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Sprint Cup
CUP: Patrick Making Big Run At NASCAR
Indy 500 plans off Danica Patrick’s worksheet as she focuses on stock car racing…
Can a driver wearing pumps win a NASCAR major-series race?
This year, maybe.
But doubts remain about Danica Patrick. It can be seen across the deep waters of the Internet, where racing message boards are often aflame with criticism of a driver who is often considered more famous for her television commercials than her driving.
This season she goes at NASCAR racing full-bore, with a complete schedule for Nationwide with JR Motorsports and a part-time Sprint Cup run with Stewart-Haas Racing.
A win by Patrick would be the first ever by a woman in any of NASCAR’s three national series.
Still, though, there are those who scoff at her endeavors.
“It does not get to me,” Patrick said Monday. “I do what feels comfortable to me, and then I’m good with it. I’ve been lucky enough in my career to be able to be an honest person, to be authentic, whatever good and bad may come from that.
“With the GoDaddy commercials, we have a lot of fun with them. And not just GoDaddy. I look pretty in ads for other people, too. I’m a girl. And so to say that I can’t use being a girl doesn’t make any sense. In this world there’s so much competition out there that you have to do everything you can to make sponsors happy, to attract them, to be unique, to be different.”
Patrick, who announced Monday that she won’t race in the Indianapolis 500 this year, said she avoids the negatives.
“Peoples’ negativity doesn’t really factor in,” she said. “All I try to do is get the most out of myself I can possibly do. Breaking ground and trying new things to make it happen so I don’t have an excuse as to why I didn’t do it. Then peoples’ words will get to me, but if I’m doing everything I can they don’t.
“It’s not something I consciously think about – trying to change peoples’ minds.”
Although Patrick is a relative newcomer in NASCAR, she has been a racer for 20 years.
“I’ve been around for a long time,” she said. “There are going to be people who like you and people who don’t, people who think you can do it and people who don’t think you can do it. And I’m glad for that. It’s important in sports to have people who cheer for you and people who cheer against you. It’s good, competitive fun.”
Patrick is entered in the season-opening Daytona 500 but currently isn’t guaranteed a starting spot. The team has had discussions about “buying” another team’s points, but no definitive choice has been made.
Still, Patrick is ready.
“It’s kind of a relief to just be able to focus on NASCAR as I have a lot to learn,” she said. “I’m going to need to focus completely on it. I’ll have the whole season to do that. With more racing will come more expectations of doing well, and I want to do that.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
This year, maybe.
But doubts remain about Danica Patrick. It can be seen across the deep waters of the Internet, where racing message boards are often aflame with criticism of a driver who is often considered more famous for her television commercials than her driving.
This season she goes at NASCAR racing full-bore, with a complete schedule for Nationwide with JR Motorsports and a part-time Sprint Cup run with Stewart-Haas Racing.
A win by Patrick would be the first ever by a woman in any of NASCAR’s three national series.
Still, though, there are those who scoff at her endeavors.
“It does not get to me,” Patrick said Monday. “I do what feels comfortable to me, and then I’m good with it. I’ve been lucky enough in my career to be able to be an honest person, to be authentic, whatever good and bad may come from that.
“With the GoDaddy commercials, we have a lot of fun with them. And not just GoDaddy. I look pretty in ads for other people, too. I’m a girl. And so to say that I can’t use being a girl doesn’t make any sense. In this world there’s so much competition out there that you have to do everything you can to make sponsors happy, to attract them, to be unique, to be different.”
Patrick, who announced Monday that she won’t race in the Indianapolis 500 this year, said she avoids the negatives.
“Peoples’ negativity doesn’t really factor in,” she said. “All I try to do is get the most out of myself I can possibly do. Breaking ground and trying new things to make it happen so I don’t have an excuse as to why I didn’t do it. Then peoples’ words will get to me, but if I’m doing everything I can they don’t.
“It’s not something I consciously think about – trying to change peoples’ minds.”
Although Patrick is a relative newcomer in NASCAR, she has been a racer for 20 years.
“I’ve been around for a long time,” she said. “There are going to be people who like you and people who don’t, people who think you can do it and people who don’t think you can do it. And I’m glad for that. It’s important in sports to have people who cheer for you and people who cheer against you. It’s good, competitive fun.”
Patrick is entered in the season-opening Daytona 500 but currently isn’t guaranteed a starting spot. The team has had discussions about “buying” another team’s points, but no definitive choice has been made.
Still, Patrick is ready.
“It’s kind of a relief to just be able to focus on NASCAR as I have a lot to learn,” she said. “I’m going to need to focus completely on it. I’ll have the whole season to do that. With more racing will come more expectations of doing well, and I want to do that.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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