102 replies to this topic

[primer]

Danica Patrick rejects notion she can't compete in NASCAR

Nice straightforward interview. She has rejected F1, and USF1. From her words it looks like she is going to NASCAR. Fair use excerpts:

Would you want to be in a Cup car from the start, or would you be willing to drive a few races in NASCAR's secondary series?

"Probably a while ago when I started thinking about the future a little bit and what I was going to have a look at . . . I definitely thought you'd go straight from the top of one sport to the next. But in [listening to] people's advice and what they think is right, they say take your time and they say you need to start a little slower than that. People want me to do well, if I ever do it, if I get to Cup.

Have you at least narrowed down the series where you would drive next year?

"I'd say it's probably not F1."


You don't have any interest in this new U.S. team being formed for F1?

"Not really, and the fact that to my knowledge they've never called.

"I've had opportunities to take it a step further with Formula One, and I don't want to lead anyone down a path. It's not in my heart to go there. I've explored Europe before. I particularly like to be here and I like my family and I like my friends and I like my creature comforts of my home country."

[V8 Fireworks]

Danica has a kart/open-wheel background, rather than dirt-track right? That's obviously not ideal for stock-car racing. Presumably it should be straight-forward to find a sponsor for such a high-profile driver. So a quality, properly funded Nationwide program seems like a win-win-win for all concerned.

[whitewaterMkII]

Hmmmm....
Let's see.
Juan Montoya. Fighting like a bantam rooster just to be in the top ten.
Sam Hornish. Still struggling, showing signs of getting grips with it, and he ran circles around his fellow irl drivers.
Dario Franchitti.Mr Consistency in USOW. Gone in about ten races.
Scott Speed. So far, hopeless.
A.J. Almendinger. Still Hopeless.
Patric Carpentier. Smart. Tough. Struggling mightily.
Put those six and Danica on the track in equal equipment and she would come in eighth.
She should stay put, or she will be hammered in NASCAR.
YMMV

[stevewf1]

A lot of "rejection" going on here...

If I understand it correctly, she didn't "reject" F1 - she was never asked, at least by USF1 anyway. I haven't heard of any other F1 teams who have approached her about a drive.

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/77079

Team US F1 has made it clear that it wants American drivers on board for next year, but Patrick claims the team has not made contact with her.

[Slowinfastout]

No offense but Danica doesn't deserve any kind of promotion from where she's at..

[Madras]

I can just imagine all the other drivers fighting to sniff her rear in NASCAR.

[HoldenRT]

Hmmmm....
Let's see.
Juan Montoya. Fighting like a bantam rooster just to be in the top ten.
Sam Hornish. Still struggling, showing signs of getting grips with it, and he ran circles around his fellow irl drivers.
Dario Franchitti.Mr Consistency in USOW. Gone in about ten races.
Scott Speed. So far, hopeless.
A.J. Almendinger. Still Hopeless.
Patric Carpentier. Smart. Tough. Struggling mightily.
Put those six and Danica on the track in equal equipment and she would come in eighth.
She should stay put, or she will be hammered in NASCAR.
YMMV

Maybe you overrate those guys above, or maybe not, it's hard to say.

What I think is easier to say is unlike the guys who go to a new series thinking they are the best and then fail (and it happens alot), Danica doesn't have all that testosterone floating around her body telling her she is the next Senna, so I think she will make choices that won't destroy her career. She doesn't aspire to anything greater because she is happy where she is and doesn't want to risk it. Smart business move, but very uninspiring and very different from most other drivers who think "that series isn't so strong, I could do it, I will go and prove the doubters wrong". In a way, this attitude kind of vindicates the opinion that she isn't the most talented out there and that's putting it lightly.

[Slowinfastout]

Funny.
Up until now I thought Danica was more testosterone driven than many other drivers..

[PassWind]

I think she has driven pretty well this year, I am still not a fan, but she has been holding her own.

NASCAR would be tough but from her language I think she is career building financially biased rather than trying to be a World Beater, which is kind of disappointing.

