Danica Patrick is going to enter NASCAR races

[RamboLiberal]

CHARLOTTE (AP) — A person familiar with the plan says Danica Patrick has reached a deal to enter NASCAR with JR Motorsports.

Patrick will announce a partial Nationwide Series schedule at a Tuesday news conference in Phoenix, the person familiar with her plans tells the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because she has not officially announced her intentions.

Last week Patrick signed a three-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport to stay in the IndyCar series, but its schedule gives her enough time to also try NASCAR.

It's not clear yet how many races she will drive in NASCAR's second-tier series for team owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick.

GoDaddy.com will sponsor Patrick in both IndyCar and NASCAR.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2009-12-07-danica-patrick-deal_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

I'll be curious to see how she does and how she's treated by NASCAR drivers and the fans. I wish her luck. I'd love to see her win in the NASCAR circuit.

[Mojambo]

1. There will be a redneck backlash. n/t

[realisticphish]

3. nah, not for nationwide

cup, maybe, but i don't really think anyone will care

[givemebackmycountry]

5. Never happen

If the rednecks didn't revolt when a freaking TOYOTA won a NASCAR race in the South - they won't say anything about Danica.
Besides, they already have a girl in NASCAR.
Kyle Busch.

[Orrex]

8. uh...

:wtf:

[Zomby Woof]

15. Toyota has a factory in TN

So they are more southern than Dodge or Chevrolet are these days.

[madinmaryland]

19. Too funny!!!

:rofl:

[flvegan]

12. I seriously doubt that.

First, she's talented. Second, she's very...um, easy on the eyes. Third, she's quick to kick some ass figuratively and literally.

[BOSSHOG]

22. If she puts Kyle Busch into the wall in her first race

She'll rival Junior for Fans.

[A HERETIC I AM]

2. She'll probably be treated better now than she would have been 20 years ago....

but I'll bet there will be some rough times for her.

The fans are likely to accept her more readily than the rest of the drivers, much less the guys in the garage area in general.

[Orrex]

6. Well, yeah. Twenty years ago she was only 7!

:evilgrin:

[A HERETIC I AM]

10. Lol...true.

I was just thinking of the types of guys that made up the field of drivers in the late 80's/early 90's and how accepting they would have been to a woman driver. They were definitely a group of 'good ol boys' back then. There were women drivers in Indy car and NHRA racing back then (Lyn St. James, Shirley Muldowney) but none that entered NASCAR with any success.

[phasma ex machina]

4. Patrick's pitch seems to include something for everyone.

[kestrel91316]

7. Damn. Now I'm gonna have to get cable. I like watching that girl race.

She turns me into a redneck.

Yay for female racecar drivers!!!!!

[bridgit]

9. Danica has my dream job

[david13]

11. I have been a big Danica Patrick fan for a long time. I thought it

was great a few years ago when she was leading at Indy.
And I have seen her race both at Long Beach and Fontana. But I am no NASCAR fan.
So I will confine my fan status to open wheel.
dc

[Captain Hilts]

13. She's a good driver, actually. nt

[beevul]

14. Good on Danica!!

Shes quite talented.

[Lugnut]

16. Drivers and most fans will be okay with it.

Will she win? Probably not right off the bat. Indy cars and stock cars are two completely different animals. Juan Pablo Montoya had a fairly steep learning curve in the big, heavy cars and Danica is no Montoya in the talent department. That said, she will have the huge benefit of superior equipment to give it a go.

I wish her well but I'll be very surprised if she's immediately competitive.

[jakefrep]

17. That's too bad...

She's just a marketing token to NASCRAP.

[Mopar151]

18. Boy, more NASCAR hate!

First, we've had several talented ladies try their hand at NASCAR - sponsorship issues seem to be their downfall, not "redneck backlash" - like Erin (Crocker) Evrenham, Patty Moise, Shawna Robinson, Tammy Jo Kirk, and several more I've forgotten.
Nationwide and Cup are tough series to break into - Juan Pablo Montoya is getting there after 3 seasons - and he won the Indy 500 on the first try! Sam Hornish does not appear to be making the transition well, and Dario Franchitti pretty much failed.
Ther are some mega-talented short-trackers who never made it to "the big leagues" - like Junior Hanley and Merv Triechler. and others who were more comfortable close to home, like Richie Evans and Jody Ridley.
I do wish Danica the best, and I think that she's going about this in the right way. I just don't get why some folks feel obligated to bash something they obviously don't understand very well.

[JonLP24]

20. I don't know much about NASCAR but I haven't seen an interesting point brought up

This story is actually about a month old but I recall a NASCAR analyst on ESPN saying that 2/3rds of success is the team the 1/3 is the driver and he said she signed on to an excellent team. I just wanted to see what you and others make of that. :hi:

[Mopar151]

23. It's a lot more complicated than ESPN makes it out to be.

You don't find it "interesting" that a driver as versatile as Merv Trichler could'nt solve "Busch" (aka Nationwide) cars? A guy who could run up front on both pavement and dirt modifieds, on arguably the toughest regional circuits in the country at that time - including scary-fast and dangerous Syracuse?
Who is going to be Danica's crewchief? Who is likely to be her driving coach/spotter? A guy you never heard of (Mike McLaughlin), with the nickname of "Magic Shoes", is a big part of why Joey Logano has done so well. Could he have made Casey Atwood's, or Jason Jarret's careers bloom, instead of sinking like a stone?
How will she be at setting up the car? Can she drive ugly setups? She has little short-track or "door car" experinece - she came up through formula cars - How will she do at Martinsville or Bristol? Can she save brakes or tires well?

My point, in case you haven't gotten it yet - maybe the reason you "haven't seen an interesting point" is precisely that you "don't know much about NASCAR"

[JonLP24]

24. Typo on my part

I meant to say the Nascar analyst had an interesting point that I was hoping someone would elaborate. I didn't catch it but I meant to say that that was an interesting point rather then "haven't seen an interesting point". I apologize for that. :hi:

[Mopar151]

28. OK - hope I made it a little clearer n/t

[Upton]

25. Nascar's complicated?

sure it is :eyes: ..those rednecks swilling beer and watching some guy make left turns for a couple hours aren't exactly Mensa candidates...

If it was too "complicated" they wouldn't know what in the hell was going on..

[Mopar151]

26. Some of those "rednecks" could qualify for Mensa easily...

I'm not saying that they're all college professors either - but there is more than one kind of intelligence,:think: and all the racers I know, and most of the fans, are intelligent people.
If you don't understand the complexities,:banghead: don't accuse those who do of being dumb.:evilgrin:

[madinmaryland]

27. Don't worry about Upton. He is still trying to figure out what the cream

is that Barry Bonds used.

[Captain Hilts]

29. Wow. You just showed YOUR ignorance!

[madinmaryland]

30. I think he has been rubbing some of barry's cream on his head!

[madinmaryland]

21. I agree with you. Danica, if anyone can make it, will. She has the star

power to attract sponsors and fans pretty easily. Don't forget the road course guys either (Boris Said, Ron Fellows come to mind).

I think in the long run, it is a good move for Danica. There will be a lot more exposure (domestically, at least) for by moving over to NASCAR. I would figure three to four years before she is truly competitive in NASCAR.