[Formulabruce]

1. Danica, as well as some other "switchers" DISlike nascar cars, especially the way the ass end is "loose". I have personally hear her say this. I can understand after driving an IRL car.
2. The Daytona speedway is an ideal place for her to shine,with "less" rear end "push" due to the banking on the corners.
3. I have watched time trials at Daytona a bunch of times, and ANYthing beats watching the front wheel drive cars swing their asses out in unison, on each end at that track. If She is going to win, it will be in Daytona..I am betting on a LOT of attention on this

[Lightfoot]

A lot of hoopla over her "making history", but she didn't break any records.
Track record is still a good 14 mph faster than her time.

my

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by INJUNTOM

Not a fan or a hater here, but what you have to realize about the superspeedways is that they typically set the car up differently for qualifying between a driver that is a "shoe in" and a driver that may have a hard time. They will put the car "on kill" to guarantee a good qualifying run when in reality the car won't race as well as it could. The veteran drivers like Johnson, Gordon, Stewart, etc will give up some qualifying speed to have a better handling car with more reliability built into the engine....at least that's the way it has been done in the past.

Very true.

Danica needed to qualify on speed - as a starting position was not guaranteed.

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

That progression has been changed and now it's a free for all since the NASCAR cup series drivers probably are the highest paid chauffeurs and people want to get on the gravy train. Start and park cars can make more money doing what they do than winning in other series.

So true. You don't hear about NASCAR drivers wanting to switch to Indy cars. Not worth the effort for the lower paycheck. Would some of the NASCAR boys like to drive an Indy car? Sure - Gordon grew up very close to the Brickyard. Tony has done it very successfully - but made the right career choice.

Danica is only in NASCAR because of the money she can make - not because of her talent or chance of winning. She had a better chance of winning races in Indy cars where her ligher weight gave her a competitive advantage.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Rumors are flying that Danica was given the pole position.

As was stated above, NASCAR is in trouble, not able to fill the grandstands at any of the tracks. The tracks that appear to "sell out" are because they throw giant tarps over entire sections of the grandstands, forcing fans into other sections, making it appear to be a sellout for the TV cameras. A tactic MLB, NFL, and other sports are doing more and more (BTW, the Oakland Raiders just eliminated about 10-15 thousand seats too, using tarps with advertising on them).

Danica being on pole has generated MASSIVE interest in this race now, which was the plan all along. They most likely gave her a different restricter plate to run, giving her another 50 hp. And chances are that all the other drivers and teams knew all along, or if they didn't, they assumed they boosted her car.

It's all good, it's all for ratings, and all the drivers and teams understand that. No one cares who is on pole at Daytona anyway. By the end of lap 1, they won't be the leader, so no one really cares.

The #1 trending topic on Yahoo yesterday was Danica. ESPN's #1 story was Danica. Speed TV can't stop talking about her. All the talk shows and late night shows mention Danica, and state that "history has been made".

That was NASCAR's goal, and they succeeded. The ratings for the Daytona 500 may be the best ever this Sunday.

Danica won't win the Daytona 500, but I predict she WILL win a race this year. Not because of a boosted engine, but the car she's driving is good enough to win, and she IS a pretty good driver.

I agree entirely.

I've worked a few Nascar races as a representative of the OE manufacturers. Keep in mind it is primarily a "show".

As a lifelong racer, I am entirely convinced the pen is mightier than the wrench.

K

[1969GTO]

I don't care what anyone says......it's a pizza and wing night for me and some friends,let the show begin.
BOOGITY-BOOGITY-BOOGITY-LET'S GO RACIN [BOYS] ;o)

[David Jones]

Originally Posted by The Champ

I'm probably labeled as one of the biggest Danica haters on the board.

I have no "excuse" for her being on the pole - and no inclination to create one.

Joe Nemechek got the nickname "Front Row Joe" because of his qualifying efforts in 1999. What was his average finish starting from the pole? 28th...

My issue with Danica is the fact she is stealing a ride from a more qualified driver. She's been racing cars since she was a teenager and has only won a single race. She's never won a championship while racing cars in any division.

If it weren't for Go Daddy pimpin' her out, she wouldn't have a ride.

As already posted, her career average finish in Cup is 28th.

