subject: Nascar Tickets - Danica Patrick Will Make Nascar Debut [print this page] On Dec. 8, Danica Patrick announced a two-year deal to drive for the second-tier Nationwide Series team owned by Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. How will she be received? Kelley Earnhardt, general manager of JR Motorsports, jokingly said, "I expect her to be eaten up by the wolves." Earnhardt continued to say that she expects Patrick to be respected immediately. But there's no doubt Patrick will face an enormous spotlight as she tries to become the only female driver currently competing in one of NASCAR's top two series.
Patrick will run a full IndyCar Series schedule with Andretti Autosport while racing with NASCAR. She plans to participate in the ARCA test at Daytona International Speedway before she makes her stock car debut in the series on Feb. 6. Although Patrick will be very busy over the next couple months, she said she can handle the heavy workload. The famous driver said, "If I could show you my schedule these days-I don't even know what airline I'm getting on anymore, just what time the flight leaves. I asked Mark Martin 'How do you do it?' and he said he got used to it. I have no doubt I will get used to it."
During a news conference at Chase Field, Patrick unveiled her green and orange No. 7 Chevrolet stock car. Get NASCAR tickets and see Patrick rev up her Chevy. GoDaddy, which is sponsoring Patrick at Daytona, stood alongside her Chevrolet at Chase Field. GoDaddy used to have a relationship with JR Motorsports that helped pave the way for Patrick to choose the Earnhardt-owned team over other prominent NASCAR teams.
Although the female driver recently announced her deal with NASCAR, it's believed Patrick had settled on the organization many weeks ago and had only been waiting to announce her IndyCar deal to finalize the NASCAR contract. The world's most famous female driver said she picked JRM because "first and foremost, I'm going to drive for a great team. There is adequate and proper support."
Sponsorship concerns, series stability and increased potential earnings have led several open wheel drivers to migrate to NASCAR, but with limited success. Juan Pablo Montoya left Formula One and did not compete at the level he was expected to until three years after he made his NASCAR debut. Three-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. struggled during his two full seasons in NASCAR, and Dario Franchitti lasted just half a season before returning to IndyCar this year and winning the title. So there's been rampant speculation as how the 27-year-old female driver will fare.
Although she's enormously popular and marketable, Patrick has only won one race during her five-year career with IndyCar racing. That victory came in 2008 in Japan. Patrick also added 16 top-five finishes to her resume. She was fifth in the standing in 2009. The female driver insisted she was ready to try something new. Patrick stated, "It's time for the hard work, time to buckle down and learn how to drive these cars. It's going to be challenging. I'm always looking for the next challenge, and there's still plenty of challenges left in IndyCar. I want to win a lot more races. I want to win the Indy 500. And I want to have fun."
