July 19, 2006

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

It's the height of the summer racing season in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series, and there are just seven races left before the Chase for the Championship begins.

Some of the sport's marquee stars are involved in ongoing feuds. Others are at risk of missing the playoffs entirely. Reigning champ Tony Stewart fell out of the top 10 after Sunday's race in New Hampshire, while Jeff Gordon is one victory away from tying Dale Earnhardt's 76-win mark.

In addition, the sport is gearing up for several major developments next season, including the introduction of Toyota and the Car of Tomorrow, a new multi-year TV broadcasting contract, and numerous drivers moving to new teams and new rides as Silly Season heats up. So which NASCAR story appears to be captivating the motorsports media more than any other?

The one involving Danica Patrick, of course.

Oh, you haven't heard?

Just got back from a trip to Siberia, right?

Because that's about the only way you could have missed Danica Mania.

Patrick, the second-year Indy Racing League driver, is rumored to be considering a move to NASCAR as early as next season.

Stop the presses.

Since word broke that Patrick's father had spoken to someone in the Cup garage about hiring his daughter, the rest of the NASCAR news has taken a decidedly back seat.

Is Patrick, winless in 24 IndyCar Series starts, ready to make the move from open-wheel cars to stock cars? Probably not, according to four-time Cup champ Jeff Gordon: "Any time that somebody's gone from a high-downforce, open-wheel, rear-engine car and moves to the stock car, there's a huge transition period there that some people adapt to and some people don't. No matter what, you don't adapt to it quickly, not on the ovals," said Gordon. "If you look at anybody that has been successful in our series, they all went through the Busch series. They all maybe went through the Truck series. They spent time maybe in ARCA. That's just the progression you have to take to understand these cars at this level."

But the wisdom of Gordon's observations is lost on those who contend that Patrick - who has never raced a stock car competitively - could leapfrog over thousands of other drivers coming up through the ranks and land in a Cup ride tomorrow.

Not just land in it, but be wildly successful in it.

Which begs the question: Is there more behind all the hype than merely an appreciation of Patrick's racing skills?

Of course there is.

Clearly, what the photogenic 24-year-old would bring to NASCAR is more than just her driving ability. The media frenzy that such a move would generate creates a predictably Pavlovian response in all who seek to capitalize on her potential star power.

Patrick has already appeared in a number of commercials and product endorsements as an IRL driver. In one, she along with fellow lady racers Leilani Munter (NASCAR Elite division) and Melanie Troxel (NHRA Top Fuel division), joined forces to promote Hostess Snack Cakes. The "Hostess Race Divas" ad campaign notes that the three drivers are "as attractive as they are talented."

On the Race Divas website, you can download a "Charlie's Angels" inspired photo of the trio for your computer desktop, along with their favorite recipes: Danica's Speedway Shortcake, Leilani's Fast Track German Chocolate Tarts, and Melanie's Motorin' Mud Pie.

You've come a long way, baby.

In addition, both Danica and Leilani have appeared scantily clad in photo shoots, including spreads in FHM - "For Him Magazine." Patrick leans provocatively across the hood of a hot rod wearing a red bustier, black hot pants and long black spike-heeled boots, prompting one columnist to observe, "I've seen more cotton in an aspirin bottle." Munter wore a black bikini in her photos, kneeling in the sand at the beach, her thumbs suggestively hooked in the top band of the bikini bottom.

On Munter's official website, she blogs that she turned down an offer from Playboy a few years back. "I want to make it in racing based on my driving abilities and my ability to give a sponsor media exposure to help them sell more of their product," she writes. "I also want to be able to hold my head up high when I walk through that garage."

Now cable network A&E is offering viewers "Driving Force," described as "a new real-life series starring drag racing legend John Force and his three beautiful drag-racing daughters, Ashley, Brittany, and Courtney." Promos for the show feature close-ups of the girls applying lipstick and eye shadow, teasingly zipping up fire suits over their undergarments, and so on, while the website offers another Angels-esque photo remarkably similar to that of the Race Divas.

My advice to all the female racers is this: If you want to be taken seriously, it's time to stop sending mixed messages. Become highly selective about the types of ads and photo shoots you agree to, the magazines you choose to appear in, and the overall image you present. You can not capitalize on your sex appeal while decrying the fact that you are not recognized for your driving. Appearing scantily clad in glorified girlie magazines might get you noticed, but it won't be for your racing abilities. Embracing the term "divas" and posing like sexy TV policewomen won't either.

At least then you'll know that the media hype is about your racing, not your raciness.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.