What should Robin Miller Ask Danica Patrick Friday On SPEED?

Friday at the Daytona International Speedway is going to bring some interesting weather. Scattered thunderstorms are going to be underway in the morning, followed by a likely tornado watch with a 100% chance of heavy thunderstorms. That from the Weather Underground website. Into this scenario walks Danica Patrick and SPEED reporter Robin Miller.

SPEED will carry at least ten ARCA races this season and that lets them get a piece of Danica. So, Friday the idea was to feature updates and information as the first day of ARCA open testing got underway.

Miller is going to do a live interview with Danica at 1PM, probably during the lunch break from testing. That would have given him an angle of being first to ask about her "at speed" laps at Daytona among the ARCA horde. Now, it appears that Danica will have lots of downtime long before the interview.

Let's take a moment and recap Danica and her recent media courtship.

First, we saw Danica make the rounds of the morning talk shows in NYC and unveil her new green IRL Go Daddy car. Even with the new sponsorship, IRL team owner Michael Andretti did not look very happy on camera. Now we know the reason why.

Danica next appeared with Mr. Bob "Go Daddy" Parsons at a hastily called Phoenix, AZ press conference to unveil a new green stock car and confirm her plans to race part-time in both ARCA and the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports. Andretti was suddenly going to have his star sharing time with the stock car set.

Thursday morning, SPEED went live with Patrick as she was the focus of yet another press conference, this time in the Concord, NC area. Patrick was joined by Dale Earnhardt Jr. who spoke about her future in the sport with his team. Kelley Earnhardt spoke about the business decisions and sponsorship that Patrick's name would bring. Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. talked about Patrick's solid learning skills in a recent Orlando area test.

While JR Motorsports driver Kelly Bires was polite with his words, it was the old crafty veteran Tony Eury Sr. who threw down some choice phrases about her potential. Eury said she ran laps in Orlando just as fast as other teams testing there. He said the goal was to go down and have Patrick win the ARCA race in Daytona and then try to win her other races. He was up front with his contention that she is not just a show.

After all of this, Robin Miller steps in for the Friday live interview. There will probably be little or no track time. The afternoon looks like a washout. Patrick was just quizzed on Thursday by the NASCAR media on a variety of topics. So, what's left?

How about helping us out and suggesting some questions that Miller can ask Patrick during his live 1PM Friday interview. Whether or not Miller even looks at this website is unknown, but what is clearly known is that we have some of the most creative and knowledgeable fans out there in racing land.

What would you like to see Miller ask Patrick? To add your question and maybe a good reason or two why he should ask it, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Live Blogging JR Motorsports Press Conference (11AM - SPEED)

We are watching a live press conference Thursday morning on SPEED. Originating from the JR Motorsports shops in the Concord, NC area, SPEED's Bob Dillner will host the festivities.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., his sister Kelley, Tony Eury Jr., Kelly Bires and Tony Eury Sr. are going to be present. Also featured will be a new driver for JRM named Danica Patrick.

The only thing fans have not been told is what races Patrick will be running in 2010. Her stock car package includes ARCA and the Nationwide Series. Speculation is that Patrick will run the Daytona ARCA race, but the jury is still out on whether or not she will join the Nationwide action.

This media event will also be streamed online at speedtv.com and godaddy.com/danica simultaneously.

This post will serve to host your comments on this press conference. To add your TV-related comments, just click the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting.

Thank you as always for stopping by The Daly Planet.

Day Two: Danica Stumbles Into The NASCAR Media Spotlight

It started with a hastily called press conference that caught almost all of the NASCAR press corps flat-footed. Most of them had just returned to Charlotte from Las Vegas and the Sprint Cup Series banquet.

It was only then that they learned of a high-profile press conference being held in Phoenix, AZ near the Go Daddy corporate headquarters. In typical Go Daddy style, CEO Bob Parsons put out this message on Twitter:

"I've got a hot date with DanicaPatrick tomorrow. She asked me to check out her new GoDaddy.com car."