[lokiman]

No offense but Danica doesn't deserve any kind of promotion from where she's at..

Exactly. She hasn't 'rejected' F1, she simply wouldn't get an F1 drive because she's not good enough.

[Mark Bennett]

Far better to "reject it" than wait to be rejected...

[potmotr]

I think Danica Patrick would be perfect in NASCAR.

I'm no expert, but that series would appear to be the marketing and customer driven of any in topline motosport.

It would be a perfect match for a driver who is still Indycar's best known name by miles despite her single win.

[PNSD]

I dont watch much NASCAR, and I try watch as much IRL as possible, but from what ive seen NASCAR can get a little 'bumpy' as it were. Again as far as what ive seen Danica has a slightly touchy temper, like a woman almost. With the bumping and grinding in NASCAR and certain crashes I think she'll be a small fish in a big pond ;-)! If she blows her temper over incidents which are either racing or clearly her fault the NASCAR guys are just gonna laugh at her and say go home. Its part of the sport...

Looking at list of open-wheelers who have tried, or stil trying I would say she has not got a chance in hell! Thats a list of the finest openwheelers in America. AJ, Hornish Jnr, JPM and Dario are perhaps the most able in open wheel machines and yet we all know the struggles they have been facing. Patric has had a slightly easier life than AJ, Hornish, Dario, and Speed imo, he seems to have fared not too badly. JPM has been the only real success though.

edit// If she is looking for money however, what better place to go.

Edited by PNSD, 21 July 2009 - 12:38.

[expert]

Pretty risky move for Danica to go to NASCAR. Would definitely be a big promotional coup for her to move but if she struggles to even qualify it could turn sour for both parties pretty quickly.

Judging by others experiences it would be very difficult for her there, and to be honest her racing style doesn't really suit NASCAR. She likes clean runs and not to much mixing up with other cars in IRL. She's not going to get too much of that in NASCAR.

I would imagine there might be a few secret tests just to see how quick she can go, if our suspicians are confirmed they'll take it no further.

I would expect a version of this story will continue to surface every few months though just to keep her in the news, even with no intention of ever moving. NASCAR must love it.

[Chewie]

"I'd say it's probably not F1."

Having recently witnessed how a four times Champ Car/IndyCar champion fared against F1 rookies and how he was then unceremoniously dumped as a consequence, I suspect she now has a better understanding as to the level she’s actual at in the grand scheme of things.

[Just waiting]

Both F1 and nascar should be in a bidding war for her services.

Excellent skills as a racer.

For example, here is a small collection of demonstrating those abilities:

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

Edited by Just waiting, 21 July 2009 - 13:15.

[OfficeLinebacker]

Hmmmm....
Let's see.
Juan Montoya. Fighting like a bantam rooster just to be in the top ten.
Sam Hornish. Still struggling, showing signs of getting grips with it, and he ran circles around his fellow irl drivers.
Dario Franchitti.Mr Consistency in USOW. Gone in about ten races.
Scott Speed. So far, hopeless.
A.J. Almendinger. Still Hopeless.
Patrick Carpentier. Smart. Tough. Struggling mightily.
Put those six and Danica on the track in equal equipment and she would come in eighth.
She should stay put, or she will be hammered in NASCAR.
YMMV

Good list and fairly accurate. The only disagreement I have is 'Dinger. He's the real deal. He's wrested some amazing results out of the THIRD RPM car. I've watched him on RaceView driving the wheels off that car.

He was still fairly early in his top level USOW development though, he hadn't reached the peaks the others had.

It still blows me away that Dario flamed out so pitifully. I guess he's highly rated as a USOW driver but I just lost so much respect for him. I honestly think he gave up.

Oh and we also forgot Max Papis. He's only running a part time schedule and he's struggling probably harder than ANYONE else on this list, and he's at least as dedicated as Juan Pablo.

NASCAR is hard, mkay?

Anyway, Danica in NASCAR? PFFFFFFFFTT! The only positive factor I see from that is increased attention on the lower NASCAR series. I'd love increased coverage of the Trucks and Nationwide series. I'd also like to see Danica get into it with Steven Wallace.

