still pondering the future. (Which could mean she was pondering how much they were going to pay her.) Such an evil woman, saying what her agent or lawyer probably told her to. Let's get the rope.
To be honest, I get kind of tired of people in the media thinking they have some right to know what a person's plans are. They don't. I am not a Danica fan, in particular, although I'd like to see her succeed for the sake of NASCAR's health. But dozens of drivers/crew chiefs, etc have had to keep mum as the deals were being done behind the scenes, mine included, yet in the press completely denying anything was going on, even though it was just dotting the i's and they, in general, already knew their 'plans'. But this is Danica, so the press must make it a big deal. Try as I might, I can't care about this, and I think like everything Danica-mania, it's been blown out of proportion. She's simply using the options available to her; and if the press bites, they have no one to blame but themselves. But I think KoSoHo is right, they'd be stupid to not push for any publicity/story they can get.
I saw the bit about Danica getting a pass into The Big Show on the Tweeteley.
That calls for a a follow up JD. I am wondering how it is being accomplished.
But with Mr. Cup Champion Smoke & Mr. Junior & Mr. Rick (in the shadows) and the shameless panting by NASCAR & TV after the young male demo miracles CAN happen.
MIRACLES I tell you!
On the other thing, I jus' ain't worried too much about the hype. Seen it all before. They can hype her all they please, but if she does not put out [unlike KoHoSo I pun with intent :>)] the effect will have a short self-life.
:>)]
On Danica being locked in, can they purchase the points of a defunt team (red bull) to ensure she is in?
Biff,
Every driver crafts an individual relationship with the media, just like most athletes.
Patrick is en enigma, protected by agents and brand managers. While that worked in IndyCar, the grind of the Nationwide Series and ESPN coverage is much different.
Patrick stayed in her trailer until she was summoned in IndyCar to appear. She walked directly to her car and got in. When she was done she walked directly back to her trailer.
You are comfortable with drivers like JJ, Jeff Gordon, Junior and even Tony Stewart dealing with the media. They crafted a relationship that is well-known and sometimes very interesting.
As Patrick moves through the NASCAR Media Tour today, then to RaceHub tonight and onto Daytona she may well completely dominate the media coverage, especially in the non-NASCAR media.
What we do here is observe, discuss and provide a forum for opinion. You may well be watching the top NASCAR media story of the season unfolding right now.
JD
OC,
No info on where the points will come from, only that she is locked into the Daytona 500 and will also race the Coke 600.
She thinks she might do the Prelude and perhaps the All-Star race if she is voted in.
Also Danica confirmed she is not moving to North Carolina. She will fly commercial (does not have her own plane) to the NNS and Cup races from her Arizone home.
JD
It could get ugly if Danica causes a BIG WRECK in the BIG SHOW. Why in the world would they let a rookie get a free pass into the big BIG SHOW with so many unknown factors. It will be hard even for the drivers with experience to drive safely. I think it is dangerous for both Danica and the other drivers.
Why would Danica want to give
an immediate answer when she can
have the media keep chasing her
career moves? It's call a tease,
which the media seems to do all
the time, yet get their panties
in a wad when it is used on them.
I liken it to the news hour where
it takes 3 times to get a full
weather report. Tune in later for...
She is already good for the sport!
Kenny Wallace warned of this about 10 days ago on SIRIUS. Part of the "new" NASCAR bid to attract a new audience. Wallace said that focus group research in the off-season revealed to NASCAR the need for "new" and "younger" heroes to appeal to the precious 18-34 group.
Patrick leads the field of the "new" group to lead NASCAR. Even Dale Jr no longer makes the cut. He along with Gordon, Johnson, Stewart, Biffle, Kenseth and Harvick are considered "old".
Wallace plea was to the PR folks was not to throw out the baby with the bath water.
So, remember the last time NASCAR was going to be "like we've never seen before"? Get ready for round 2.
Totally agree! When she was on the NFL game as the reason to watch the Daytona 500 I knew it was going to be a very interesting season in TV and media land.
53 year fan, I totally agree. Funny how the press uses people, then gets upset if they get used in return.
JD, I know all that, that's why I read the blog, lol! But while Danica may be the media story of the season, I doubt this one particular 'issue' will be, except by a few reporters who'll figure out there's nothing to see here. Now, if she got caught with a cheated up car or cheated on her husband (or heaven knows, wins a race), now *there'd* be a story. I think she's already been given a pretty good idea of what to expect, but she'll obviously make some mistakes, like everyone else does when they start. She has handled the media better than, say, Kurt Busch, right? We can't avoid discussing it, I know. It could be great for NASCAR coverage, though, that's how I'm looking at it.
