Danica to NASCAR

[Ron61]

Ok, just which series is she going to drive in? This is from the NASCAR site and they say the Nationwide, while yesterday the announcement was she would start in the ARCA series. With all of the reliable press reporting I guess we will have to wait until the season starts to find out. But they have a good picture of her in this article.

http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/opin...ons/index.html

Edit: Ok I just went to her website and it says she will drive the # 7 car in the Nationwide series plus 1 race in ARCA so I guess both of the reports had part of it correct.

Ron

[dcdoug]

Originally Posted by Bill Bess

I hope she does well in all things, and NASCAR is just another avenue for more "Hotness" and excitment to be added to a sometimes boring sport.

x2 My feeling exactly. Talented beautiful women can only help racing of all kinds.

[Don]

Sporting News version:

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar

Check the links in the lower left corner

Strictly un-official, there will be a lottery system for those desiring to purchase Danica merchandise/memorabilia at the tracks.............

Auto Week update: Note the quote...........

Danica Patrick confirmed her NASCAR plans on Tuesday but not her full schedule. But we know this much: Patrick will drive stock cars for JR Motorsports, which is owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick, and focus on her Izod IndyCar Series job.

Patrick will get her first stock-car test on Dec. 18-20 at Daytona International Speedway in an ARCA car, since NASCAR testing at the track is not permitted until next year. Patrick’s first taste of competition will be on Feb. 6 in the ARCA race at Daytona. Like her Indy car, the green-orange-and-black No. 7 stock car will be sponsored by GoDaddy.com, which already has a relationship with Earnhardt. Earnhardt’s cousin and former crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., will head Patrick’s Chevrolet crew.

Earnhardt’s sister, Kelley, who is the team’s vice president and general manager, said it “is reasonable” for Patrick to compete for top-15 finishes in her Nationwide Series races. The team has won nine races in the series since its formation in 2005.

Patrick, 27, has a three-year contract to drive for Michael Andretti’s IndyCar team, but only the first two years are guaranteed. The third year is an option for both parties. Patrick is the only woman to have won an Indy-car race. That feat came in April 2008 at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan. Patrick finished fifth in this year’s IndyCar standings.

After her first test, Patrick said she wants Hendrick Motorsports’ other drivers on the track to show her how stock-car racing differs from the IndyCar Series.

“I need them to bump me around a little bit to see what it’s like,” she said.

Patrick’s NASCAR schedule figures to include about a dozen events, primarily before and after the IndyCar season. She is expected to have only a couple in-season and none during May, when she concentrates on the Indianapolis 500.


AutoWeek | Updated: 12/08/09, 4:01 pm et

Article URL: http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...SCAR/912089991

[SPF2245]

I hope she does well, Nascar could use the help. But I believe she'll be no more sucessful then Scott Speed, Villenueve, Franchitti, Hornish Jr. and any number of others who have tried their luck. Granted Tony Stewart and Montoya have made it...but lets be honest, Danica will never be at their level. But hey, she'll make the first few races, then when she can't qualify a couple times and can't get into the field because of the points system...she'll go back to IRL.

[Don]

JR Motorsports, Patrick announcement teleconference
Racing series NASCAR-NS
Date 2009-12-09

Danica Patrick Media Teleconference Transcript

IndyCar Star To Compete In NASCAR Nationwide Series For JR Motorsports

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=353551

[Excaliber]

It will take her at least two years, maybe three, to figure it out. It will take that long to see IF she can make the grade or not. Meanwhile, two or three years in and NO wins she will largely be "written off" as just another pretty face behind the wheel.

The only way we will ever know is if she stays with the program long enough to figure it out. She may well cut and run before that happens.

[Don]

USA Today

" Dale, meet Danica. Welcome to a world where a woman can model bikinis in swimsuit magazines, unveil a perfume line in a testosterone-charged arena and blaze a trail by leading the world's biggest race. "

" Danica, meet Dale. Welcome to a world where a driver races on national television every week, fans are renowned for fervent brand loyalty and Fortune 500 sponsors remain plentiful despite the economic downturn. "

" The NASCAR marriage of Dale Earnhardt Jr., the most popular driver, and Danica Patrick, IndyCar's transcendent queen, is as much about perfect timing as gargantuan personalities. NASCAR, plagued by lagging TV ratings and crowds, gets a popularity jolt, and Patrick gains millions of eyeballs to dazzle with her emerging brand as "a beautiful revolution." "

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor...ck-cover_N.htm

[Don]

AutoWeek Dec 28:

........" Danica logged a best lap ( ARCA Daytona test ) of 182.028, 5th fastest among 29 drivers...."

.....Ali Owens was the fastest woman, 182.957, of 10 who participated...."

Ali Owens , anyone know her background ?

[Don]

AutoRacingSport.com

" Danica could still run Daytona Nationwide race "

" Her NASCAR debut is very much in doubt, but Danica Patrick and JR Motorsports made it official she will race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana and the following week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Her GoDaddy.com-sponsored Chevrolet will have points from a year ago, which means she will not need to qualify. Patrick’s first NASCAR race could be the Nationwide race at Daytona. Team co-owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick, however, will allow her to make that call following an ARCA race earlier on the high-banked track."