[OfficeLinebacker]

to be honest her racing style doesn't really suit NASCAR. She likes clean runs and not to much mixing up with other cars in IRL.

Not to mention, she complains mightily about the handling of her car.

In NASCAR, all the drivers complain mightily about the handling of their cars! The cars are almost universally loose on entry, tight in the center and loose off. Like ridiculously so.

She'd probably be unbearable to work with.

BUT, you'd probably double the subscriptions to the online telemetry/audio feeds services on NASCAR.com. I know I'd listen in at least for a few laps.

[Seanspeed]

This is my favorite part of that article:

Speculation in the IndyCar paddock suggests that if Patrick chooses to remain in the series rather than switching to NASCAR, she is likely to leave the currently struggling AGR team and move to champion squad Ganassi.

So even if she doesn't go to NASCAR, she's likely to get an even better drive in the IRL!

WHY?!?!?!?

[expert]

Makes sense. Pretty sure she brings in enough money to fund a car by herself so Ganassi could finally run a 3rd car.

[Seanspeed]

Makes sense. Pretty sure she brings in enough money to fund a car by herself so Ganassi could finally run a 3rd car.

I know.....I'm just sick of her getting all these good seats everywhere when she hasn't done anything to actually earn them.

[whitewaterMkII]

NASCAR would be tough but from her language I think she is career building financially biased rather than trying to be a World Beater, which is kind of disappointing.

It's all about the Benjamins.
She is probably one of the highest paid irl drivers, for no reason I can discern, and her management is no doubt telling her she could double her pay in NASCAR.
She is definitely not doing the 'looking for bigger challenges' song and dance.

[BMW_F1]

she should stay in OW.. Maybe accept an offer from Ganassi. With a better team I think she can get some wins..
In NASCAR, I think she'll get eaten alive.. The CUP cars are way too different than ARCA and Nationwide for her to gain valuable experience..
Is Nationwide moving to COT next year?

[expert]

Anyone following Indy Cars this yeah? I haven't been able to watch it but she's the #1 AGR driver on points.

What's going on with Kanaan?

And the wunderkind Andretti?

[Seanspeed]

It's all about the Benjamins.
She is probably one of the highest paid irl drivers, for no reason I can discern, and her management is no doubt telling her she could double her pay in NASCAR.
She is definitely not doing the 'looking for bigger challenges' song and dance.

Exactly. If she wanted a challenge, then maybe trying to win the IRL championship should be first on the to-do list?

I dont think she'll go to NASCAR. Her earning power is alright in the IRL cuz she's in a half-decent team. If she was at the back every race, then she would soon get forgotten. Which is exactly what would happen in NASCAR. She'd be a joke. Her earning power would be destroyed. And she'd be left crying home to the IRL, where she'd be welcomed and given a top car to compete in like a spoiled little brat.

[Seanspeed]

Anyone following Indy Cars this yeah? I haven't been able to watch it but she's the #1 AGR driver on points.

What's going on with Kanaan?

And the wunderkind Andretti?

Andretti's never been anything but mediocre.

And Kanaan is having a really uncharacteristically tough season. Crashes and inconsistency are really plaguing him. Not sure whats wrong the guy. Probably just one of those seasons...

[BMW_F1]

Exactly. If she wanted a challenge, then maybe trying to win the IRL championship should be first on the to-do list?

then why are you against her going to Ganassi. ?

[Kucki]

I think Danica has so much to lose if she goes to NASCAR, she should try to get into that 3rd IRL Ganassi car.

I dont ever can see her going to F1. For moving from the IRL to F1 you have got to be very strong at road course races in the IRL, but she is not so I dont believe she would fit into the F1 world pace wise.

[Kooper]

She should stay put, or she will be hammered in NASCAR.

I agree with this. She needs to win races & try to pick up an IRL title. Maybe move to Ganassi for a couple of years which would be an open door to NASCAR if she still wanted to go there. Sometimes its better to be a big fish in a little pond...