OsbornK--Trevor Bayne had about as much experience at a plate track as she has. Or a bunch of others I could name. NASCAR lets N-widers run there if they've done it in ARCA, and they let them race Cup if they've done it in N-wide, that seems to be the usual path. They used to use testing as a 'test' but obviously we don't ordinarily do that anymore except the last 2 years. She's about as likely to cause a wreck here as anybody else, particularly if they look like they did in the test. Heck, Mark Martin wrecked in testing, and he's about the best there is.
Pretty nice deal for Danica. A free pass into the Daytona 500. This history of point buying makes a mockery of 'qualifying' into the race. It drains a lot of excitement out of Speedweeks when Joe Nemechek and Derrike Cope are one of the few racing for their lives.
As for points...Danica can't have the Red Bull points for the same reason Michael Waltrip couldn't buy them for Mark Martin. If I understand this correctly, if Stewart-Haas could buy the points from Red Bull, the teams would be in a 'partnership'. So the 3 S-H teams and 2 Red Bull teams would all fall under one umbrella, adding up to 5 teams, above the 4 car limit. NASCAR would not allow it.
My wild rumors I read happening is a 'partnership' between Stewart-Haas and Tommy Baldwin.
It doesn't appear many TDP readers are falling for the media/marketing hype of all things Danica.
Tony Stewart would transfer his owner's points to Danica, if need be. There are still some Top 35 owner points up for grabs ($$$) too. No way will SHR risk Danica missing the Daytona 500.
Last week, the mainstream media was promoting the "Honey Badger" story.
NASCAR fans aren't stupid, so who the hell are these marketing folks stealing from? Each other?
Got to thinkin...how in the world are the producers/directors of race telecasts going to find the air time to show both the "Usual Suspects" & now Danica? Oh! Wait a minute. A racing split screen during a commercial split screen! Do we need 80" now? UGH
Shayne...I think some NASCAR fans are stupid--it would explain so much (j/k!)
Seriously...I'm not jumping on the Danica bandwagon; but I don't blame her for 'using' the press to her advantage, and I expect she will make mistakes--I don't see this 'deception' as a big deal. They've all done it is what most people are thinking. She'll work out her relationship with the press as any other driver does (remember Tony Stewart?) Yes, we're going to be Danica'd to death this season, I'm sure. But how things go (IMHO) will just depend on how she does. Unlikely things happen sometimes, there's no crystal ball. Personally, I don't think Tony would take this on if he thought she had no talent, but regardless, I'm not hating on her for branding herself. It's just smart business. I've listened & read any number of interviews with her both in NASCAR and Indycar. I don't think she sounds any more 'scripted' than any of them do. She says some things that are carefully planned & others that seem very honest (she talks too much, imho, goes on & on and could have more succinct answers). But my driver does that too sometimes.
Ya know...if you think back to the early Jeff Gordon days, this is not really that different..he was the TV focus. In his case, his youth and seemingly sudden appearance vs guys like Dale & Rusty took people by surprise and plenty of them hated him for it. He was a 'pretty boy' and well spoken, no downhome drawl and a sponsor darling; and the old time fans were pretty resentful. And really, he also didn't have that much of a 'NASCAR' history when he started, (though I think people underestimated his 'other' experience.) He made mistakes too. NASCAR survived, thrived, even. The last few years have been JJ. After all that,
I think I can handle some Danicamania. Gets to be too much, I just flip the channel for a bit.
IMO, not any different from when Tony Stewart decided to leave JGR to form SHR..how many months did he say that he was in negotiations, while leaving out the fact that he had already accepted the role?
Will she succeed? I hope so, for her. As far as Kyle Petty, like the dude, but he sucked as a driver for years, sounds like sour grapes to me. Perhaps Kyle should have worn a flesh colored suit and paraded around nekkid with a body double....Just saying that you use what works. Its called marketing.
2005 IndyCar rookie of the Year
2005 Indy 500 rookie of the year
1 win, 3 poles, career best points finish of 5th (2009)- 6 top 10 points finishes in 7 years.
2 top 5's, 6 top 10's in 7 Indy 500 starts
3 top 10's in 12 Nationwide starts in 2011, her teammate Aric Almirola had 5 in the same 12 starts.
Enough of this "she has no talent, she's just media hype, blah, blah" garbage.
Patrick has JR Motorsports, (snip)She has the racy TV ads, the modeling pictures and her own fragrance.
And that fragrance is so overwhelming that it will stink up the NASCAR coverage even worse than it is.
@sbaker17
The fragrance thing is becomming, like, an industry standard for female celebrities. I have been in on a couple of fragrance deals. They are hoots.
