Danica, What Are You Waiting For?

Rest assured, NASCAR fans, what I say in the next few paragraphs is wholeheartedly out of respect to a great driver.  I’m sure there are fans who saw this title and either wanted to jump on me for questioning their favorite female driver, or wanted to jump on me for encouraging their favorite female target.  There are only a few personalities in the garage that are as polarizing as Danica Patrick these days, and they are all on the Cup side.

Some of the criticizing has slowed in recent days, however, due to a great finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, preceded by solid finishes at Daytona and Phoenix.  The detractors are still being heard, though, stating that her 4th place finish at LVMS was just a fluke that would never have happened if the race had not become a fuel mileage competition.  Those folks should be reminded that there are no asterisks next to the winners’ names, and neither should there be for Patrick’s.

My main contention for Danica Patrick right now is that she needs to quit wading into the waters of NASCAR and dive in head first.  Patrick raced a limited schedule last year, and will do the same in 2011.  After racing at Bristol next weekend, a race that, no doubt will be one of her toughest, she will not return until Chicagoland this summer.  These brief forays into the world of NASCAR will not allow Patrick to fully mature in NASCAR, causing her, rather, to readjust to the cars and tracks each time she comes back to the schedule.

The likelihood that she will leave IndyCar soon to drive full time in NASCAR is doubtful.  Patrick has a contract to race for her IndyCar team through 2012, so no switch this next off season is expected.

However, one has to wonder, what, exactly, is Danica waiting for?  Does she want to wait for her contract to run out?  Is she holding on to IndyCar because she, deep down, feels it is the path for her to win her most coveted goal: the Indy 500?  Or is she hoping for some success in NASCAR before she will fully commit?  If so, one would think that LVMS would serve to entice her to dive in to NASCAR.

It is possible that if Patrick meets more success similar to last Sunday’s 4th place, that she may consider a move after 2011.  Of course, JR Motorsports or whomever would have to offer up some dough to buy out her final year of her current Indy Car contract.  I’m sure someone could come up with the money.  It is, sadly, far more likely that when Patrick returns this summer, she will not compete as well, again reacquainting herself to the Nationwide cars.

I just wish someone would get in her ear and point out to her that she is currently 4th in the points standings.  There is no fan out there that would seriously contend that she could not compete for the championship with Sorrenson, Stenhouse Jr., or Jason Leffler.  If Patrick honestly feels like she could come back in 2012 to compete for a championship that would propel her to the Sprint Cup Series, she may, in fact, visit Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Whiskey River to mull over how much he could kick in to buy out her IndyCar contract.

Posted in: Dale Earnhardt Jr,Danica Patrick,Nascar,Nascar Blog