Danica Patrick is moving to NASCAR full-time next season
Can Danica Patrick drive a stock car, or is she just a Go Daddy prop getting invited to hang with the big boys just because she’s pretty and marketable?
Gentlemen (and lady) rev up your engines because we’re about to find out.
ESPN.com is reporting that Patrick plans to announce her plans to move to NASCAR full-time in 2012, driving the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.
The news is just a formality, since speculation has been rampant for months that Danica was making the crossover from open-wheel to the world of stock cars.
And much like Tim Tebow, Patrick is one of the most polarizing athletes in sports.
Can she drive? I think the answer is yes, but she has to get consistent time in a stock car to be able to get into any kind of groove. Nobody can do this part-time and expect to succeed. She made 13 Nationwide Series starts and finished 43rd in the point standings last season.
Fast-forward to 2011. She finished fourth in Las Vegas in the Nationwide race in March _ the highest finish by any female in a national NASCAR race in the sport’s 62-year history.
“I think that elevated her,” NASCAR chief executive officer and chairman Brian France said at the time. “There was some discussion, did she have the right stuff to compete in the Nationwide Series? You know, I think she dispelled a lot of that. There’s always circumstances in the start of a new career. But sometimes things are out of your control, people can crash in front of you, a hundred other things.
“ I think she elevated herself quite nicely. That’s nice to see. She’s a very competitive person. She’s always said she’s here to compete, not just happy to be here. That fits my criteria.”
And remember that she will be racing with a competitive Nationwide team, and that’s essential in the world of NASCAR. She won’t be a ham-and-egger trying to qualify every week and chugging along at the back of the line.
She will have fast cars. Whether she makes it or not, the ride will be well-documented. Huge win for NASCAR.
Much bigger win if she is competitive and makes it to the Cup level on a full-time basis.
I expect she will. Move over guys, there’s a lady in the house.
And she is going to be a star.
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