DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It was a small thing, really, but as close to an official "you're in" as it gets.Juan Pablo Montoya sent a friend to seek out Danica Patrick and invite her over to the Montoyas' motorcoach in the Daytona International Speedway infield Thursday night.
"I'd never even met Juan before,'' Patrick said Friday. "The fact that he came to me is kind of amazing. We just talked and he offered up help the rest of the year.''
"I just think that's really cool,'' Patrick said, grinning broadly.
She said Montoya, the former Indy 500 winner who came to NASCAR three years ago from Formula One, was gracious and helpful. Like her, Montoya faced naysayers that questioned whether he could transfer his open-wheel talents to the bulky, heavy stock cars and the tough, fender-rubbing game of NASCAR.
Three years in, Montoya qualified for NASCAR's 2009 Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship.
But Patrick isn't Montoya. And she is taking a different route entirely, juggling a sporadic 12-race stock car schedule with a full time career in the IZOD IndyCar Series and her quite legitimate pursuit to win the Indianapolis 500.
Her long-awaited, much-debated stock car debut comes Saturday afternoon in the ARCA Series 80-lap season-opener at Daytona, where she'll line up her No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet from a respectable 12th position to take the green flag in what will likely be the most-watched ARCA race in the four decades that the series has been in existence.
Patrick never asked Lyn St. James for advice.
But if she did, the first woman to become the Indianapolis 500's Rookie of the Race (1992), would have advised the first woman to lead the Indy 500 (2005) to follow her heart. And just as importantly, the seat of her pants.
"I knew in two laps I loved it,'' said St. James, who successfully made the jump from an accomplished sports car career to race in the Indy 500.
As with Patrick, people questioned St. James' motives and her sensibility. And like Patrick, she motored ahead, not so much to prove others wrong but to find out for herself whether she was right.
"You feel a connection to the car and to the people and it was as clear as it could be for me,'' St. James explained.
That, she says, and not a top-10 finish in Saturday's ARCA race, will be a better indicator if Patrick's plan will succeed.
Patrick's IndyCar teammate Marco Andretti predicts she will be as grossly underestimated as she is heavily hyped.
"I know she's super competitive, she's every bit as competitive as any guy when it comes to that,'' said Andretti. "Unfortunately, I think they (NASCAR drivers) are going to to try to make a point and push her around a bit.
"And they are going to find out they can't push her around so much.''
Certainly NASCAR has never seen anything like Patrick.
She is as comfortable behind the wheel of a 220-mile IndyCar as she is posing in a bikini for Sports Illustrated or walking the red carpet at a Hollywood movie premier.
She is the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500 and her fourth place finishes in 2005 and this year are the best ever for a female. Two years ago she became the first woman to win an IndyCar race and her career-best, fifth-place finish in the IndyCar championship was the best of any American driver this year.
But it's perhaps her ability to market her brand that has made the 5-foot, 100-pound Patrick such a huge figure in American motorsports. And her interest in NASCAR could be mutually beneficial.
"Let's go back 40 years,'' said driver Kyle Petty, who now does television work for TNT race broadcasts. "Let's go back to Janet (Guthrie). NASCAR didn't need Janet. They had The King (Richard Petty), Cale (Yarborough), and (David) Pearson, they didn't need her and that's the way the sport approached it.
"The drivers were cordial -- although she'd tell you different -- but she came along at a time when women couldn't even get in the garage area.
"There were no women reporters, no women doing PR, she was the only woman in the garage.
"Now in between that and Danica, we've had some really good drivers in Patty Moise, Robin McCall, there was some opportunity with a few drivers that had some real talent. But it was wrong place, wrong time -- wrong place, wrong team. Everything didn't line up.
"If you look at where Danica is right now, it's the perfect storm for being right.''
Who knows how Danica Patrick will do as a stock car driver? Not her. Not those convinced she can't cut it. Not those hoping she will.
James Buescher, the 19-year old who sitting on the pole for the ARCA race, is taking a stance Patrick would appreciate. And perhaps it's an indicator Patrick has already been successful.
"As far as I'm concerned, she's just another driver,'' Buescher said. "There are 42 of us. You just do what you normally do."
Then he added with a smile, "Only more people will be seeing you do it.''
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Marco Spaghetti's opinion means nothing to me, he can't even beat a girl. The only reason he has a ride is because he is a member of the lucky sperm club. Now, Danica will never overcome a lack of technical knowledge by running a limited schedule, she is doomed to failure. Sorry Pimp Daddy.
All Danica, all the time. Resume: qualified 12th for an ARCA race. That's it, that's the list.
This Bitch is way over the top overrated. Just proves that sex sells. Sad that Nascar needs to stupe this low. But on the other hand the sport has sucked for years, so I guess they'll find anything to make $.
Danica did a great job in the ARCA race , spun out and did a great job saving the car ,watching inside the car and her wheelwork was that of a lady who knows what she is doing. Don't knock it it's a physical sport and she proved tonight she belong's there.
if Jeff Gordon could only race as well ass she can
Don't, Won't follow racing face it all you gasketheads follow it is for pre n post race parties, nuttin wrong with that!! But Danika Patrick SEXY???? are you kidding me? I've seen sheets of plywood with a sexy'er chest, she'd make a great sub-floor.
Who are these idiots in the ARCA? I have more experience with PURE SPEED! I have had a 77 Monte Carlo,79 Monte Carlo,77 Ford L.T.D.,78 Grand Prix,83 Z-28 Camaro,71 Dodge Charger SE(STILL HAVE THAT ONE IN THE GARAGE). All of them pushed to 130 M.P.H.(some I could have pushed alittle more-had to worry about the tires). ANYTIME anyone wants to give me chance I would EAT these FOOLS ALIVE!
Sorry Jacob, but she's in a whole different league than you are. She's a 'been there and done that' and not a 'wannabee' like you. By the way, have you ever successfully raced anything but your computer keyboard?
Hey buddy, sounds like to me you wrecked a lot of cars from the list you shared with all of us. And sounds like you weren't worth a sh*t is why the other one is still in the garage. And going 130 mph is not the same as doing 190 mph plus with 2 or more cars around you doing the same and wanting the same spot you are in. And last, the only thing I think you could eat from these drivers is their dust and tire rubber.
130mph JACOB? And you would eat them alive? OK but you need to specefy where
to take the challenge. Is it on your SONY PLAY STATION OR AT THE LOCAL MALL VIDEO ARCADE?
Try going 190+ and making alot of left turns....in traffic. Not down some dark country road with a "bud" between your legs!!!
Don't know what you're smoking, Jacob, but it must be strong. The only way you're getting any of those late 70's or early 80's smog-monsters to go 130 is to drop them off a cliff--you must be one of those morons who thinks that whatever the speedometer goes up to is the car's actual top speed. Anyway, driving fast on a back road hardly makes you qualified to race fender-to-fender at 180. Just keep smoking, and enjoy your fantasy world.
NASCAR bailout- DANICA PATRICK.... But I think she will succeed. It will take some time though. Jr. needed someone to take the attention off his sorry career, so he finds this sexy machine to drive one of his cars. My prediction: She wins a race before he does. I love watching her race but more importantly I just like watching her!!!!!
sHE DESERVES TO RACE SHE'S SO GOOD.