NASCAR Nationwide Series
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NNS: Danica Patrick Hits Hollywood
Danica Patrick will make her second NASCAR start on Saturday...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted February 17, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, sits in her car on the grid prior to the NASCAR Nationwide Series Drive4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

Pop quiz time: What NASCAR Nationwide Series driver will both race in Saturday's Stater Brothers 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California and appear on the following television shows this week: “The Ellen Show”, “On Air with Ryan Seacrest”, “Good Day LA”, “CBS Evening News”, “The Bonnie Hunt Show”, “Chelsea Lately” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

No, it isn't Morgan Shepherd.

And it's not Parker Kligerman, Michael Annett or Jon Wes Townley, either.

The correct answer, of course, is Danica Patrick, who will be making her second NASCAR Nationwide Series start for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports team on Saturday at the 2-mile California Speedway. Patrick's part-time presence in the NNS garage already has brought tremendous attention and whiff of controversy to stock-car racing.

When Patrick raced in the Feb. 6 ARCA event at Daytona International Speedway, television ratings were up 59 percent on SPEED; likewise, when she made her NASCAR debut last Saturday at Daytona, ESPN set a record for the most heavily viewed NNS race in cable television history. And her souvenir hauler at the track was mobbed.

There can be no doubt that Patrick has a tremendous following.

Yet not all the NASCAR racers appreciated all the media attention for someone who is just getting started in the sport. Several drivers, including Michael Waltrip and Kurt Busch, joked in a biting tone about all the media attention Patrick drew at the expense of others.

Kyle Busch was even more blunt.

“The only thing I will say is that TV has been doing a horrible job because they’ve been covering her way too much, which isn’t a problem, that’s fine,” said Kyle Busch. “But if you’re going to have this much attention drawn on the series, let’s put it toward some of the people — you’ve got all these people watching TV and they want to hear about Danica. Well then take advantage of that and show the less-funded team, the underprivileged people that want to have funding so they can race the rest of the year. Danica is only going to be here for 12 races or whatever it is this year. It would help the rest of those teams that want to try to make a full run at it get the coverage that they need and the exposure that they deserve to try to race the full season. Just my opinion.”


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