Danica Patrick unlikely starter in NASCAR | NASCAR | Danica Patrick

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I know everyone is sick of Danica Patrick and the talk of her moving to NASCAR. Believe me, so am I.

However, it seems it may not happen after all. Dale Jr said that his team, JR Motorsports was having discussions with Danica about her running some Nationwide races with them. Well, today SIRIUS radio reported that although there were "talks" about her running Phoenix, realistically that is looking more and more unlikely.

It seems Ms Patrick wants $300,000 to run one Nationwide or Truck race. Now, I don't know how much money the drivers in these series get to run a single race, but I do know that Kyle Busch takes no money for driving Billy Balew's number 51 truck. Dale Jr doesn't pay himself when he drives the 5 car in the Nationwide races -it's a part time ride, and has limited sponsorship. I'm sure Kevin Harvick doesn't pay his buddies much, if anything at all when they jump into one of his trucks for a race.

Seems Ms Patrick isn't really interested in learning how to drive these stock cars after all. As many of you have said, she is just in it for the money. Unfortunately, no one is going to want to pay her that kind of money until they can be reasonably sure she can 1) bring the car back home in one piece, and 2) bring the car home in a winning position, so they can afford to pay her.

Guess she'll be staying in IRL after all.

Picture courtesy of: Sports Illustrated

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11/4/09

suzanneclark12

wrnchit wrote:

Come on! NASCAR is huge, Danica will only make it bigger. I think she would be great for the sport. Now I do not agree with this so called pay check she is asking for but whom ever is the first one to get her into NASCAR as a driver will not regret it. I love NASCAR and I would love to watch Danica drive in NASCAR races.
I hope sombody gets her soon. Danica, please take less money and come join NASCAR. I will be your number one fan.

Nascar like General Motors is down..like 30% from last year and more in 2009..how can she hurt?

11/4/09

bwfc2good4u

3	If that is true then lets hope she does stay in the IRL...after all we don't want her to feel bad when she gets humiliated by the quality drivers in NASCAR. Not that Dixon and Franchitti et al aren't good drivers, but I'm not sure she knows what she's letting herself in for...if she wants $300,000 for one race she obviously doesn't understand NASCAR and it's ethics

11/4/09

Diablorain

2	wow she is a very sad person...she will not be in NASCAR at all if she EXPECTS to be paid like that....i have never really liked her and she isn't even that good honestly...she has won 1 race in the IRL so what makes her think she should be paid 300,000 a race?man oh man she needs to come back to the real world or win about 5000 more races before she will be paid that kinda money

11/4/09

gearhead

(Edited by gearhead)

Yet I came home to this. Why you people trust these SIRIUS rumor mongering idiots is beyond me.

Have fun Danica trying to win respect with people like these two above who don't respect you ("sad person") or where you came from ("humiliated by the quality drivers in NASCAR," insinuating her IndyCar competition isn't) and never will.

Kinda funny how this leak comes a day before IndyCar announces a title sponsor. I'm suuuuure that was a coincidence.

11/4/09

WISAC1

1	here's a way to make BIG money racing. try crossing the finish line first.

11/4/09

gearhead

OK, the Q going down helped me chill a bit, so to say more calmly: This is was going to happen. It was inevitable, even though the slog was certainly tedious to annoying to all involved (I say that from both sides). All that's really left to do now is to see what happens. While I've never been much of a fan of Danica (that is to say, I haven't), I can't say I'm not rooting for her to shut the haters up, same as I root for all the former open wheel drivers.

For IndyCar, I'm not sure it matters in the end. With or without DP, there are many systematic problems with the series that must be fixed post-haste, and that's what I'll be focusing on/hoping actually happens.

11/4/09

1	I believe the people on SIRIUS a lot sooner than I believe squat on ESPN

11/4/09

yohannes_afowerki

0

11/4/09

keppieboy

3	I am not sure where should race but she is very hot.

11/4/09

wrnchit

11/4/09

BluDevil

5	Playboy has the $$$ if NASCAR doesn't.

11/4/09

0	"she obviously doesn't understand NASCAR and it's ethics " Now THAT'S an oximoron if I ever heard one ! Advertisers would pay her that much with enough advance notice. Of course. she'll have to deal with the Matt Kenseths of the sport who bump women drivers into the wall like he did at Bristol a couple years ago. But the sport would pay to see her bump back and I promise - she would.

