January 18, 2010
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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Dale Earnhardt Jr., has enjoyed a long reign as NASCAR's most popular driver. However, that seven year streak may soon come to an end. Danica Patrick took the NASCAR world by storm when she agreed to a deal with JR Motorsports to run a limited Nationwide and ARCA schedule this year.
Given her already iconic media status, due more to her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and FHM magazine than her on the track accomplishments, Patrick stands to give NASCAR's current Most Popular Driver a run for his money. So far this year, she's certainly made more headlines than Earnhardt.
Most people fail to realize is that Danica Patrick's foray into NASCAR is a good thing for everyone involved. Not only is it a move good for Patrick and NASCAR because of the increased marketing opportunities, but it's good exposure for the Indy Racing League as well, where she is bound for the next three years due to her contract with Andretti Autosport.
A lot has been made recently of open wheel drivers who try to transition into NASCAR. Very few succeed, while most fail miserably and run back to open wheel racing. Her critics like to harp on the fact that Patrick has not been as successful in open wheel racing as have the other drivers who've attempted to run stock cars and failed at it.
The media circus that was ignited when rumors first began to surface about her interest in NASCAR hasn't showed any signs of slowing down. It seems as if every analyst and driver has an opinion when it comes to Danicamania, and they aren't afraid to share it.
Perhaps her most ardent critic is former driver turned analyst, Kyle Petty. The biggest complaint that he seems to have against her is that if she doesn't succeed in NASCAR, she would have taken seat time away from another development driver. So what?
Seat time is limited in NASCAR, but at least Patrick is devoting time to developing her stock car skills slowly, as opposed to using a high paying sponsor to wrangle herself a seat in the Cup series. In essence, she is gradually coming up through the ranks just as any other "development" driver would be. What's wrong with picturing her as a development driver? Nothing, since that's clearly what she is. The majority of her racing experience has been in open wheel racing with very little time behind the wheel of a stock car.
"I think she can come here, but I look at [Dario] Franchitti, I look at Tony [Stewart] when he first came over from open wheel, I look at Juan [Pablo Montoya] and they are incredibly talented individuals," Kyle Petty was quoted as saying in an Associated Press article on espn.com.
"She's not Dario Franchitti and she's not Tony Stewart. She's not really shown over there [in the Indy Racing League] and won races and done stuff over there numbers-wise. She's just a marketing machine. Let's look at the facts and be blunt about it."
Comparing Patrick to those drivers is like comparing apples to oranges, but at the same time, it is high praise because they are all excellent drivers. Franchitti lost his sponsorship in NASCAR after just a few races, so he didn't even run a full season. Stewart has gone on to become a two-time NASCAR champion, proof in itself that such a transition can be done. Juan Pablo Montoya successfully competed and won races in Formula 1, ranking him as one of the premier drivers in the world. While he has struggled so far in NASCAR, he has won a race and he did qualify for the Chase last season.
"If she gets in that car and doesn't win races it's not the car, it's not the engines, it's not the team. They only changed one thing," Petty said.
The same thing has already been said about Dale Earnhardt Jr., Patrick's NASCAR employer for next season. His career since signing with Hendrick Motorsports has not exactly been what his fans have hoped for, and there's no doubting his skills behind the wheel of a stockcar.
But when media sensation Danica Patrick and NASCAR's favorite son, Earnhardt, team up, only good things can happen. Whether she succeeds or fails, NASCAR will reap the rewards, because the spotlight will be focused firmly on her next season and that can only help to revive NASCAR's plunging ratings.
If you would like to learn more about Matthew, please check out his web site at matthew-pizzolato.com.
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