Danica’s father wants to see her make the move to NASCAR, and he spent the weekend holding some exploratory talks with NASCAR teams. He was in the Nextel Cup garage as a guest of the Roush racing team, home to guys like Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle fo’ shizzle. There’s no indication of interest here from Danica herself… just her father. When the two of them discuss it, though, I hope she says, “All I wanna do is race, daddy.” That would make a good movie.
This seems like something that really should happen. NASCAR gets another personality, Danica gets infinitely more exposure and attention, and the backwards redneck hick portion of the NASCAR audience gets a guilt-free target of hate and ridicule. Everyone wins.
My only concern is that if she does make the switch, the spotlight on her gets brighter, and the pressure to win increases… and if she never does, it could get ugly. There will certainly be some resentment. And she’s dealt with that on a smaller scale, but NASCAR’s a bigger stage… so if she wins, the adulation increases, but if she loses, so does the resentment. She’ll have to be prepared to deal with that.
So I ask those of you who follow the motor sports… would Danica have any chance in NASCAR? I don’t know if the drivers are better there than in IndyCar, or if NASCAR has more of a reliance on the car itself… but I have a feeling I’m about to hear a few, “No, she wouldn’t have a chance in hell”s.
Bouj
Great, now she can not win anything on 2 racing circuits….
July 10, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Sweet Lou
we’re about to get NASCAR 24/7. they’ll be shoving this redneck crap down our throats every time we turn around. but watching cars go around an oval and hardly ever pass each other is boring…even if underneath the fire suit, helmet and harnesses is a hot chick.
July 10, 2006 at 12:59 pm
rob
Danica has paid some dues and that gives her race cred. But it would help if she, you know, could actually win a race.
Danica has been, and continues to be, the Anna Kournikova-meets-Michelle Wie of racing. She has the talent of the later and some of the hotness of the former, but gets media pub only because she has a vagina in a sport of cocks. She’s a sexy, talented novelty – that it.
If she could win a few IRL races, she could head to NASCAR easily. She’d have to start in the Busch series. If she wins there, she’d move up to Nextel, no problem.
In NASCAR actions speak louder than words. Us “rednecks” don’t reward hype or promise. We ain’t Cubs fans. Your ass better win, or at least be consistently near the lead car. Otherwise your name is mud, especially if you’re a media darling for no reason other than being purrty.
July 10, 2006 at 1:19 pm
Pres
Jeff Gordon’s purrty and he wins and NASCAR fans still hate him. Isn’t this ingenious PR for Patrick? I mean, after Richard Petty said that women can’t race, this is fun to speculate about. But isn’t this essentially like Roger Clemens talking to the Texas Rangers every winter? She’ll stay where she is. Less pressure.
July 10, 2006 at 1:42 pm
lopey
she should probably win a few irl races first.
im sure she knows this too…her pappy aint too book learned.
July 10, 2006 at 2:45 pm
Captain Caveman
Will she be racing in a sassy VW Beetle? Does her father at all resemble Michael Keaton?
July 10, 2006 at 2:47 pm
rob
I knew someone would bring up No. 24.
Gordan’s assension came at a time when NASCAR was ruled by the old school. Grizzled grunts with knukles as worn as their rubber. They were men’s men in a men’s men world.
In a word, the sport was dirt.
Gordan was a clean-cut purrty boy who many felt didn’t pay his dues (ie. pit cred). He was ridiculed primarily for being what NASCAR was not – squeaky clean. The fact he won every weekend – and had a hot wife – only fed the hate.
Ten years later NASCAR is a completely different sport. So long North Wilkesboro, hello Las Vegas. Goodbye Richard “the king” Petty, Wallace and No. 3, hello Carl “the abs” Edwards, Biffle and No. 48. Any hate thrown their way is kibble and bits to what Gordon got. Besides, they’re the new wave here to stay. It’s no use fighting it.
If Toyota can be accepted into NASCAR than so can Danica. On both counts there’d be huge pressure to win, as there should be. If Danica came in and quickly won in Busch while showing she could trade some paint, she’d be embraced. Not by all, but a great number. Hell, I’d buy her t-shirt.
For now, she’s primarily a novelty, that’s all. If that’s all she brought to NASCAR, she’d be empty beer can target No. 1 no doubt.
July 10, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Mr. Bojangles
Don’t give a shit what she does for a living, I’d drink that chick’s bathwater!
July 10, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Carl
Right now she’s got superior equipment (I’m talking about the car, but yeah, umm…) because there are only a couple teams that can win in IRL. In NASCAR the driving differentiates more than the car, as the cars are much more standardized. So if she can’t win with one of the 5 best cars on the track, I don’t think she’ll be able to do much when her car is basically the same as 30 of the other ones out there.
July 10, 2006 at 6:24 pm
Jimmy
There’s just something sweet about picturing Danica race in a series called “Busch.”
July 10, 2006 at 6:38 pm
Brandon
If Danica makes the move to NASCAR, I will definitely continue to not watch.
July 10, 2006 at 9:54 pm
Rick
I thought I read somewhere that there is a minimum driver+car weight restriction in NASCAR. IIRC, in IRL she has an advantage because she weighs so much less than the other drivers, but in IRL, only the car itself has to meet a minimum weight. In NASCAR, they add weight based on driver+car. That could be a factor in her success.
Of course, there was a fair amount of crap given to the IRL driver who complained, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
July 10, 2006 at 11:35 pm
Dmo
1st point: Waaaayyyyy Overrated in the looks department. I swear that if Mauresmo wore more lipstick sportsfans would be telling me that she’s kind of cute.
2nd point: If Gordon raced IRL, he would dominate that sport and the same goes for Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. Danica will be luck to finish in the top 25 with the much fiercer competition in Nascar, neverthless the top 10. She should stick to a sport where she has a chance to at least finish in the top 10. This would truly be her jump the shark moment if she tries.
July 10, 2006 at 11:42 pm
Andy
I’m really glad someone else uses that goofy line from “3″ in everyday conversation.
July 11, 2006 at 9:38 am