Well, while Parsons attended the press conference almost all of the NASCAR media did not. One veteran motorsports writer who actually lives in the Phoenix area is named Michael Knight. Click here to take a moment and read his feelings on just how well organized the Go Daddy press conference really was behind the scenes.

Knight had some choice words for the Go Daddy PR effort and its coordination:

Unknowing. Unresourceful. Uninterested. Unprofessional. Arrogant. Clueless. Lazy. Scared.

Knight suggested that perhaps few invites were offered because that would have required Patrick to answer actual questions from the racing media on relevant topics. SPEED advised that they were not in the loop on this media event and would provide no coverage. ESPN also had no reporter present.

Once things got underway, the actual press conference was streamed online at GoDaddy.com and had no live television of any kind. After the brief and very polite media presentation that featured Patrick, Parsons and Kelly Earnhardt there was a media conference call.

Patrick advised on the phone with reporters that she did not know the actual schedule of races she would run in ARCA and the Nationwide Series. She remembered being briefly in a stock car eight or nine years prior. She noted that she is a competitive person looking for a new challenge. Patrick successfully held off any release of information or a peek into her actual motivation or personality.

Meanwhile, Parsons said that the thought of Patrick working her way up the NASCAR ladder and eventually taking over the #5 Go Daddy Sprint Cup Series car currently being driven by Mark Martin made his eyes twinkle. Earnhardt added that Patrick's Nationwide series ride would come with points and allow her to be locked-in to make the field at the start of the season.

This was the opening act in the Patrick transition to stock cars. Last Sunday, Mike Davis from the JRM PR staff advised on Twitter that Danica and team had gone to Orlando and tested at the one mile Disney Speedway circuit.

As if on cue, a media release then arrived Monday from SPEED with the following information.

SPEED will interrupt regularly scheduled programming to bring viewers live coverage of the JR Motorsports press conference scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 17 at 11 a.m., from the JR Motorsports shop in Mooresville, NC.

Participants will include: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (owner), Danica Patrick (No. 7 GoDaddy.com driver), Kelley Earnhardt (co-owner & general manager), Tony Eury Jr. (co-owner, No. 7 GoDaddy.com crew chief), Kelly Bires (No. 88 Hellmann’s driver), Tony Eury Sr. (competition director). Bob Dillner will host the SPEED coverage.

This time, it is the NASCAR media directly that is being led by the nose down the Danica trail. It is assumed that Patrick is getting live national TV coverage to simply announce which select ARCA and Nationwide Series races she will run. The team management, the car color and the sponsor are already known.

The presence of Patrick has already twisted the NASCAR media dynamic with the words "Jimmie Johnson" seemingly not being heard at all on the Internet or TV anymore. Suddenly, a part-time Nationwide Series driver has live national TV coverage to announce her limited schedule.

Since ESPN carries all the Nationwide Series races, do not be surprised to see ESPNEWS add live or slightly delayed coverage to the existing SPEED package. Reporters on-site will be tweeting live and then filing online stories shortly after the event is over. No doubt Sirius Satellite Radio will also be represented.

This will be the first time Patrick will be face-to-face with the majority of the NASCAR press corps who have plenty of time on their hands and plenty of questions to ask. This time, Patrick will be treated as a rookie NASCAR driver with zero experience in stock cars and a whole lot to learn.

It should be interesting to see if Patrick rises to the occasion and embraces the NASCAR media and fan base or continues to be aloof and disconnected from the sport that she desires to be perhaps her next full time racing destination.

TDP will live blog the event on Thursday. In the meantime, where are you coming down on the Danica issue after these last two weeks of announcements? Are you tuning-in on Thursday to see her NASCAR and ARCA schedules revealed? Is there a curiosity factor growing or are you waiting until she turns a wheel at Daytona?

To add your opinion on this media topic, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.