Danica Patrick Shows off her new Sprint Cup Car at Stewart-Haas racing press conference.
Danica Patrick in Front of her Sprint Cup car
Today’s press confrence by Stewart-Hass racing unvieled the new Sprint Cup car that will be driven by Danica Patrick. The #10 GoDaddy car will be making limited starts with Danica driving as she will drive in the NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2012.
There was some fun banter between her and Tony Stewart and Tony mentioned how he understands the language Danica will bring over to the team because he came from Indy cup racing also.
Some tracks she mentioned were Bristol, Darlington, Atlanta, Chicago, and Daytona but she wasn’t exactly sure what races she will drive in as her main focus was the full time Nationwide series schedule.
Danica Patrick Unviels Her New Sprint Cup Car is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
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Danica Patrick officially announced Thursday she would make a full-time move to NASCAR beginning in 2012. The move puts her in a Nationwide Series car for JR Motorsports for the whole of the season and select Cup races with Stewart Haas. She’ll She may make her Cup debut at next year’s Daytona 500. The announcement ended years of speculation about the driver who has made a name for herself on and off the track.
Patrick’s career has spanned much of the last two decades and has included stints in everything from go-karts to stock cars. While she’s certainly been competitive in everything she’s done, the mystique of Danica has been much more about her packaging than her talent. From racy GoDaddy.com commercials, to spreads in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, it’s no wonder Patrick has been accused of exploiting her looks to get ahead.
After saying he respected her for not letting “boyfriends” or wanting to start a family get in the way of her pursuing a racing career, Brad Keselowski tweeted today:
“Essentially she has opened a pandoras box for all female racers. If she doesn’t succeed, no female will get a chance for years to come.”
This assumption that Patrick’s singular ascension to the heights of NASCAR and whether or not she has success is somehow the determining factor for other female drivers is laughably absurd.
Danica Patrick, of course, no more represents all female race car drivers than Brad Keselowski represents males.
Keselowski in prior tweets criticized Patrick’s choice of self-promotion, saying it:
only serves to undermine the future credibility of female racers who wish to make it based on skill, mental toughness and a never give up attitude. That to me is wrong.
It is incredibly unfair to suggest Patrick does not have “skill”, “mental toughness” or a “never give up attitude” all because she is occasionally seen in a bikini.
I don’t mean to just call out Keselowski’s comments (though he did make himself an easy target) because these thoughts are not just isolated to him – we’ve heard them from a lot of people over the years. His thoughts though are representative of a shortsighted belief and point to the hypocrisy of the society we live in.
We want female athletes who are talented and winners, but we want them to be attractive and marketable (how does an attractive, young female athlete market herself today? See Lindsey Vonn, Hope Solo and Danica Patrick). Yet when these women get ahead and take advantage of their good genes, they’re chastised. They’re damned if they use what they have and they’re damned if they don’t.
Patrick, like her contemporaries, is simply using her assets to get the resources she needs to do what she wants.
To be fair, I don’t think what she has done from the business side, is any different than Keselowski getting a makeover to make him a little more camera friendly, or any number of funded drivers using their family’s resources to find a ride. They’re all playing the game.
And I can’t fault anyone for that.
Patrick’s decision to come to NASCAR full-time should provide an interesting storyline and dynamic in 2012. Looks or no looks, I’m interested to see what the race car driver is capable of with the right resources and time. At the end of the day, that’s where our focus should be.
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Nationwide Race In Montreal
Danica Patrick returns to the series this weekend, making her stock-car debut on a road course. This will be her first series race since July at Daytona, where she finished 10th. This has lead me to a thought. Will Danica be in front of Maryeve Dufault when the race is over. I have seen Maryeve drive in a few races and I like the way she handles the car. Nothing against Danica but I think Maryeve will finish higher when the race is over.
Maryeve Dufault is making her Nationwide debut and should be very popular with her home country rooting her on. Speaking of Canadian drivers there will be a few in the race. Jean Francois Dumoulin, Louis-Phillipe Dumoulin, Ron Fellows, Alex Tagliani, Andrew Ranger, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Patrick Carpentier and last but not least Jacques Villeneuve. The track bears the name of his late father.
It will be fun to watch these two battle it out and it is a fun subplot to watch play out. There are some very talented road course racers in the field and I expect a good race.
You can see the race at 2pm on ESPN. The race is 200 miles = 74 laps.
Nationwide Race In Montreal is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
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With the announcement last week that Red Bull was ceasing its NASCAR operations at the end of the season, the 2011 Silly Season went into full overdrive. While the number of available rides just potentially got cut by one, the number of unanswered questions increased. Can Red Bull find investors? What will Brian Vickers do next season?
