Friday, February 18, 2011

Does Danica have what it takes?

I wrote my most recent column from Daytona on Danica Patrick, who is beginning her sophomore NASCAR season in the second-tier Nationwide Series. She starts fourth in the Nationwide race Saturday -- she isn't racing in the Daytona 500 and has yet to race in one of the top-tier Cup events.

After listening to a couple of Danica's Daytona interviews over the past few days, I've come to the conclusion she's a relatively nice person who really wants to be liked but who is not at all sure of her capabilities in a stock car as of yet.

That's for good reason -- in her 12 races last year, she never finished better than 19th. Her average finish was 28.7. If she was your average white male race-car driver, those sorts of results wouldn't merit a paragraph in most auto-racing stories.

But that's not what she is. She's a pretty woman and a potential breakout star -- but she has to produce some results now, or she will simply end up as NASCAR's equivalent of tennis pinup Anna Kournikova.

6 comments:

Michael Procton said...

Comparing Danica to Anna Kournikova? Please. First, to become a "pinup," she'd have to actually be attractive. Secondly, comparing this also-ran to a woman who was once ranked #1 in the world and actually WON 16 times in her career, including a major (as opposed to Danica's whopping ONE in her whole life) is ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Danica is at least as good at her job as Dale Jr and you Scotty, and she is hot, while you and Jr. are bubbas.

Anonymous said...

Procton is and always will be a dork folks...hateful and probably always unloved. I feel sorry for himnocy, a "I know it all' crybaby.

Anonymous said...

Does Danica have what it takes? -- I bet she'd love to take what I'd give her ......

Michael Procton said...

"Unloved," says the guy slinging mud anonymously on the internet. Ha.

Unknown said...

Ohhhhhhh, she races. Sorry, couldn't figure that one out. Seems she is a media and marketing genius, though.