Daytona 500 2012: Danica Patrick Has Nothing To Lose in Cup Debut

While the rain in Florida made Danica Patrick wait one more day to begin her Daytona debut, the young driver has little to worry about.

“I’m nervous, to be honest,” said Patrick, who showed a brief moment of humanization in that moment of candidness. “I didn’t sleep fully through the night. Last night was nerves. […] I’m ready to go.”

Even though Patrick was forced to delay her start, it’s time to take a deep breath and understand that the pressure is already off of the 29-year-old racer. So long as she keeps that in mind, it’ll make the rest of the next day much more enjoyable.

Patrick, a female racer in a predominantly male sport, has already accomplished something that no female has ever accomplished in another major sport. Baseball, basketball and football have never featured a woman at a mainstream professional level. By even competing   in the Daytona 500 tomorrow, she has already won.

Danica Patrick has garnered much attention simply for being a woman and one could make the case that this is a justified action.

Patrick, however, has been incredibly sexualized in her perception and would rather be recognized as a successful driver than a model. Regardless, a casual Google image search of her name features more shots of her taking off her uniform on the beach and lying against her car in a bikini than her driving on a course or even near a car at all.

In comparison, a search of “Dale Earnhardt Jr.” features only shots of him in his car with a suggested search of “Dale Earnhardt Jr. Beard” as an alternative. There are no shots of him in a bikini on the beach and far fewer of Earnhardt slowly taking off his uniform.

Those who say that we live in a gender-blind or even neutral society are blind to the dynamics of the country that we live in.

At 29 years old, Patrick has entered one of the most masculine sports and is slowly making a name for herself. That, in it’s own, is half of the victory. For every man sitting at home with a beer that says that she shouldn’t be in the sport because she is a woman, is a man that was never able to break into the industry on his own talent.

As Patrick regains popularity in NASCAR, however, the perception is slowly moving away from that kind of sensibility. Certainly, the fact that she is a woman will remain relevant for as long as she is in racing. If and when she wins her first major race, the headlines will read “Danica Patrick Becomes First Woman Driver To Win Daytona 500." When she gets a major sponsorship, the debate will begin over the way to market it towards women.

Meanwhile, Patrick is forced to think about her actions on the course. After crashing twice in the past three days at Daytona, there is an underlying fear that any lack of success will have to do with the fact that she is indeed a woman.

When fans watch at home, however, she will act as an inspiration to myself and to countless others. Patrick earned the pole spot on Friday before getting knocked off of the course by the no. 88 car.

As a minority athlete in any sport, she makes those who look and act like her have a sense of hope. Similar to what Jeremy Lin is doing for the Asian American basketball community or what Jackie Robinson once did for black athletes in baseball, Patrick inspires women with dreams to become racers and shows that there is a welcoming world out there with an outside shot of a possibility.

There’s nothing easy about what Patrick is doing out on those courses, but there’s more than enough that’s especially admirable about it.

“It’s a lot to take on,” she said on Sunday. “But I’ve got to get started.”

Patrick could spin out on the first lap and would have already come farther than any other woman has in the sport. Simply being on the course is a marvelous step in the right direction for women racers.

But to be frank, that’s not what Patrick–or any fans at home–have interest in seeing.

When she goes out there on Monday, she has nothing to lose and only the world to gain.

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