DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The first reporter showed up to the empty microphone a full hour and 25 minutes before stock car's most famous convert, Danica Patrick, was scheduled to take questions in her first NASCAR Media Day.Ultimately there were as many photographers and reporters surrounding her as those encircling four-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ Jimmie Johnson a few minutes later.
And Johnson was okay with that.
"The attention she brings for our sport is great,'' Johnson said. "We need as many eyes on it as possible.''
For all intents and purposes, however, Patrick was just one of many sideshows during Thursday's annual Media Day -- the official starting point for Speedweeks and the season-opening Daytona 500 Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway.
The event, held in a 50,000-square foot tent located outside the track's front stretch, hasn't quite taken on the anything-goes atmosphere associated with its Super Bowl counterpart. No Hollywood-type entertainment reporters, no tabloid television here.
A reporter from a French auto racing magazine was on site for a "Danica Story" and that's about as exotic as it got.
Mostly it was the expected and recurring refrains asked of Johnson, Earnhardt, and Patrick and the 47 other drivers who attended: "Can you ...?" "Shouldn't you ...?" "Will you. ...?"
This is the fourth major meet-the-press for NASCAR teams and drivers in as many weeks and there was little new news. Bump-drafting, babies and Danica dominated the topics. "If someone does something to me I don't like, they have to expect they'll get something in return. And now I have fenders.''
- Danica Patrick
While the press swarmed and swooned over Patrick, Johnson, Earnhardt, and Tony Stewart, let's just say it was a good opportunity for anyone wanting a one-on-one interview with Travis Kvapil or Paul Menard.
Four-time champ Jeff Gordon announced he and his wife Ingrid are expecting their second child in late summer. Four other drivers are also expectant fathers, including Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya, whose wives are due in July, and Elliott Sadler and Carl Edwards, whose wives are due to give birth in the next couple weeks.
Considering the long day of interviews at hand -- live satellite feeds with ESPN News, live on-set interviews with SPEED Channel and TNT in addition to a red carpet line up of 20-30 local television reporters BEFORE a bullpen of interviews with the almost 200 reporters on-site -- drivers were upbeat and eager to actually get in their race cars for the first time in two months.
To a man, they were looking forward to NASCAR's new "police yourself" philosophy, and were predicting that things will be interesting right off the bat with drivers feeling more free to bump draft and push the limits.
"You've got to remember bump-drafting has been around, it's always been a situation where drivers let you know what the etiquette was and that's how you learned,'' Stewart said. "It's not that NASCAR said ya'll have free reign. They'll still police it but I think when it comes to the etiquette side they're putting that back in the drivers hands.
"I've never been shy (about that). Normally it starts off the track, but if they don't get it, then you give them the so-called tough love on the track.''
Noticeably absent was former Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick, who hasn't made the trip to Daytona Beach yet. He's suffering from flu-like symptoms and his Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer was standing by to practice Harvick's Budweiser Shootout car Thursday evening.
The hottest topic by far Thursday was Patrick's start in Saturday's ARCA race -- a stock car debut for the 27-year-old, who will drive full-time in the IZOD IndyCar Series and run 12 races for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the ARCA and NASCAR Nationwide series.
She was asked repeatedly about how aggressive she could be right out of the gates. She answered as any driver would.
"If someone does something to me I don't like, they have to expect they'll get something in return,'' Patrick said, adding with a laugh. "And now I have fenders.''
The biggest laugh of the day came at during an honest, introspective moment from Patrick's team owner, Earnhardt Jr., who has been voted NASCAR's Most Popular Driver the last seven seasons. With a mob of journalists around him, he was asked if he could still be a central figure in NASCAR without winning.
"Apparently so,'' he said, never missing a beat in reference to the 18-month winless streak he's enduring.
Earnhardt joins a 24-driver field for Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout exhibition race. The draw for starting positions will be Thursday at 8 p.m., after a pair of practice sessions.
Pole qualifying for the Daytona 500 will be Saturday, with practice sessions scheduled for Friday.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
WHO cares about Danica? She can't drive a racecar. She's won only ONE race since she was 16-17 and in go-karts, and it was a fuel-mileage race on a flat-out oval in Japan two years ago! (For those of you who have to ask what a fuel-mileage race is, please abstain from commenting in this forum.) All this despite driving for the best teams in Indycar racing for the last few years. Not exactly the stuff of legends we're talking about here.
She will fail miserably in NASCAR, that is if NASCAR allows her to. (NASCAR=Racing as entertainment, not sport.) Oh, she may get lucky and win a race or two, but at the end of the day when her career is all said and done, she will be remembered only for the massive publicity and hype machine that she is.
People like you truely amaze me. There are lots of drivers who have driven for the best teams in all forms of racing and not been able to win a single race but you people never diss them. The only reason people are dissing Danica is she's a woman and in racing that's front page news. Just getting in a car and qualifying for a race makes a good driver in my book.
so how many times did you get your big truck stuck under viaducts ? you say she cant drive then turn around and make excuses on why or how she may win 1 or 2 races ....lol
To bab you are just a blowhard jerk that wishes you were in her place I feel sorry for you.
It's amazeing to read the post you people put on here about Danica, how she isn't a driver and she hasn't done anything in raceing and she will or you hope she will not make it. Let's talk about someone like Derrick Cope who has been in NASCAR and done no more than Danica and he is still in NASCAR takeing up good space and air someone else could be useing. Most races that he gets lucky to get in he drops out within the first 50 laps. And why isn't anybody talking about the other 5 female drivers in the ARCA race? Maybe it's because they haven't won anything like Danica has. And for the race Danica won you say something about fuel-mileage, What about all the drivers who has won races the same way in NASCAR or the ones won due to rain. Do you think those guy's think of those race wins being a loss, no I don't think so.
What goofy rule did they insert this year to make Junior eligible ?
A past winner of the shoot out.
Or maybe it was his win at the Daytona 500
Nascar is dead, they just don't know it yet. They're banking on this chick (with about 10 minutes of total time in a stock car) to save the sport? Ask Junior how it's workin' out for him..
I would expect something like that from someone whose screen name starts off with Obama and ends with Marxist at least we know where you stand. and as for Nascar being dead I believe it will be around longer than you or Obama.
Their will be enought sissies out their with the bush boys!! Who needs her! I need to check the stock prises on staydry!
pnut166 if you watched racing enough you would know its called the past winner rule
if they would let them race like they used to it would be fun to watch.too much policing on nascars part
me thinks all eyes would be on her even if she was'nt racing
this is NOT the place to advirtize your business. Please do that elsewhere.
There have been other drivers of female persuasion before her, she isn't unique.
My last comment ever about Nascar: F Nascar as long as Danicka Patrick has anything to do w/ it and F Jr for making it happen. Not only is he a crappy driver, he caused this too!!! His father is spinning tires in his grave!!
What happend there buddy, did Danica out run your driver? One thing for sure we wont miss you and i'm sure NASCAR or Jr. will miss you either.
All you na-sayers, Just use the kill-switch and go shopping on E-bay
Your last comment ever well at least you wont be missed not even by Dale Sr.