In Nationwide her career average finish is 21.4. Her rookie season it was 28th, her second season was 17.4 and last year was 18.8.

What has she done to "earn" a Cup ride?

Sums Danica up.

NASCAR has boosted interest in the 500 and poured millions into the bank account by putting her on the pole. That helps the whole "sport" or more specifically NASCAR's bank account.

[Alvin]

Ride that Pole Danica!

Big Car Goes Bing-Bang-Boom!

[KS circutguy]

What a bunch of sour vagina haters...

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by KS circutguy

What a bunch of sour vagina haters...

[ho428]

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

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.

[Sidponcho]

I heard they were filming Cash Cab during the race from Danica's back seat......
Speaking of Danica's seat....OOOPS...nevermind

[MikeNoun]

That's why I said this is all hype to generate ratings and interest in NASCAR.

And this is NOT history, even though there are hundreds of blogs and news stories stating such. But typical of the Slacker Generation of current web bloggers, most of whom are under 21, have no experience, values, or integrity, they simply reprint what others write, get that flashy headline, and move on to the next story about something really important, like Beyonce's baby bump or Taylor Swift's latest boyfriend.

Web bloggers today make the 1980's National Enquirer look like Pulitzer Prize winning journalism.

NEWS FLASH - As HO428 pointed out, Danica Patrick already WON the pole in last year's Nationwide Daytona race (how quickly, or conveniently, people have forgotten), and way back in 1994, Shawna Robinson took the pole at Atlanta. Shawna was truly the first female to take #1 qualifier in a NASCAR series.

But of course, they can't market Shawna Robinson anymore, they can't sell Shawna t-shirts, or Shawna die-casts, so today's media does what it does best. Hype the current story as "making history".

The fact that 95% of Americans nowadays don't even know who won the Second World War works out great for marketers. Everything is "new", everything is "making history".

If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.

[1969GTO]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Ride that Pole Danica!

Big Car Goes Bing-Bang-Boom!

Does that tramp sayBill France Jr, was here or Smokem if you got em

[ho428]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

The fact that 95% of Americans nowadays don't even know who won the Second World War works out great for marketers. Everything is "new", everything is "making history".

.

My favorite phrase is "Space age Technology" Hell, the 1958 Bonneville was built in the "space age" Sputnik took off in 1957

[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.

[Sirrotica]

This November after the season has ended compare Wanica to Tony's first cup season, I'll bet $100 she won't have 3 cup wins or even be close to his stats. She won't make the chase either.

If the chase format was in place in 1999 Tony would be in the top 1/3 of the contenders. In the next 12 years if Wanica still has a ride and is in the cup series does anyone believe she'll have 3 cup championships? I doubt she'll do as good as Jr. has so far.


Statistics for Tony Stewart in 1999
Final Rank 4
Points 4774
High Finish 1
Races 34
Bonus Points110
Low Finish 41
Wins 3
Poles 2
Total Laps Led 1,226
Top 5 Finishes 12
Average Finish 10.26
% of Laps Led 12.10%
Top 10 Finishes 21
Average Start 12.6
Total Laps 9,908
Top 20 Finishes 31
DNF's 1
% of Laps 97.79%

In Tony's first season he placed 4th,
2000 he placed 6th
2001 he placed 2nd
2002 he wins his first championship
2003 places 6th
2004 places 7th
2005 he wins his second championship
2006 his worst finish ever 11th, had he gotten into the chase he would have won it even with 1 DNF, 3 wins, 1 2nd, 1 4th
2007 places 6th
2008 places 7th
2009 places 9th
2010 places 7th
2011 wins his 3rd championship, 5 wins in 10 races
2012 places 9th

When Wanica has a record like that, then she can be compared to Tony.

[tom s]

Brad,any over and unders on how many car will be running with all their sheet metal intact with 10 to go on sunday?Tom

[Sirrotica]

Tom, 20%...................

[Dennis H.]

I am tired of people making excuses for Danica being in Nascar, she is only there for one reason, and it is not for her driving skill or record. Only one win, which was in indy car and it was for fuel mileage and not all out racing, does not a nascar champion make. She is becoming a Nascar whore. I am not buying into it at all.