Danica Patrick: 11 Bold Predictions for the Rest of Her Season
Danica Patrick is out to prove she is more than just a pretty face as she rolls through the remaining eight races she is scheduled to run in NASCAR's Nationwide Series this year.
Patrick has won over a great many fans, with not a few being women. There are still the staunch naysayers who doubt she will ever be a threat to win a race in NASCAR, but the petite firecracker is out to prove them wrong.
The driver of the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for JR Motorsports ran a baker's dozen worth of races in 2010. This year she is running one less race with her next one in NASCAR being shortly after she attempts to fulfill her dream of winning the Indy 500 with the IndyCar series.
Her first year with stock cars was a bit chaotic as she attempted to learn the new lingo, the feel of a heavy fendered car and how to handle the fender-benders that came her way while racing with the boys.
Patrick found herself having to refocus each time she flipped from one series to the other with her open-wheel car being so much different from the cars of NASCAR.
This season she once again finds herself going back and forth between the series, but this year she isn't dogged by the newness of racing in a stock car series.
Time will wind down this year and Patrick will need to choose the direction she wants to take her racing career.
Let's take a stroll through 11 predictions, in no particular order, regarding Patrick's performance during the balance of the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Some will give credence to these statements, and others will find them nearing the status of comical because of their beliefs about the diminutive driver.
See what you think!
1. Making Passes
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Danica Patrick was mostly concerned with trying to finish a race in 2010 without getting into too much trouble as she struggled with the nuances of stock car racing.
Toward the end of last season, she gained the confidence to get up on the wheel and make some passes during green flag runs.
She has shown this season that she can make clean passes and use the racing grooves appropriately. The prediction is she will make some amazing passes that will prove she can race with the best of them.
2. Statistics
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During the 2010 season, Danica Patrick had three DNFs. Her worst finish was 36th at Las Vegas with her best being the last race at Homestead-Miami Speedway where she finished 19th after a fifth place start.
The first three races of last year showed her with a 35th place finish at Daytona, 31st at Fontana and 36th at Las Vegas.
This season looks much better with a 14th place finish at Daytona, 17th at Phoenix and fourth place at Las Vegas. The fourth race she competed in this year was virgin territory for her at Bristol where she ended up in the 33rd position.
Her initial goal this season was to at least finish 15th or better. The prediction is she will have a top-five finish at Daytona and some top 10s at the intermediate tracks like Chicagoland Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.
3. Virgin Territory
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Frustration was the word of the day for Danica Patrick as she walked from her battered No. 7 GoDaddy.com car during her first race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
She will be heading to Richmond International Raceway in September. Patrick has raced her Indy car there, but it will be a first time in the bulky stock car.
The Virginia track is considered a short track, but it is fast and races like a bigger track. The prediction is she may easily go for a spin if she doesn't get a feel for the way the car behaves in the turns, but she will end up with a top-20 finish.
She will survive Richmond though it will be a challenging track for her.
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4. Strong Sponsor
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GoDaddy.com has been a major sponsor for Danica Patrick in the IndyCar and NASCAR Nationwide Series.
They appear to be with her for the long haul regardless of where her racing endeavors take her.
The prediction is they want to see her running more NASCAR and less IndyCar. It should happen, because ultimately they want to have their logo on her car in the Sprint Cup Series.
Currently they are a major sponsor for Mark Martin's No. 5 Chevy at Hendrick Motorsports, but this is his final year there.
5. Help from Her Friends
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Trevor Bayne is a NASCAR Nationwide regular, but he just happened to win the Daytona 500 this past February.
Danica Patrick has found friendship and guidance from her fellow drivers. She is also garnering more respect on the track and showing she can be trusted to control her car.
There are a few drivers who will just happen to send Patrick spinning for whatever reason. For the most part she is being accepted as just another driver.
The prediction is she will continue to receive strong guidance from Cup drivers as well as those who primarily run in the second-tier series.
Nothing bold about that prediction, but the fact she will absorb all the information she is offered may amaze her competitors.
6. Intermediate Tracks Are a Good Thing
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Danica Patrick races some of the same intermediate tracks with her open-wheel car and the Nationwide car. Her best finish in 2010 came at Homestead-Miami where she qualified fifth and finished 19th.
