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NASCAR Nationwide Series
ALEXANDER: One To Go
The lone stock car race remaining on Danica Patrick’s schedule before July is Saturday’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway...
Adam Alexander  |  Posted February 23, 2010   Charlotte, NC
A fulltime reporter for SPEED in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Adam Alexander also hosts NASCAR in a Hurry, The SPEED Report and NASCAR Race Hub. (Image: SPEED)
Two down and one to go before life can return to normal for Danica Patrick for a while. But one has to wonder if she’ll ever again know what normal is.

After her much-hyped and heavily-followed debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Daytona and California, the lone stock car race remaining on Danica’s schedule before July is Saturday’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Then it’s back to her day job in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Sure, her 35th and 31st-place finishes weren’t the fairytale ending some may have wanted, but she has handled an unbelievably difficult and pressure-filled situation with grace and fortitude, and has learned volumes about the race car along the way. In my recollection, I’ve never seen a driver so watched or scrutinized, and as a result, we sometimes lose sight of the fact stock cars are an entirely new world to her, one in which she should be allowed to stumble.

After her sixth-place showing in the ARCA Racing Series opener at Daytona, her first stock car race, some observers initially were lulled into a feeling that this venture would be a cake walk for her. Danica stayed out of trouble and even made an incredible save following a spin through the infield grass. But that was ARCA – not the Nationwide Series in which many Cup regulars compete. The competition and talent levels are vastly different and Danica discovered that quickly.

To continue her NASCAR education at Las Vegas in her final race for a while, Danica needs only to stay the course she has charted. She has done a good job of managing her expectations and has kept her eye on logging laps and gaining experience. Danica admitted that, as a competitor, it’s difficult to settle for poor finishes and lowered expectations, but accepts that’s the reality of the early stages in her learning curve.

Her time on the track at Auto Club Speedway will benefit her at Las Vegas, while her Daytona restrictor-plate stint was almost useless at the two-mile, flat California track. If she can build on her notes from California and take it a step further, the Vegas weekend will be a success for her despite what the finishing order may read.

Fontana and Vegas are much better gauges of her adaptability to stock cars than Daytona because intermediate tracks such as these require more driver talent and car control, and we should reserve judgment concerning Danica’s progression and transitioning until after Vegas.

But when we assess her stock car evolution, we must do it fairly and with a good measuring stick. In my encounters with people and in articles I’ve read, I’d guess that about 50-percent of the public is giving her a fair shot and 50-percent aren’t. Many people who are diehard NASCAR fans think that open wheel drivers should remain in open wheel and that females belong in no form of racing. Regardless of who the driver is and the level of success he/she does or doesn’t reach, those opinions likely won’t change.

I still think some don’t accept Juan Pablo Montoya in NASCAR on the basis of his open wheel background. By the same token, some folks never will accept Danica whether she wins a race or a championship. But those who are fair evaluators can see if for what it’s worth – she’s competitive and has been humble in her expectations.

Everyone should recognize the uphill climb she faces. Expecting her to come out of the gate, run up front and contend for wins would be unrealistic and baseless. It will be a while before Danica runs up front or is in position to win, but that doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen.

A fulltime reporter for SPEED in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Adam Alexander also hosts NASCAR in a Hurry, The SPEED Report and NASCAR Race Hub for the network. He also worked for Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network prior to joining SPEED.

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Adam Alexander

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