[The Champ]

Originally Posted by ho428

She won the pole for the Nationwide race at Daytona last year as well.

Where did she finish?

Tony Stewarts 1998 Nationwide average finish. 18.5 running 22 of 31 races. No wins 5 top tens, 2 poles.
Danica's 2012 Nationwide average finish, 18.8 running 33 of 33 races. No wins, 4 top tens, 1 pole.

You're correct on the 18.5 average finish for 1998. But remember - Tony was running a part time Busch Series and a full time Indy car schedule that year. Tony never raced a full Busch season as his performances EARNED him a Cup ride.

As to the 5 top 10 finishes however - they were actually top 5's - he finished 2nd twice (Rockingham and Loudon), 3rd twice (Dover and Atlanta) and 5th once (Charlotte). When he ran good - he ran real good. Like many part time rookies - he had several DNF's.

Now contrast that to Danica's 3rd season running Nationwide, only running NASCAR, and she didn't have a single top 5 - even though she had 11 more races...

Tony earned his Cup ride for the 1999 season by his driving performances as a part time NASCAR rookie and his history of WINNING CHAMPIONSHIPS in multiple series -

1997 Indy Racing League Champion
1995 USAC Triple Crown Champion
1994 USAC National Midget Series Champion

Only a Danica apologist could possibly try to compare Danica to Tony Stewart.

[MikeNoun]

In her defense (and this is not to insinuate she's worthy of being a Cup driver), in last year's Daytona 500 she was caught up in someone else's wreck in the opening laps, a crash that also ended Jimmie Johnson's day. She did very well on road courses. In fact, she led one of the races for quite sometime, only to be punted by Jacques "whack 'em" Villeneuve in the closing laps, else she would have had a top 5 finish. And in another road course race, she was leading, and decisively so (not due to a caution or anything like that), when some idiot threw a shoe on the track, which she ran over and subsequently bent one of her tie-rods.

I never ever figured her to be a road course ringer because she was always pretty awful on road courses back in IndyCar. And when they weened her into the NASCAR Nationwide Series, she ran a limited schedule avoiding road courses.

But darn it, she proved she's actually a pretty good road racer.

She needs a few Top 10 finishes before other drivers gain some respect for her. And as Champ pointed out, she's a way's off from doing that. With her reputation, and her bikini shots, the seasoned NASCAR drivers simply don't have any respect for her. She's a rookie, with a long racing career, but still a rookie. They don't like running behind her. But she's getting better.

She has a top notch ride now, so if she's going to prove anything, it will be this year. There are a lot of other guys that had success but were traded away, now driving inferior cars. David Reutemann and David Ragan are two that come to mind. But Danica brings in the bucks, and that's why Tony Stewart wanted her on his team. If she wins a race, all the more for Tony and the team.

But I don't believe for a MINUTE that Stewart feels he has the best driver he could get for his team. He just got the most marketable.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

She needs a few Top 10 finishes before other drivers gain some respect for her. And as Champ pointed out, she's a way's off from doing that. With her reputation, and her bikini shots, the seasoned NASCAR drivers simply don't have any respect for her. She's a rookie, with a long racing career, but still a rookie. They don't like running behind her. But she's getting better.

She has a top notch ride now, so if she's going to prove anything, it will be this year. There are a lot of other guys that had success but were traded away, now driving inferior cars. David Reutemann and David Ragan are two that come to mind. But Danica brings in the bucks, and that's why Tony Stewart wanted her on his team. If she wins a race, all the more for Tony and the team.

But I don't believe for a MINUTE that Stewart feels he has the best driver he could get for his team. He just got the most marketable.

Tony wanted to expand to 3 teams for 2013. With sponsor dollars hard to come by, "Wanica" as Sirrotica posted, offered the best opportunity. Go Daddy has a virtual blank check for her for the time being. As long as she continues with the sexy ads and bikini images, Go Daddy's hooked.

When she stops posing - that well will run dry, she'll lose her ride and a more deserving driver will get an opportunity.

[The Champ]

From February 21st, 2013...

Originally Posted by The Champ

Tony wanted to expand to 3 teams for 2013. With sponsor dollars hard to come by, "Wanica" as Sirrotica posted, offered the best opportunity. Go Daddy has a virtual blank check for her for the time being. As long as she continues with the sexy ads and bikini images, Go Daddy's hooked.

When she stops posing - that well will run dry, she'll lose her ride and a more deserving driver will get an opportunity.

When was the last time Danica "posed" for Go Daddy?

I look forward to learning who the new driver for SHR will be.