She already has a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this year. The tracks that will play best to her this year will be Chicagoland Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The prediction is she will get a top-five, two top-10s and a top-20 finish at these four tracks providing she isn't involved in an accident.
7. Support Means a Lot
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Danica Patrick races for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide series. Earnhardt Jr. is a Nationwide series champion and won the July race at Daytona last year.
Her crew chief is Tony Eury Jr. who at last is finding communication with his driver becoming much easier. He and Junior can provide input to Patrick that can only make her a stronger driver in the series.
NASCAR's eight-time Most Popular Driver, Earnhardt Jr., enjoys working with Patrick and expresses confidence in her ability as does Eury Jr. when addressing the media.
The prediction is Daytona may be the place Earnhardt Jr. exercises the two-car tandem with Patrick and pushes her to the front pack. In an amazing finish, Junior will dive around her for a win and she will finish in the top-five.
A bolder prediction yet would be Earnhardt pushing her to a win at Daytona. After all, Trevor Bayne could do it.
8. Watch out for Your Wishes
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The NASCAR Nationwide Series will head to Canada for the August race at the beautiful Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
This past February at the NASCAR Media Day in Daytona, Danica Patrick joked that she "thought it would be fun to drive a stock car on a road course."
Well that is exactly what she will be doing. She is very open about her dislike of road courses on the IndyCar series, though she has shown some improvement this year.
The unfortunate prediction for Patrick at the Montreal track is an eye-opening experience that will find her going for quite a few spins, some of which will be her fault.
Calculating a good line to run with the heavy stock car will be a tough test for Patrick.
Her worst finish for the remaining eight races this year will come at the track across our northern border. It may be her only DNF as well.
9. Popularity
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When Danica Patrick announced she was coming to NASCAR, the media would nearly overwhelm her at every appearance and at every racing venue during 2010.
Patrick's fans craved a glimpse at the media darling, sported her GoDaddy.com gear and made every attempt to get that one good camera shot or autograph from her.
During every race, the television commentators focused much of their attention on Patrick in 2010 regardless of how far back she was or how many laps down she was.
The attention has leveled out a bit, but her popularity with those who believe in her continues to grow. She is still a bit of a novelty in NASCAR even though she continues to show improvement.
The prediction is Patrick will be one of the top drivers in NASCAR so far as merchandise sales. She will continue to make strides and open the door for the young girls like Johanna Long who are coming up through the ranks of NASCAR.
A further prediction will show Patrick as a serious female contender in a male-dominated sport who will make a mark in the history books as a racer.
10. Hometown Track
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Danica Patrick finished 17th earlier this season at Phoenix International Raceway, but when she returns in November it will be a whole new ball game.
The track is being repaved and reconfigured. As we have seen at Daytona and Talladega, new surfaces mean lots of grip.
Patrick of course wants to do well on her hometown track. She will have six more NASCAR Nationwide races to fall back on by the time she gets to Phoenix.
With handling not being a big factor because of the grip, the driver of the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevy can concentrate on making cool moves with passing.
The prediction is for Patrick to finish in the top five as she wraps up her statistics heading to the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
11. Future Plans
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Danica Patrick makes no bones about her biggest goal right now being winning the Indianapolis 500 in the IndyCar series.
The attention and fan appeal garnered by Patrick in the open-wheel series seems to have waned. Other women drivers are finding success and gaining support from fans.
Silly season will start with Patrick's plans for 2012 as the current season unfolds in NASCAR and Indy Car.
If she does exceptionally good or bad in either series, rumors will fly that she is going to the series she finished the best in.
GoDaddy.com stands strong behind her and currently she has strong ties to JR Motorsports and Rick Hendrick with NASCAR and that is a pretty good place to be.
Patrick can possibly exercise her option to stay with Andretti Autosport one more year and continue to run the NASCAR Nationwide series part-time in 2012.
Though the rumors will fly at the end of the year and during the offseason this winter, Patrick's plans will probably be announced during NASCAR's Media Tour next January in Charlotte.
The prediction is Patrick will leave the IndyCar Series in 2012 and make a move to NASCAR. She will run some NASCAR Nationwide races, but you will see her in a Sprint Cup car.
A further prediction is that she will be driving a Chevrolet in the Cup series with GoDaddy.com sponsorship and some kind of team connection supported by Rick Hendrick.
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