It would be one season and out, hardly make sense, she would not get back into IRL after that IMO. Needs to milk another season or so then go South.
No. Shell get eaten alive by the depth of talent and lack of tolerance for whining and other shenanigans. Not to mention the massive learning curve...look how long it's taken Hornish and Montoya to get up to speed. She's nowhere near the talent of Sam and JPM. Not to mention that NASCAR has made it pretty clear that they don't really want minorities (ie not white males) at the top level of their sport.
They just announced on ESPN that she is going for a limited number of truck and Nationwide series races for Tony Stewart. Scary, she will get smoked and go back to Indy cars. She should talk to Franchetti. MB
tony will need to start a couple of new programs then. I could see him drive his own NW car, let her do the conflicting races. When she sucked there would be the excuse of "little seat time". Make Tony some $$ though.
Should she? No. Is she? Looks like it. I don't see how she can possibly succeed in Nascar where better drivers than her have struggled. If anyone can do it Stewart can but I just don't see it. http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/nationwide/news/story?id=4449524
From what I understand she had difficulty in Daytona Prototypes, I don't see how she'll muscle a stock car around a road course.
She hasnt done too great on road courses in the IRL, so i'd say thats a bad idea. That said, it would be interesting. There doesn't seem to be much lacking from her raw pace but she doesn't really seem to be able to keep it throught the whole race. I think she'd have even more trouble in a stock car.
+1 I saw her at the Sebring winter test in 2007 in the Andretti P2 Acura. She was way off the pace of Dario, Herta & TK. Needless to say, she didn't get a seat at any time during AGR's 2 years in the ALMS. I question her talent when compared to the top tier IRL drivers who have spent time in the ALMS prototypes. Dario, Marco, Briscoe, Dixon, Castroneves, TK, etc. were posting fast laps and/or winning races straight away. Danica...not so much. She'll get her lunch handed to her trying to muscle those dump trucks around but I'd rather see her turning left than taking the seat in Peter Windsor's new F1 team.
With 1 race to go before the Chase is set Bubba Juan is going to make it. 1st time for a Ganassi driver to make it. He led 31 laps last night and finished 3rd. JPM is the only open wheel guy to really make it in NASCAR because he drove an open wheel car like a dirt car. In F1 and Indy Car he could save a car over the edge. I have no opinion if she tries, go for it. But these cars are no more suited to her driving style than Franchitti, Villeneuve, and the rest who have gone nowhere.
Photo of running - she certainly wouldn't have a career at Hooters in Waco - can't even compare to the Baylor coeds that work there in their very tight, very short shorts and cute, cute girls with tons of personality!!! Carol
Danica should just leave IRL and go climb buck under the rock that she came out from. The only reason she has so much hype is her lack of male reproductive organs. As for driving talent she has very little.
Yep, forgot Tony. The same logic applies to his success and he was a true dirt tracker. One thing about TS though is he was all IRL when it was all ovals and not much road course stuff. A little different than the group we speak of in this thread.
As a NASCAR team owner and very close follower of the IRL, I think Danica is in for a rude awakening. She is the darling of the IRL. There is no doubt thast she is a hot property in the IRL, and would be a marketers dream in NASCAR. NASCAR desperately wants qualified drivers (especially women and minorities) to become fixtures on the NASCAR landscape. Sadly I have witnessed first hand her PrimaDonna attitude toward people in the garage, other drivers, and even her fans. Temper tantrums have become her calling card. Case in point--on numerous occasions I have seen her be outright rude toward adoring fans and members of the National Guard in uniform at IRL races. She refuses to sign autographs for any member of the military in uniform as her personal protest against the global war on terror. Everyone is entitled to their political opinions---however professional racing--especially at the NASCAR level depend upon fans and sponsors support. (The National Guard just happens to be one of the largest sponsors in both the IRL and NASCAR). Such antics would never be tolerated in the Sprint Cup garage or by the fan base. I don't know if Danica has the skill set necessary to successfully compete in NASCAR--I hope she does. However..Respect in NASCAR is earned, never given, and a Sports Illustrated swin suit spread is no replacement for a mature attitude toward fans and sponsors.
Agreed. Unfortunately, everything you mentioned falls under "substance". Sports and society, motorsports in particular, are driven by the "style" of money as you well know. If Milka Duno can waste millions of Citgo dollars discrediting the IRL's goal of legitimacy every fortnight, then you know there will be a home for Danica somewhere in NASCAR's fold. Few people will really care if she gets respect from other drivers so long as she creates buzz, even if it means scrumming off-track with some of the wussier drivers.
