Danicamania-Yes, Brian France-Boo

By Ron Meyer

Is NASCAR the next destination for Danicamania?  Rumors have it that the 27 year old Indy Car driver will race a JR Motorsports Chevy running 12-13 races in the Nationwide Series.  JR Motorsports is owned by fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., and cars, engines, and tech support are provided by the Rick Hendricks organization.

Patrick has supposedly signed a 3 year extension to continue racing for AGR in the Indy Car series, but with only 17 races spread over 8 months, she does have an opportunity to run NASCAR as well.  Drivers such as Juan Pablo Montoya have warned against driving vastly different cars during the season, but Patrick appears set on attempting to do just that.

So, is it good for the sport?  Yes, with reservations. I don’t like the incredible amount of hype, but I think any effort to diversify the sport is a plus. Danica has a huge fan base that would follow her to NASCAR. Go Daddy would be the likely sponsor of a Patrick NASCAR effort, so the effort would be well-funded. However, there is no way Patrick can live up to the hoopla, even running Hendrick equipment.  The learning curve from open wheel to stock cars is simply too great.  So, will the media and fans become discouraged if Danica doesn’t win?

Probably not.

Patrick has only won one Indy Car race, so I don’t think not winning immediately in NASCAR will have terrible consequences. Some people question her talent, but anyone who can steer a race car around a track at speeds of over 200 mph has some talent.  How much talent in relation to other drivers is a question that remains to be answered.

Despite its MANY failings, NASCAR is still the place to be in American motorsports, and should be a goal of Patrick’s.  I hope she reaches her goal.  I hope that other women drivers can benefit from her success.  Actually I hope that women drivers can be provided the resources they need to compete at all levels of racing, from NASCAR to sprint cars to modifieds to hobby stocks at Saturday night tracks.  And, I hope they don’t have to be a Sports Illustrated swim suit model like Danica Patrick to reach their racing goals.

Third generation NASCAR CEO Brian France wants TV commentators to tone down criticism of NASCAR races, which apparently are not as boring as many of us think.  Well Mr. France, you have a pricey product that is not meeting the expectations of consumers. That kind of business model will have some people occasionally voicing something less than the party line.

I have several thoughts about France’s comments.  First, fans are not idiots, and do not have to be spoon fed what to think by NASCAR’s TV partners.  Most of us figured out all by ourselves that the Talladega race sucked and that Fontana should be bulldozed and used for shelters for the homeless so it will actually do some good for society.  If the TV announcers want one ounce of credibility with fans, they better criticize boring races. 

Second Bri, on the drive home from your plush Daytona office to your fancy Florida mansion, turn off the Sirius in the luxury sedan and do some serious thinking about what us poor working slobs want. What I would like to see is what is called racing.  In the past that meant two cars going very fast, traveling side by side.  I am not sure how the word is defined these days, but I doubt that anyone’s definition would include a long parade of moving billboards piloted by drivers asking for iPods to keep them from falling asleep. Second, I don’t want any “races” decided by who runs out of gas and who doesn’t, nor do I care to see a driver in victory lane simply because he managed to miss the “inevitable” big one by motoring around the back of the field for much of a “race.” Third-well, this will be a tough one.  I would like to see NASCAR work with tracks to come up with designs that make them racier-think Richmond, and if they can’t be made racier, go to other facilities that would like to host an event.  Trouble is, some of the most boring tracks are owned by ISC (Chicago, Fontana, and now Talladega), the other side of the France family owned racing business.

If NASCAR would even attempt to accomplish the above, there would be far less criticism from TV announcers, pundits, and fans, and if Brian France actually accomplished this agenda he would be a cinch to join his father and grandfather in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, instead of being vilified as he is now.

Thanks for stopping by.