[Seanspeed]

then why are you against her going to Ganassi. ?

Cuz she doesn't deserve the seat. And it will just further the notion that she's actually talented enough to warrant the attention she gets(by non-IRL fans, of course).

I was really just saying that in jest. She's obviously not good enough to compete for the title. Especially against guys like Dixon and Franchitti.

[BMW_F1]

Cuz she doesn't deserve the seat. And it will just further the notion that she's actually talented enough to warrant the attention she gets(by non-IRL fans, of course).

I was really just saying that in jest. She's obviously not good enough to compete for the title. Especially against guys like Dixon and Franchitti.

maybe she's not as good as those two but she is IMO at the same level with the other guys.. Remember Chip was after Tony K last year and the deal did not go through now look at the results this year and see how Danica is kicking his butt..

[irish_sean69]

how can you be a super star for driving around an oval not much skill in that i am sorry to say

[jdanton]

how can you be a super star for driving around an oval not much skill in that i am sorry to say

I think as some of the examples shown above mention, driving around an oval in a crap handling, under-tyred, 3500 lb NASCAR, is a lot different than driving at 1500 lb open wheel car with 5000 lbs of downforce.

Danica is having a good season by her standards, but for the most part she is just riding around. The oval races have been total processions, and most of her position gains in the road races have come from avoiding everyone else's carnage. She's not a bad driver, but I tend to agree that she'd get her doors blown off in NASCAR, where by far the most important thing is being able to communicate minute changes in handling to your crew chief to improve the setup.

[Spunout]

It is always hard to race in different series, where everybody else have huge advantage over you in terms of experience. The main issue in NASCAR is the driver has much more to do with setups; if you don´t understand the car, you rarely have good setup - and in such case good driving will not help.

Plus, even if open-wheelers do well taking the equipment into account, people will say they haven´t been particularly succesful. Already in last year Montoya was doing nice job with crap car; this year he is the only driver in top 10 not driving for powerhouse teams. Still we hear "race winner in F1, average in NASCAR" BS. Case could be made JPM has been more impressive in NASCAR than in F1. In F1, he always had one of the top cars. In NASCAR, he is yet to have top car. How about the others? Ambrose has been damn impressive, considering how little people expected from that team. Allmendinger is looking good, too. Hornish, average. Speed, the only major disappointment thus far.

The thing is, IMO Danica is nowhere as good as the drivers mentioned above

Going to NASCAR - or F1 for that matter - would risk her reputation (in the eyes of media and casual fans) as the next Big Thing. Better stick with IRL, I´d say. Keep the NASCAR speculation alive, just for the reporters. Keep saying "maybe I´ll consider F1", making it sound like F1 teams actually want you.

Sorry for being rude. We´ll see if Danica proves me wrong one day

Edited by Spunout, 21 July 2009 - 15:26.

[Seanspeed]

maybe she's not as good as those two but she is IMO at the same level with the other guys.. Remember Chip was after Tony K last year and the deal did not go through now look at the results this year and see how Danica is kicking his butt..

Kanaan is having a bad year. He's shown before that he's in a tier above Danica.

And no, Danica is not as good as everybody else other than the 2 Ganassi drivers. She's midpack material at best. Same with Marco. And Rahal. And some other overhyped drivers.

[BMW_F1]

Kanaan is having a bad year. He's shown before that he's in a tier above Danica.

And no, Danica is not as good as everybody else other than the 2 Ganassi drivers. She's midpack material at best. Same with Marco. And Rahal. And some other overhyped drivers.

Marco has not been able to beat Danica since he joined the IRL.. What about the Japanese driver, she's better than him to..

She is like Jarno Trulli in Formula 1.

Edited by BMW_F1, 21 July 2009 - 15:29.

[Seanspeed]

Marco has not been able to beat Danica since he joined the IRL.. What about the Japanese driver, she's better than him to..

She is like Jarno Trulli in Formula 1.

I never said Marco could beat Danica... He's just as quick as her, though. Just more inconsistent.

