Patrick's ready to 'rock the world'
Tuesday, Dec. 08, 2009
There was no mincing words about Danica Patrick’s official entry into NASCAR.
“We’re going to rock the world!” JR Motorsports executive vice president Kelley Earnhardt proclaimed after announcing Tuesday JRM would field a limited Nationwide Series schedule for Patrick for the next two seasons.
As sister of NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley is well-versed on attention-grabbing headlines and drivers.
Since nearly winning the 2005 Indianapolis 500, Patrick, 27, has been one of the most recognized faces in motorsports. Her first victory in the IndyCar Series, last season in Japan, only added to the luster.
“I’ve always thought that the most important thing for me in my career is that I go with my gut and I go with what I want and not worry about the rest,” Patrick said of her decision to give NASCAR a try.
“And so now my curiosity is there and I’d like to just try it, and I’d like to see how I get on with the cars. I just think the racing looks fun.”
She now joins an organization owned in part by NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. - a move Kelley Earnhardt believes could be a watershed moment not only for JRM but also for NASCAR.
“I think there is no denying NASCAR has sought and needed a talented female driver and one of most exciting things to me about this deal is the potential that lies ahead,” Kelley Earnhardt told The Observer.
“When I was a driver long ago, there weren’t the same opportunities available for female drivers like there are today. I would hope Danica’s success and the team we’ve built here at JR Motorsports will bring some credibility.”
It may also well bring some expansion to JR Motorsports.
“The success we’ve had with Brad Keselowski and the program with Danica we hope will be stepping stones to prepare us for our ultimate goal - to run in the Cup series,” Kelley said.
“Whether that is with Danica or not, it is too soon to tell. But I can tell you that is the place we eventually want to be - in the Cup series.”
No official schedule for Patrick’s Nationwide program has been set, although it will likely hover around 10 races in both 2010 and 2011 with most taking place before and after the IndyCar season. She will drive the No. 7 Chevrolet sponsored by GoDaddy.com - the same car number and sponsor she has in IndyCar.
“That’s going to be a good teaching mechanism,” Patrick said of her Nationwide plans. “Obviously, if ever one day it continued on and I ended up running in Cup one day, I need to learn to race those guys and earn their respect.
“I’m excited about that, actually. It’s an opportunity to show what I’ve got.”
With that scenario in mind, it’s likely Charlotte could see its first visit by Patrick to Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the October 2010 NASCAR race weekend.
Within hours of Patrick’s announcement, other NASCAR tracks - including Daytona, Auto Club Speedway in California and Kentucky Speedway - distributed press releases talking up the possibility of Patrick running in their races.
Patrick is wasting no time preparing for her stock car debut, heading to Daytona Beach, Fla., next week for a three-day Automobile Racing Club of America series test session.
Although Patrick plans to run the Feb. 6 ARCA season opener at Daytona with a JR Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet, she is not required to do so. NASCAR officials confirmed Tuesday Patrick has been approved to run in all tracks in both the Nationwide and Truck series.
Both Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti - open-wheel drivers who ventured to NASCAR - were also approved to run on Nationwide and Truck tracks without prior experience on those tracks.
Montoya has since advanced to the Cup series, while Franchitti returned to IndyCar and won this season’s championship.
Patrick said she has spoken to several NASCAR drivers and believes they will give her the opportunity to prove herself on the track.
What about NASCAR’s fans? Can she win them over like she has in IndyCar?
“I think in my experience there are IndyCar fans and NASCAR fans and then there are fans that are just pure racing fans. I hope it will be a warm welcoming,” Patrick said.
“I hope they will understand running in both series and be excited for me and be excited that there is more of Danica to watch on race weekends.”
The Charlotte Observer is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since charlotteobserver.com does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The Charlotte Observer.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on the exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
