Big Joe's Backseat Driver: Danica Patrick impressive in ARCA debut
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 8 2010 05:29 AM
"I live my life wide open ..." – Cadillac Blue (intro music from Danicaracing.com)
It's been one of the most debated questions among race fans all winter.
How long would Indy Car hot shot Danica Patrick last when she climbed into a full-bodied stock car and mixed it up with "the boys" and five other more experienced female drivers in the Automobile Racing Club of America's opening stop at Daytona?
Answer: Ppretty darn well, and better than I expected.
Ms. Patrick already had one mark against her in my book, when her Web site pointed out that Danica "likes all music except country and classical."
I'm like ... "Girl ... you're wanting to get going in NASCAR and you don't like country music?"
Then I remembered that Danica's ARCA car owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is into heavy metal and Mark Martin, 51, who'll start the Daytona 500 alongside Junior in the front row Sunday, is a fan of British rock group Queen. I guess we all can't be purists.
On the track, though, Danica gave an example of pure talent, starting 12th, while weathering wrecks all around her, shrugging off a fender bump with Nelson Piquet which slung her through the infield grass and a drop to 17th place, then fighting back to claim sixth at the checkered flag.
The Speed Channel announcers, probably stoked because they were most likely being watched by the biggest audience to ever see an ARCA race on television, were spot-on when they kept saying Danica was out there to learn the ropes and not do anything stupid. She got that done, very well, thank you.
Now, we'll wait on her first start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and see how it goes. Will it come this week against the Edwards, Johnsons, Buschs, et al? The choice is hers to make and I hope she does it. Seat time is what Danica needs now and the education that goes with competing against the best in the world.
Now, it didn't look to me like anybody really took it to Danica on Saturday, but when she takes that step up to NASCAR, don't be surprised if some dues aren't collected in traded paint and a hooked bumper or two, especially since the governing body has said aggression will be encouraged this year, after fans complained of "stale" racing.
Even so, I didn't see much of that in the Budweiser Shootout. Maybe it happened while I was rooting around in the fridge, but the larger restrictor plates and "bump drafting allowed" now at Daytona International Speedway, didn't amp up the show that much.
Kevin Harvick, fighting flu-like symptoms, won his second-straight Shootout, under caution, after a green-white-checker restart was blown up when Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle tangled and caused a massive pileup.
At the end of the day, it was Danica Patrick's show and she performed well.
Do you think if I sent her a George Strait CD she'd listen to it?