BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY, LET'S GO RACIN BOYS AND GIRLS!!!
By now most if not all of you must realize that I am a NASCAR honk. I think I follow the sport even more than I have followed any other, and that includes the NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball at various times of my life. I think it is because that even at my age (42) that is a sport that I still have a reasonable chance of participating in. Let’s face it, I could never hit a baseball, my mother forbade me to play football, and there were no hockey rinks in SoCal when I was growing up. However there is one thing that I can still do and I have been doing it since I was 15 1/2…
I can drive a car.
Now I’m not saying that I’ve been racing them this whole time, I haven’t. My late mother didn’t want me to get into cars almost as much as she didn’t want me on the gridiron. In a nutshell, she didn’t want me to turn into my father. Well, there was no problem there – I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t cheat on my wife – I’m covered. But even though I can’t participate in other sports I can still operate a car and seriously, even though I will probably never compete at the Sprint Cup level I can still dream about being the oldest Rookie of the Year in NASCAR history, okay?
Having said that, there are rumors starting up again about a certain female Open-Wheel driver making the jump from the IRL to NASCAR once her contract is up this year, and if she is ever going to do it then I say this is the year to do it.
Yes, I am talking about Danica Patrick.
The rumors are starting up again, before when they were out there,Roush/Fenway was talking about possibly bringing her over. This time it’s Richard Childress that’s also being thought of as a possibility. After all, Danica drove a Childress entry with Casey Mears in the Rolex 24 at Daytona earlier this year. Her contract with Andretti Green is up at the end of this season, and she may become a very sought after free-agent if she plays her cards right.
Now I hear a lot of you clones working right now, that she “doesn’t belong in the IRL let alone NASCAR” or that “the one win she got was a cheap fuel mileage win.” OK first of all a lot of drivers in both the IRL and NASCAR have gotten fuel mileage wins, and no one has ever complained – well maybe the fans of the guys who lost but still – it’s happened before. Just because she got a win while the other guys had to go to the pits does not make it cheap. A win is a win, she was still up there on that podium on the top step. Scoreboard! As to her not belonging that is a load of crap! She consistently runs on the top 10 if not the top 5 every single week. The problem with the IRL is that it has certain rules that doesn’t allow for real racing. For instance in the IRL you are not allow to block a car if they are trying to pass you. One of two things happen: you either get penalized by race officials or you wreck. How many times in NASCAR have we seen one driver “slam the door” on another driver when they were trying to pass them down low? A lot!!! We see it all the time at tracks like Talledega, Bristol, Texas and at all the other tracks – that is a part of racing and the IRL has killed it.
That is why Danica needs to jump to NASCAR and she needs to make the jump now. She has long had a reputation for having a lead foot and for being aggressive at times. The type of racing that is in NASCAR is more suited to her racing style. I believe that if she made the jump and got into an orginazation that gave her top equipment, then she would be in Victory Lane for many years to come.
Now, here’s the question…where would she go?
Roush/Fenway? Well they may not have any room. They have to go down to four teams after this year and McMurray might be odd man out to begin with.
Richard Childress Racing? That’s a possibility. Like I said she drove with Casey Mears at the Rolex, but with Mears, Harvick, Burton and Bowyer already there it’s the same story as at Roush.
Joe Gibbs Racing? Another possibility. Coming over from a Honda in the IRL to a Toyota might be a god sideways jump for her. Plus JGR has room for one more driver to join Logano, Hamlin and ‘Wild Thing’. Question is in this economy, would they want to form a 4th team?
Hendrick? Those guys are full up. Mark Martin is coming back in 2010 and Gordon, JJ and Junior aren’t going anywhere anytime fast.
Earnhardt/Ganassi? Maybe. Truex and Montoya are the only ones runnign right now because they are having problems finding sponsors for Almirola in the #8 car. But if they can’t find someone to put on Almirola’s ride, how can they be expected to find someone for Danica. Back-burner that idea for now.
Penske? They’ve got room for one more, but can they put something together? Would they even want to? Could Danica and Sam Hornish go from rivals in the IRL to teammates in Sprint Cup?
Richard Petty Motorsports? EEEEEEEEEE. Don’t think so. “The King” has already said that he doesn’t think that it’s a sport for the ladies and I don’t see him signing Danica when he doesn’t have the room as it is.
Stewart/Hass? Think about it…Danica driving for Smoke. The possibilities are endless!!! Here’s the question – they both have strong personalities, can two driven performers share a garage without driving each other crazy? (Cue the theme to “The Odd Couple”)
Micheal Waltrip Racing? Now that is a distinct possibility. Uncle Mikey might retire at the end of the year and if he did that would free up a car space for Danica to come in and take over the #55 NAPA ride. That might be the best shot right there.
But then there’s JR Motorsports. True, Junior hasn’t moved his team up to the Cup level yet, but with Brad Keselowski’s win at Talledega he just might have a driver that is ready to move up next year. Try this scenario out…Keselowski moves up to a Cup ride and Danica comes in and takes over his #88 Nationwide Series ride, while driving part-time in a few Sprint Cup races like Brad is doing this year with JR Motorsports in Nationwide and Phoenix Racing in Sprint Cup.
Bottom line is that this has to happen fast. Someone out there has to step up and seriously talk to her about making the leap. The organization that does it will get a lot of media attention, they might get sponsors knocking on their doors, and they will get a driver that wants to go fast and win to boot.
It is a long-term investment in the future of not only their racing organization, but in the long-term health of NASCAR in uncertain economic times.
I think it is an investment well worth making, so someone…PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE AND CALL THE WOMAN, WILL ‘YA?!?!?