“The race is basically a Cup race. Some 30-odd drivers from (Sprint) Cup running that race, and is that the right time for me to start or not? I’m really not sure,” Patrick said Thursday at the JR Motorsports press conference in Mooresville, N.C. “You only get one grand opening, as I’ve heard. We want it to be the right opportunity. We don’t want to overcommit and under-deliver.”

[Don]

" She has not really … won races and done the stuff over there, numbers‑wise,” Petty said Saturday. “She’s just a marketing machine. So when you look at it like that, from what she does on the race track, I hope she’s successful. "

“But let’s look at the facts and be blunt about it: She’s going to help the sport. She’s going to help the publicity of the sport. She’s going to help a lot of that stuff. But in the end, will she perform on the right side? It’s going to be all on her shoulders to do that.”


http://www.scenedaily.com/news/artic...or_racer_.html

[Cobrabill]

Originally Posted by Don

" She has not really … won races and done the stuff over there, numbers‑wise,” Petty said Saturday. “She’s just a marketing machine. So when you look at it like that, from what she does on the race track, I hope she’s successful. "

“But let’s look at the facts and be blunt about it: She’s going to help the sport. She’s going to help the publicity of the sport. She’s going to help a lot of that stuff. But in the end, will she perform on the right side? It’s going to be all on her shoulders to do that.”

[Don]

By STEVEN COLE SMITH

" You will likely recall that 11 female drivers either took laps at the ARCA Series test at Daytona International Speedway in December or were on the testing list. But a glance at the entry list for the Feb. 6 race suggests that with less than a month remaining before the green flag falls, not many of them will return for the event.

As of Jan. 12, there are 46 entries for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, and only four of the named drivers are women. In the No. 88 is, of course, Izod IndyCar Series star Danica Patrick, making her heralded debut in a Chevrolet owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.--or, actually, Dale's sister Kelly.

The other female drivers: Alli Owens, the Daytona Beach native, driving a Venturini Motorsports car; Amber Cope, one of the twin platinum-blond nieces of former Daytona 500 winner Derricke Cope, in a Dodge that he owns; and Leilani Munter, the driver-model-conservationist, in a Mark Gibson-owned Dodge.

There are three "to be announced" driver slots in the lineup, and it is still possible that some of the female drivers who tested at Daytona will enter.

That week, the focus at Daytona will definitely be on female drivers, not only because of Patrick but also because the track is hosting the debut of the "Women in the Winner's Circle" exhibit, assembled by pioneering female driver Lyn St. James. On Feb. 10, there will be a major celebration at the track of women racers, and St. James has invited virtually every living past and present female professional race driver to attend--including AutoWeek columnist Denise McCluggage, who is a big part of the exhibit. "


AutoWeek | Updated: 01/13/10, 10:10 am et

Article URL: http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...SCAR/100119954

[Wayne Maybury]

Nelson Piquet Jr. is reported to be moving from F1 to NASCAR this year. He didn't do very well in his F1 effort.

Wayne

[Don]

Wayne......wasn't he the Renault driver involved in the planned crash, which assisted his team mate when the accident required the safety car to be on the track, allowing for a pit stop under yellow/red flag conditions, or was it another driver ?

[Wayne Maybury]

Don

I will have to check to be sure, but I think you are correct. Brigatori (sp?) was banned for life for concocking that idea but he has appealed the decision. The FIA and F1 don't mess around with slaps on the wrist when a rule is broken.

Wayne

[rustyBob]

Leilani Munter.......driver.....model.......CONSERVATIONIS T????????????

[Ron61]

Well the Truck Series should look better for a while at least. I hopoe they do well.

http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/opin...uck/index.html

Ron

[RACERAL]

Danica has skid marks in her thongs after her first offical test at Daytona.... she was scared to death... Her interview was very telling..
They are throwing her to the wolves just for fun and to put asses in the seats.. if she don't get killed, she will indeed kill somebody else
I hope Nascar can see she is not even close to being ready..

[Ron61]

Unfortunately I believe that NASCAR is more interested in selling tickets than having her take time to get used to this kind of racing at a lower level. Everything is about money any more.

Ron

[tcrist]

I think that she would have been better off and been mentored (is that even a word) better if she had of went with Tony Stewart instead of JR. Tony is a better driver and mentor than JR. They both have the backing of Hendrick.

I think that she should spend at least a partial season in ARCA before she even thinks about running a Nationwide race. Her races should also be on some of the small or intermediate tracks to start with.

I actually think that she might do fairly well. Sure she has only won only one Indy race but there are probably male Indy drivers with no wins that no one would even worry about if they went straight to full seasons in the Nationwide series.

Everyone is worrying about Danica because she is female. She is a better driver than probably most anyone here. I say that because I have no idea how many pro drivers there are here on CC.

That is just my opinion of course.