Danica Patrick: Skills Follow Mania In St. Pete Grand Prix?

Danica mania was a big part of Speedweeks in Daytona this February when Patrick raced her first NASCAR race in the Nationwide Series. Crowds of media and others with pit road access swarmed her and her car at every available moment. 

The Daytona 500 is NASCAR's biggest race of the year, so media numbers are measured by hundreds, not scores.

Fast-forward to springtime in the same state, and move from Florida's East Coast to the West Coast for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Quiet downtown streets bordering the harbor near the southern tip of Tampa Bay became a twisting street circuit for sleek open-wheel cars. While the popular race didn't draw nearly the number of fans or media that Daytona did, Patrick attracted crowds here too. 

The show at St. Pete is a demanding road course requiring skills that oval racing won't develop. Since motorsports remains a male-dominated sport even with female open-wheel drivers such as Sara Fisher, who opted to be a team owner for the first two U.S. IndyCar races this year.

Graham Rahal was behind the wheel of Fisher's IndyCar for this race because he is a more proficient road racer. Rahal will race the upcoming road course in Alabama also. 

Fisher thinks Patrick is good for their sport, but she has reservations too. "Long term it is not in your best interest to hinge yourself on one person." Fisher said. "If Danica were to leave, even today, right now, I would hope that the series and everyone, including media members, focus on everyone and not just one person."

While the left and right turns of road racing are more trying, it shouldn't eliminate females from performing competitively. Three females: Danica Patrick, Simona De Silverstro, and Milka Duno, raced 21 males for qualifying positions in the St. Pete Grand Prix but none could secure a spot higher than 14th place.

Rain pushed the event to a more sunny day, and during the race Duno went out early. De Silvrestro had contact that resulted in a 16th place result, while Patrick surged to the front later in the race to finish seventh. 

Penske Racing's Will Power won Monday's rain-delayed St. Pete race in the No. 12 car, his second win in a row. 

Patrick naysayers out there might notice that her seventh place at St. Pete was well ahead of the other two females in the race. Of the 21 males to take the green flag, only six finished ahead of her at the checkers. 

More than a year ago Eddie Cheever said Patrick proved him and others wrong by being competitive in open-wheel cars. This past February Cheever repeated his belief that she will make it in NASCAR.

Doubters often point out that Patrick has won only one IndyCar race in her career, but they might notice too that winning at top levels like IndyCar and NASCAR are rare events for most.

In NASCAR's 37-race Sprint Cup season, Keven Harvick hasn't won a race in 113 attempts. Open-wheel star Juan Pablo Montoyo who hasn't won in 98 races. The 2005 IndyCar champion, Dan Wheldon, hasn't won an IndyCar race in 29 attempts, with a 17-race schedule each season.

Next event: IZOD IndyCar at Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy Credit

Location:  Barber Motosports Park in Birmingham, Ala., plays host to the IZOD IndyCar Series for the first time in 2010. BMP is 2.38 miles long and 45 feet wide with 17 turns, most of which are flowing.

Track record: Race car—1:09.455, avg. speed—119.213 mph, Will Power—March 2009

Power set the qualifying record for the St. Pete Grand Prix also, and the skilled driver with the energetic name will undoubtedly be looking forward to repeating his excellence in Alabama. 

Twenty or so males, along with a few females, will be out there to thwart his expectations. 

And yes, Danica mania will no doubt follow. 

Photo Credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com