Originally Posted by backitin As long as theres beer there will be nascar. I'm one of the few that believes everything blows but nonwing sprinters. That being said she would wupp you and me around daytona. I dont really care but I'll watch some, probley to see how she races. So shes doing her PR job by pulling me in to watch something incredibly boring.

About the only race I watch anymore is Daytona. There was a time I watched them all. That ended about the time Gr/wh/checkered came along and the chase. I could really care less how she does. If all they talk about is her I'll probably just mute the TV. The best thing about Daytona is it's almost spring and that means the dirt tracks are about to open.

[davidm]

There are a lot of things NASCAR does that ticks me off, but they got the marketing thing down pat! Say what you will, but there is not a race organizer or promoter who would not kill for the attention she is bringing to NASCAR right now.

[TQ29m]

I honestly have no problem with Danica racing, she is no more dangerous than any of the others on the track, that is one busy place, I don't see how anyone can listen to so many people and drive a race car at over 200mph, it blows my mind, but can you honestly say that no one on the race track, is not capable of making a mistake, or getting caught up in a wreck, I'll tell you what concerns me more than Danica, is the announcers, they screw up big time, all the time, to listen to them, they should be the crewchief, or spotter, I'd just as soon race with her, as anyone else, she seems to be focused a lot more than others, and as far as the media, they got a hot rock in their hands, and so does GoDaddy, can anyone else conjure up that kind of sponsorship, and following, I look at her as a driver, and how she has adapted, both in Indy car, and Nascar, I'd wager she has brought a lot of people off the couch, and into their motorhomes over the past 3 years of a declining economy, than anyone else has, just try getting a sponsor sometime, or someone to drive for, what she does off track is of little concern to me, just like any of the other drivers, I think there is a lot of prejudice being floated about her, and maybe a lot of jealousy, but from what I've seen, she is as capable, maybe more so, than a lot of them on the track, what about Stevie Wallace, was he dangerous, Hell yes, to put it mildly, I wasn't going to add my 2 cents to this, but I've enjoyed watching her progress, just as I have several male drivers, it isn't her fault she gets most of the attention, that's the kind of stuff that sells tickets, and pays peoples salaries, and she must be in darned good condition, physically, she's had some pretty hard knocks, and it doesn't seem to bother her anymore than the guys, so I say, let her alone, she has her place on the track, just like Jeffy, or Jimmie, I don't let it bother me, she isn't taking anything away from anyone, if someone is qualified, and can bring attention and money to the game, let it begin! JMHO Bob!

[3M TA3]

I am not a Danica fan, but I also hold nothing against her. I think the people bashing her need to consider the amount of pressure she is under by the media microscope. Every move she makes and every word she speaks is magnified and scrutinized more than any other NASCAR driver (except Dale Jr.). I think she has handles herself very well under these conditions. For example, compare her actions/reactions to those of the Busch brothers when dealing the media. Then she gets criticized for not finishing well, but compare her finishes to these other Indy drivers that tried the crossover to NASCAR. (I had some time to kill, results found on racing-reference.info). Did these guys get bashed like she does for their performance.

Danica Patrick, Cup - 10 races, avg. finish 28.3, Nationwide - 58 races, avg. finish 20.6
J.P. Montoya, Cup - 219 races, avg. finish 19.9, Nationwide - 23 races, avg. finish 21.0
Patrick Carpantier, Cup - 40 races, 30.4 avg. finish, Nationwide - 16 races, avg. finish 20.4
Dario Franchitti, Cup - 10 races, avg. finish 34.3, Nationwide - 18 races, avg. finish 20.6
Scott Pruett, Cup - 40 races, avg. finish 27.5, Nationwide - 11 races, avg. finish 15.5
Scott Speed, Cup - 106 races, avg. finish 30.2, Nationwide - 29 races, avg. finish 27.9
Paul Tracy, Cup - none, Nationwide - 6 races, avg. finish 33.7

As far as winning the pole, she herself acknowledged that it is "90 percent car, 10 percent driver" when it comes to Daytona qualifying. She is not the one making a huge spectacle of it, it's the media. I can't blame her for their actions.
Daytona 500 polesitter facts: Average finish of polesitter in the last 25 yrs is 15th. Last person to win from pole was Dale Jarrett in 2000, and it has been since 2001 since the polesitter has finished in the top 5. Odds of Danica finishing well are not in her favor.