Along with those unanswered questions about Red Bull are the drivers and teams who find themselves without a solid deal for 2012. Still what are the realistic opportunities for movement before next season.
Carl Edwards is in the final year of his deal with Roush Fenway Racing and easily finds himself as the hottest prospect. He’s the current points leader and a 19-time winner in the Cup Series.
Edwards has been the subject of a rumored move to Joe Gibbs Racing. While a fourth car at Gibbs is the best option available to Edwards, is it really better than his current position with Roush Fenway? I think, at best, it represents a lateral move for the driver.
The rumors of an Edwards to Gibbs move no doubt came from either Gibbs or Edwards – either way it strengthens Edward’s negotiating position at Roush, which, I think, was the purpose of the rumors. We’ll see what happens, but I think the driver will more than likely stay where he is; despite his potential to bring money wherever he goes.
Clint Bowyer is in the final year of his contract with Richard Childress Racing and has been the subject of a rumored move to Red Bull Racing (that is, before Red Bull announced they were leaving the sport). Bowyer has had success at RCR but has played second fiddle to Kevin Harvick. With a move to Red Bull now out of the question, Bowyer is also very likely to stay where he is.
Brian Vickers finds himself in a worse position than the other two drivers mentioned. He has been with Red Bull Racing since the team began in 2006, leaving Hendrick Motorsports for the opportunity. With a severe lack of opportunities, he doesn’t have many better options but to stick it out with Red Bull and hope Jay Frye can put together investors capable of keeping the team alive.
Mark Martin is a man toward the end of his career who is not ready to end his career. With Kasey Kahne moving into Martin’s spot at Hendrick Motorsports when Martin’s contract ends at the end of the year, Martin is a wild card. Excluding unsubstantiated rumors that he would be investing in Red Bull Racing, Martin’s future remains very murky. He and Jay Frye have a relationship from Martin’s time at Ginn Racing and it wouldn’t be surprising, if Frye can put the investors together, that Martin ends up in a Frye car. We’ll see what happens, but that may be the only Cup opportunity available to the 52-year-old driver.
Danica Patrick, while maybe not the most sought after driver, is perhaps the most intriguing driver of this Silly Season. She is in the final year of her deals with Andretti Autosport in the IndyCar Series and JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series and brings with her big sponsorship and endorsement deals. Her realistic available opportunities include a continued role at JR Motorsports and perhaps a third team at Stewart Haas Motorsports. Both are of course contingent upon the money she brings, but she can no doubt bring the money. We’ll see if she brings her talents to NASCAR.
What are your thoughts on the current Silly Season, these drivers and others? Where do you think these drivers will end up? Talk amongst yourselves.
Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona Int'l Speedway, Nationwide Series, Danica Patrick, NASCAR
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Filed under: Nationwide Series, IRL, Danica Patrick, NASCAR
Filed under: Nationwide Series, NASCAR
Filed under: Nationwide Series, Danica Patrick, NASCAR
When the Truck Series heads to Phoenix in another week, look for there to be yet another female racer on the entry list. Caitlin Shaw, a 21 year old driver from New Mexico, will attempt to make her second (yes second) career Truck Series start driving for Mario Gosselin’s DGM Racing. She will join Jennifer Jo Cobb, Johanna Long, Angela and Amber Cope, and Michelle Theriault on the list of women drivers who’ve driven in the Truck Series this season.
If you might remember, Shaw made her Truck Series debut last season at O’Reilly Raceway Park driving for Red Horse Racing. She qualified 32nd and brought her truck home in one piece, finishing a respectable 24th. Besides the lone CWTS start, her racing resume also includes quarter midgets, mini sprints, and a stint in a USAC midget.
Outside of driving, Shaw has spent the 2010 season working in the marketing/PR department for Michael Waltrip Racing. Her responsibilities including doing PR for Ryan Truex during his championship run in the K&N Pro Series East. (See a great recent interview with her here).
Shaw’s DGM Racing truck is being backed by The Oil Medics, a truck services company based out of Texas.
The recent run of female drivers attempting to break into NASCAR, like Shaw and Johanna Long, shows there is no shortage of qualified women racers out there. And Danica Patrick’s super star popularity is evidence that race fans are very eager for a woman to finally make it into the Cup Series. If Patrick doesn’t break through though, our odds for finding a woman who is capable are certainly getting better.
Here’s to hoping Shaw has success at Phoenix, and to more women drivers getting involved.
Filed under: Car of Tomorrow, Nationwide Series, Danica Patrick, NASCAR