And Hideki? Well, he can do alright some days on ovals when they manage to get the setup right, but he's pretty useless overall. Not a good standard to judge by.

She is not like Jarno Trulli, though. Trulli is a very talented guy, who doesn't always do well to maximise his opportunities.

Danica is just mediocre and benefits from being in a decent team, who are smart with strategies and can run well on ovals.

Edited by Seanspeed, 21 July 2009 - 15:41.

[Spunout]

Marco has not been able to beat Danica since he joined the IRL.. What about the Japanese driver, she's better than him to..

She is like Jarno Trulli in Formula 1.

The problem is, that doesn´t make Danica as good as Trulli.

[jonovision_man]

She has rejected F1, and USF1.

I have rejected Pamela Anderson.

jono

[BMW_F1]

The problem is, that doesn´t make Danica as good as Trulli.

is not a problem because no one is saying that.

[BMW_F1]

She is not like Jarno Trulli, though. Trulli is a very talented guy, who doesn't always do well to maximise his opportunities.

she is like Jarno trulli in the sense that she is average in the racing series they compete in..

[Spunout]

she is like Jarno trulli in the sense that she is average in the racing series they compete in..

Well, I am propably average in racing series I´m competing in

[Direct Drive]

Not bloody likely.
She'll struggle with the shear mass of the cars and there's a whole field of " 'neck" drivers who would want her to fail.
She'll be in the fence a bunch and maybe not even qualifying for most.
Imagine a driver of Dario's stature and (despite his team's many deficiencies) lack of progress and I hope Ms. Patrick can see the handwriting on the wall and stay away.
Unless of course NASCAR has a different agenda for her and allows a 7 L motor with NOS, which, of course, they could !

Edited by Direct Drive, 21 July 2009 - 16:39.

[WildmouseX]

Danica isn't going to nascar. it's not that she can't handle the cars - because she can, it's not that she won't get accustomed to beating and banging - because she will, and it's not cuz the other drivers will punt her into the wall for being a girl - because they didn't do that to any of the others

it's because her childhood dream is to win the indy 500, not the brickyard 400. she looks @ nascar every time her contract comes up, and the IRL always gives her what she needs to stay.

Edited by WildmouseX, 21 July 2009 - 16:44.

[jonovision_man]

how can you be a super star for driving around an oval not much skill in that i am sorry to say

1) The IRL has road and street courses, so she isn't just driving ovals

2) To be successful on ovals takes tremendous skill, not only in dialing it in but to be able to find 100ths of seconds over a lap, to drive in traffic, etc. Anyone who says driving north of 350km/h in an IndyCar just inches apart doesn't take skill has no clue what they're talking about.

jono

[OfficeLinebacker]

Is Nationwide moving to COT next year?

Only for plate and road course races. Hopefully full time in 2011.

[Seanspeed]

Danica isn't going to nascar. it's not that she can't handle the cars - because she can

You dont know that. She might not be able to that well.

it's not that she won't get accustomed to beating and banging - because she will

Again, you dont know that at all. She doesn't do very well around others in the IRL as it is.

and it's not cuz the other drivers will punt her into the wall for being a girl - because they didn't do that to any of the others

But they do like to play rough with newcomers.

[Spunout]

But they do like to play rough with newcomers.

...although it is fair to point out the times of "let´s give that new boy a lesson" are gone. It´s more about others taking advantage of their long-term contracts and status as Cup regulars, by taking more and giving less. The rookies pretty much have to yeild, as they cannot afford to wreck one of the stars.

JPM propably was an exception, as he had rock solid contract to begin with.

[pingu666]

be interesting to see her in a few nascar races. to be honest i dont think shes that great, but also not that bad. kinda like DC but with tits. and nascar is probably the hardest series to go into, as theres no telemetry and stuff like that to help you learn

[Seanspeed]

nascar is probably the hardest series to go into, as theres no telemetry and stuff like that to help you learn

NASCAR isn't stone-age racing, man. They have telemetry.