...and most of the stuff is, no kidding, best used for dog "freshening" (acutal dogs). I say "dog" because I would no sooner put it on any of my five kitties than put 'em in a sack and throw 'em in a pond.
I find it funny that someone who continually gripes about the amount of Danica media coverage is one of the worst offenders. How many more Danica Takeover "columns" are we going to get? John, buddy, whether you want to admit it or not your latching on to the bandwagon just as bad as others in the media. It's time to let this thing go. We all know Danica is hot and popular. Time to stop beating the dead horse.
John, I know it's the offseason, but I don't think you do. You don't need to post a "column" every day. Think quality, not quantity.
You should be right in the middle of any ESPN changes that might be coming. You should be covering NASCAR buying back its internet rights. You should be covering the 2014 TV negotiations. I have seen none of that since the checkered flag flew at Homestead. Instead it's been a mish mash of articles about how if your not on twitter your a terrible person, and how Danica is popular. Your supposed to be an insider, a guy in the know. Instead you come across as more of an outside observer, never breaking any news but instead reacting to it.
Im sure the next post will be John telling me why I'm wrong and running off yet another reader. I constantly read in the comments for your "columns" you telling people they are wrong, mainly because they disagree with your viewpoint. As I read the blog I get the overwhelming feeling that not agreeing with John is a cardinal sin. John, you need to let people have their opinions. Just because their opinion doesn't match up with yours doesn't make them wrong.
Just some constructive criticism. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's observed this.
I hardly ever watch a race live. I record it and can fast forward through things that annoy me. Junior, junior, junior annoys me and Danica, danica , danica will annoy me. It just means I'll watch most of the race on fast forward and if I have to mute the last 20 laps I will.
RE: the Daytona 500 and DP's participation: There is an old saying that "To finish 1st, you must FIRST FINISH". Her track record regarding finishing races in NASCAR leads me to believe she is more likely to be watching the finish on TV or from the garage, than from a position on the racetrack.
There are at least three talented women drivers scheduled for this year's Indy 500 and a woman owner.
It is my sincere wish that one of them take the win and that the ensuing attention washes away they hype that has built up around the one who has won one race in the last fourteen years. That was in Japan, while half of the talent was racing in Long Beach, california on the same day. In addition, fuel mileage played a major role in the win.
I don't believe that the racing fans give a rat's azz about DP. I think that the NASCAR marketers believe if they tell everyone enough times that she is of interest, then people will believe it, and maybe make it so. She is a joke as a sprint cup driver. If Stewart-Hass really believed she was good they wouldn't be trying to buy points so she won't have to qualify. I don't believe she can make the race on her own, I don't care who builds her car. She can't qualify it fast enough to make Daytona. So Tony if you're listening you better start begging someone to sell you some points or a car that already is guaranteed a spot.
While I'm not particular fan of Danica, and absolutely abhor the obnoxious Go Daddy ads, I just can't get that concerned about how much the media chooses to hype her in Nascar, not how she played coy with the media about her decision to come to Nascar full time. Since we certainly have absolutely no influence on what or how the media chooses to cover racing, whyget our panties in a twist about it? She's good at marketing herself. So what? She 'teased' the media about making her decision...and got lots of good face time from it. Big deal. From what I've seen and heard from her in interviews, she seems pretty genuine about enjoying the stock cars, and realistic about how steep her learning curve will be. As I recall, neither JJ nor Gordon set the world on fire in the Busch series before hitting the Cup circuit. Might as well just sit back and watch.
Heat,
Nice to have you back in the comments again, been a while.
As you might have noticed, there have not been any off-season posts about Danica Patrick.
As you might have noticed in this column, there is no griping at all. Just the use of three NASCAR journalist's interviews to preview a new major presence in the sport.
On the issues you asked about:
ESPN will speak to the media in Daytona, but will issue no information about Carl Edwards or any other changes before that time. That was in last Wednesday's media notes.
NASCAR buying back it's Internet rights was a featured topic both here and on the TDP Facebook page. Details were relayed and a dollar figure on the deal was estimated.
As you may have seen in the off-season columns on this topic, the new NASCAR TV negotiations will get underway this season after the Daytona 500 is completed. The hot rumor is that due to the soft market, NASCAR may go a lot slower this year and not have any news until late in the season.
For the past five years, I have passed along the news shared with me by the NASCAR TV partners in a respectful manner. Breaking news rarely happens in the sport due to the PR professionals and marketing concerns. You may have seen the lack of rumors and gossip at Jayski.
Before I responded to you, I reviewed the blog and Facebook comments left by fans and my responses to them. They continue to be a diverse mix of viewpoints from fans of all ages across the nation and beyond.
I certainly appreciate your comment and hope you feel it is my right to respond.
