First Juan Pablo Montoya now Danica Patrick to NASCAR

dd74 · 07-10-2006, 02:22 PM

A friend at work told me about this. I thought, wow, the NASCAR folks are going after the full .
talent drain both in F1 and IRL.

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

Oh, the Good Ol' Boys are gonna be aimin' for her rear... and not in a good way.

Letterman must be disappointed.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Ridiculous. . . Now NASCAR is trying WAY too hard to "reach out". Not a bad thing to be shedding their "good-ol-boy" image, but there IS such a thing as trying too hard. Sheesh, first it was black ("African-American" for you PC types) drivers, now Brazilians, women. . . What's next - a Jewish Chinese-American 70-year-old grandmother with a peg leg?

dan79brooklyn · 07-10-2006, 02:48 PM

She's Awesome.

I thought she would eventually go to NASCAR but not so soon.

Seems like she could have stayed in IRL a few more seasons before switching?

pwd72s · 07-10-2006, 02:54 PM

I clicked on the MSNBC link, bothered to read the article. Uh, it reports that her father, who is also her agent, would like to see her move to NASCAR. Of course he would...follow the money. But there is a big difference between he dad saying he'd like her to have a nextel cup ride and Danica getting that ride. I can see it now..."Danica Patrick, driving the maxi-pad sponsored chevver-lay"..

dd74 · 07-10-2006, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
There's talent in IRL?

LOL!

Seriously - she'd be the only "gal" (I hate that term) out there, and has plenty of go to give the boys a run for their money. What's she weigh - 110 pounds. A lot of fat on a course is the driver, you know...

Maybe it's just me, but I think this "re-tooling" of NASCAR started back when Jeff Gordon came on the scene.

I was at a party with a bunch of Warner Bros. Consumer Products people, who were talking about Jeff Gordon lunchboxes, clothes, pajamas, coffee mugs; all that.

But two things happend, which no one could forsee:

While Jeff was set up as a real-life character starring with the Looney Tunes (Like Jordan in "Spacejam"), the deal sort of fizzled. What's worse: he embraces another animated character: Sonic The Hedgehog...IIRC.

Secondly - as far as lunchboxes, clothes, pajamas, coffee mugs and everything else goes produced by a Hollywood Studio, what do you think the France family thought of that?

I'll put it this way, NASCAR is a lot larger than Hollywood.

sammyg2 · 07-10-2006, 03:34 PM

Talent drain? Not much of a siphon if you ask me.
Danica is famous because she has XX chromosomes, not because of her driving expertise.
There are a whole bunch of better drivers out there but she gets all the headlines and coverage because she is a girl.
Heck she has one of the best cars out there and one of the best teams, she should be finishing better than 6th or 7th.
Some guy is gonig to step into her car and clean up, then we'll see how good she is.
As for nascar, if she did go there she would make big bucks. Unfortunately the good ole boys aint gonna sit idly by while a girl tries to show them up. She'd spend more time on the wall than on the gas.

LOL I'd love to see her to take out bubba or junior by doing something stupid under yellow, they'd string her up from the nearest tree.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

At least we get the satisfaction of knowing that Tony George gets screwed in this deal by losing one of his lightning rods for attention and publicity. . .

kaisen · 07-10-2006, 03:50 PM

IRL is bush league compared to NASCAR. Just look at the television ratings. There is HUGE money in NASCAR, and Danica would be smart to make that move.

Anna Kournikova (sp?) wasn't a great tennis player, but she leveraged her assets to become a VERY well paid sports personality.

Danica should go for the money while she can.

E

turbo6bar · 07-10-2006, 04:04 PM

Juan can make it in NASCAR. Danica would have a tougher time, I believe. I will admit I'm biased due to my disdain for IRL.

dd74 · 07-10-2006, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sammyg2
I'd love to see her to take out bubba or junior by doing something stupid under yellow, they'd string her up from the nearest tree.

What makes you think NASCAR is predominantly "bubba" "redneck" or whatever other off-color identities can be assigned to it?

It's huge in NY Marketing, about half the drivers are from north of the Mason-Dixon line, and has eclipsed American football's popularity.

Doesn't seem all that bubba to me, unless you're looking at some sort of bad Hollywood parody.

Brian 162 · 07-10-2006, 04:46 PM

It won't be easy. Look at Scott Pruett. Very talented road racer, however he struggled on ovals. The equipment he had probably didn't help. He raced for Cal Wells. Paul tracy has dabbled in Busch with little sucess. In Tracy's defence he was involved in crashes that weren't his doing.Another female coming to Nextel is Erin Crocker. She is a development driver for Ray Evernham. He has her running in ARCA, Busch, and the truck series. Her best finish is a second in an ARCA race 2 weeks ago. She also has Bill Elliot as a coach. Unless Danica can be surrounded by recourses like Erin Crocker,she may regret the move.

turbo6bar · 07-10-2006, 04:48 PM

NASCAR in 1970 was redneck. Today, it still has its southern roots, but it is more mainstream than most will admit.

bryanthompson · bryanthompson's Garage

I'd make a 'woman driver' joke, but... she's flippin' good.

trekkor · 07-10-2006, 05:17 PM

It'll be fun to watch her drive Sears when they come back next year.
Give Gordon a bit of competition.
It'll seem slow to her after running there in the other car.

KT

turbo6bar · 07-10-2006, 05:48 PM

Can she handle 3200 lbs of race car + no downforce? I do believe many underestimate the skills of the top drivers in NASCAR.

plain fan · 07-10-2006, 06:23 PM

My two cents: "Who cares?"
Montoya has the temperment for nascar. I bet he could kick some ass, literally. As for Danica, she would truly be racing in a mans world.

legion · 07-10-2006, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by turbo6bar
NASCAR in 1970 was redneck. Today, it still has its southern roots, but it is more mainstream than most will admit.

I paid $150 for Busch/Nextel tickets for the weekend. Find rednecks that can afford that.

dd74 · 07-10-2006, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by turbo6bar
Can she handle 3200 lbs of race car + no downforce? I do believe many underestimate the skills of the top drivers in NASCAR.

Michelle Mouton handled 500+ horsepower Quattros to, I think, two world rallying championships.

Shirley Muldowney had the fastest measured green-light reaction time that, to this day, is still without reproach.

I don't know, I think she could handle it - she's in good company.

turbo6bar · 07-11-2006, 05:02 AM

Actually, I'm not referring to physical ability. The IRL car and NASCAR car are quite different, and I'm not sure she will just get in and show the boys a thing or two.

trekkor mentioned she will give Gordon some competition. I don't think it's that easy.