SPENCER: Danica, EFI And The No. 48 Team

Sprint Cup

SPENCER: Danica, EFI And The No. 48 Team

Danica Patrick deserves some slack but the No. 48 team doesn't...

Jimmy Spencer | Posted March 08, 2012 Charlotte, NC

While some pile on, I’m going to step in and defend Danica Patrick’s refusal to grant an interview following last Saturday’s Nationwide race at Phoenix. Give the girl a break, folks.

She can’t go anywhere without being mobbed and hounded. Her every move has been analyzed and dissected since announcing she was moving to NASCAR, and the media attention hasn’t let up since.

Many of us have high expectations for Danica this season, herself and her team included, and that pressure has to wear on her after a while. So, when Danica ran poorly at Phoenix after getting wrecked out of every event at Daytona, I’m sure she was beyond frustrated. There are millions of eyeballs waiting to see her succeed or fail. She may have felt like she let herself, her team and her fans down at Phoenix. What is there to say at that point?

When you’ve been interviewed as many times as Danica has in the past three weeks, you run out of things to say, and when that happens, I don’t think the driver has to grant the interview. Talking about it further isn’t going to make her more competitive. I still think she can run well in NASCAR, but she’s going to have to prove that to everyone. However, we need to give her the full season to do that, and quit judging so quickly. It’s not going to be all fun and laughter, either, as Danica will have her share of struggles.

But her preparation and dedication impress me. She studies the tracks and talks to different drivers and people in the garage to learn everything she can about the tracks and cars. The intent and dedication are there, but it will take some time. And I suggest we give her that and also give her a break for a while.

Another thing that may take some time is working the bugs out of the new EFI, or electronic fuel injection systems. It certainly isn’t all smooth sailing yet. Look at what happened to Tony Stewart Sunday at Phoenix with the car not re-firing. He lost a ton of points on that deal. Other drivers, including Jeff Burton, had some engine issues that appear to be EFI-related.

I bet there are some pissed-off teams right now. While everything may have looked great on paper and moving to EFI is a step in the right direction, I think NASCAR moved the system into play too quickly, and we’re seeing that on the race track with these engine problems. If I were NASCAR, I would have gradually implemented EFI in only 10 races this year instead of the full season. That would have given teams more time to test the systems and learn where potential problems lie. Instead, races literally are serving as the test sessions – test sessions that cost important points.

I’m afraid that by the time the Chase rolls around, we singlehandedly could be blaming EFI for some drivers missing the Chase, and EFI could become one of the main stories of 2012 for all the wrong reasons.

One of the main headlines so far has been the No. 48 team’s penalty for the C-posts NASCAR seized in opening-day inspection at Daytona. I agree with NASCAR’s fines and penalties in this situation because if they had let the No. 48 slide through tech with something visibly wrong to the naked eye, imagine the freedom teams would think they now have. You’d see other organizations showing up at the next track with the same questionable pieces, and if NASCAR also had to let them get away with it, the snowball effect would continue week after week.

NASCAR said the No. 48 car fit the templates but that the team had massaged it between the templates. Sorry, but that’s trying to gain an advantage. End of story. As a result, I would be highly surprised if the penalty is overturned on appeal because if NASCAR doesn’t stop it now, they’ll have bigger problems with other teams trying to bend the rules.

In this case, the punishment fits the crime for Chad Knaus and the No. 48 team. You agree?

Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jimmy Spencer

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