JD
Hey now anon. .........you don' t speak for all racing fans Some are pulling for her. LS
I will say I can' t stand go daddy. LS
What's wrong with her leaving Andretti's floundering equipment for a shot at the big time. She probably won't be no Trevor Bayne. But imagine if she did win. I know it's hard to picture. Haha but by the time the big race comes I'll have about all I can take of Danicamania. And the I'd have to put up with another 4 hours+. But most of all why can't speedweeks just hurry up and get here!
After a 9th place finish by Janet Guthrie at a NASCAR race, independent racer D.K. Ulrich was asked what he thought of her performance. His reply: "It just proves that it doesn't take b***s to drive a race car."
More of the same old story.
Danica, as the current "flavor of the month" will be the benificiary of all the hype that Nascar and the networks can generate.
Of course that will bring new fans immediately, and she will be hailed as the savior of Nascar.
But the bloom will quickly go off this rose, and the new found fans will drift away.
Maybe by then Travis P. will be ready to take his turn at center stage. If not for him than someone else,but the cycle will be repeated again and again.
With all the noise only a few people will notice that the trend is still one of slow decline.
But Danica, her handlers, and Nascar will have made their millions so who cares?
If she wins the 500, it would be one of the best things to happen to NASCAR ever.
I read today she will be in the Coke 600. Awesome.
I have been trying to get my wife to watch NASCAR for years. She knows I am diehard but she wouldnt watch. This year with Danica, she is excited and can't wait to watch. She is not alone. This will be the biggest thing to happen to NASCAR since Jeff Gordon.
Go DANICA!!! Shes great for the sport like her or not its going to be what its going to be! I love it I hope she does well and I will be pulling for her!
Personally, I understand all the anti-Danica backlash, but in all honesty she is no better or worse than Trevor Bayne in that respect. Yes, she gets kid gloves overblown coverage, but she IS a talented racer and on any given Sunday she could win a race. (i.e. Motegi)
She's won more races in the last 3 years than Jr... Don't hate the racer, hate the game. I'm happy to see any diversity in NASCAR. It means the series is growing.
P.S. Kyle Petty is hardly one to be complaining about marketing tools and footnotes. Reminds me of when Casey Atwood called Jimmy Spenser a "neverwas".
JD, just to be more clear, the article says that Danica informed Michael Andretti she wouldn't be returning to Andretti Autosport last January. That in and of itself did not mean that she wasn't free to pursue better options within the IRL in addition to pursuing what ultimately became her Nascar contracts. As such, I think it's unfair to classify this as a deception of the Nascar fanbase.
Heatseeker ...... I couldn't have said it better myself ..... Occasionally John drags out the old oar & stirs the bucket & it gives all the DP Haters a chance to charge out & rehash their tired old rhetoric .....toss in a couple of innuendoes about deception (something ALL drivers do during contract negotiations)& you have another column ..... I love what you do here John ,read you everyday ,but come on , You could have done better here than let your own bias against Danica lead your typing fingers... Don Simkins
Don,
Please try to find a sentence in this column that shows I have a bias toward Patrick or any other driver.
As Larry Woody said, you are about to see the Danica Patrick story overtake the entire Daytona media scene.
She is now locked into the 500, does not have to worry about the twins and has a top notch car for the NNS race.
Tuesday I got tons of PR material from her brands and reps prepping her arrival in Daytona with information about her agenda.
Just like the shock of Jeff Gordon arriving when the sport was full of sleepy Southerners going at a slow pace, Danica is going to turn this joint upside down in a couple of weeks.
Tonight at a media reception the suggestion was made that the NNS series name be changed to Danica and the other guys because of how the media was going to cover it.
I appreciate branding and understand the role it takes in today's NASCAR. We will continue to explore Patrick and her media agenda when she arrives in Daytona.
Until then, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. Mr. Heet says I talk about her all the time and you say I drag her out to stir up trouble.
It doesn't sound like you two agree at all.
JD
JD .... I respect your opinion & I appreciate your response .... We'll have to agree to disagree on this one .... Thanks,unworma Don
Ancient - laughing over the "fragrance" comment. LOL, maybe I can use it to keep MY kitties from chewing on the curtains? They still seem to just love the edges to munch on!
So now DP will be in the 500 and the all-star race "if she gets voted in". Ugh, we already plan to attend the All Star race -- maybe I won't be flying to NC for it.
Personally, I don't and never will understand style over substance. I contend that a truly successful female racer in NASCAR or any sanction would be worth immeasurably more than one that is not successful. Regardless of their appearance. But that's just me. The sanction and the media will do what they want as far a promotion regardless of my feelings or opinions.
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