[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I think she'll do just fine once she has a few seasons under belt. I know people have stated what her "average" finish was in certain series. But, last year was her FIRST full season in any car other than an open wheel car. In 2010 she split her time between Indy, Nationwide, ARCA, and the K&N Pro series. 2011 it was split between Indy and Nationwide. 2012 was her first full season in Nationwide, finished 10th in points and had a pole at Daytona, and ran 10 races in Cup. This is her first full season in Cup. Takes a while to learn the tracks and these cars. And this years car is different from last years car. So I'll give her a shot. But like some have said she has a BIG target on her back.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by 67 455 Bird ragtop

I think she'll do just fine once she has a few seasons under belt. I know people have stated what her "average" finish was in certain series. But, last year was her FIRST full season in any car other than an open wheel car. In 2010 she split her time between Indy, Nationwide, ARCA, and the K&N Pro series.

And what was her average finish THAT year? 28th - no wins - no top 5's - no top 10's...

She now has 58 races under her belt in the Nationwide series, 10 cup races and I don't know how many ARCA races over 3 seasons.

With the top equipment, special training (I have a personal friend that was hired by DEI to help teach her to drive) and top crews - she should be doing much better than she has.

[ho428]

Last year in the Nationwide series, Wanica finished in 10th place with 838 points for the season, running the best equipment money could buy and every race.

Contrast that to Joe Nemechek who finished 11th with 816 points running a bargain basement team and only making 32 races.

And just how many seasons of NASCAR experience does Joe Nemecheck have?

10th place in points is pretty darn good in your first full season.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by ho428

And just how many seasons of NASCAR experience does Joe Nemecheck have?

10th place in points is pretty darn good in your first full season.

Joe has many years of experience. Joe Nemechek is not a top driver in NASCAR.

If he had Wanica's equipment and crew - he'd have been in the top 5. 10th place (under the current rules) in Nationwide is terrible if you run all the races.

You need to remember, Wanica finished 10th out of 13 drivers that ran all 33 races. The 3 drivers she "beat" were all running bargain basement equipment.

Pretty good is Tony Stewarts 4th place in Cup in his first full NASCAR season against 43 of the best NASCAR drivers in the world. He also did the Memorial Day double that year - finishing 9th in the Indy 500 and then taking 3rd in the Coke 600.