11/4/09

suzanneclark12

wrnchit wrote:

Nascar like General Motors is down..like 30% from last year and more in 2009..how can she hurt?

11/4/09

lleedubb

0	Check the news people!!...Dale already signed my ba-bay!!!

11/4/09

taylordanley

0	i could never get sick of that beautiful woman

11/4/09

redsox1002003

0	BluDevil wrote: Playboy has the $$$ if NASCAR doesn't. damn, beat me to it! i gave you a respect though out of good sportsmanship.

11/4/09

Aceraison

0	I am not a NASCAR fan or an expert by no means. I'm not a hater. BUT I am totally sure the sponsors would cover that in a heartbeat. Hell, I might even pay attention to a race if I knew she was in it. (that's what the sponsors pay for isn't it?)

11/4/09

stagehandscott

1	i think she will be good for the sport but it wont happen over nite!

11/4/09

nortonsfury

0	she can do what ever she wants as long as she continues to do photo shoots like that.

11/4/09

1	lleedubb wrote: Check the news people!!...Dale already signed my ba-bay!!! Interesting that espn is reporting it, but not a word of it on NASCAR.com, and neither was there on SIRIUS. I'll wait for an announcement from a more reliable source than ESPN I think

11/5/09

shariffshariff114

0	nortonsfury wrote: she can do what ever she wants as long as she continues to do photo shoots like that. she cannot........

11/5/09

nortonsfury

0	shariffshariff114 wrote: she cannot........ thats your opinion...

11/5/09

Captain_Chaos

0	I believe if she can keep the car out of the wall, she will be just fine in Nascar......I mean she is better than Tina Gordon, right?

11/5/09

Southern Lion

taylordanley wrote:

i could never get sick of that beautiful woman

Danica Patrick is overrated, both in terms of her driving and her looks. OK, she's got a cute face, but that's about it, as far as her looks go, and until she wins races consistently, she's just a gimmick walking around. If looks are important, and they're not, by the way, my favorite female racer is Ashley Force, who at least competes in her type of racing, on a respectable level.

11/5/09

Southern Lion

0	N-I-G-H-T.

11/5/09

m_ilyas62

0	stagehandscott wrote: i think she will be good for the sport but it wont happen over nite! HI ITS TO --------

11/5/09

herman_girang

0	sooo all the beauty full

11/5/09

LiquidSteel

(Edited by LiquidSteel)

I aint sayin shes a gold digger..... But 300,00 for one truck or nationwide race? She is not that impressive and actions like this may keep other women out of the sport. If she needs that much money per race (imagine what she would demand for one cup race) then let her stay at IRL. I have never cared for her myself, other than bringing more diversity to racing. If she dominated in the IRL then maybe someone could justify that much money. Ashley Force is a heck of alot prettier and doesnt act like a spoiled brat on or off the camera.

11/5/09

0	I THINK SHE MIGHT DO OK BUT IF DRIVES IN THE N. WIDE LIKE SHE DRIVES IN IRL THE BOYSW WILL NOT PUT UP WITH HER BS THATS WHY I THINK SHE WILL NEVER MAKE IT IN NASCAR I ALSO READ THAT SHE WANTS THE #7 ON HER CAR THATS ROBBIE GORDONS CAR NUMBER SHE CAN"T HAVE WHAT SHE WANTS IN NASCAR , SHE MIGHT GET HERE WAY IN IRL BUT NOT IN NASCAR

11/5/09

gearhead

24fan wrote:

I THINK SHE MIGHT DO OK BUT IF DRIVES IN THE N. WIDE LIKE SHE DRIVES IN IRL THE BOYSW WILL NOT PUT UP WITH HER BS THATS WHY I THINK SHE WILL NEVER MAKE IT IN NASCAR I ALSO READ THAT SHE WANTS THE #7 ON HER CAR THATS ROBBIE GORDONS CAR NUMBER SHE CAN"T HAVE WHAT SHE WANTS IN NASCAR , SHE MIGHT GET HERE WAY IN IRL BUT NOT IN NASCAR

OK, here's what annoys me. The assumptions. What do you mean by "like she drives in the IRL." Do you watch IndyCar races? If not, why are you commenting on her driving style, since you obviously wouldn't know in that case? Other than the occasional gripe that every driver gets hurled towards them on occasion, I've never heard any massive grumbling about Danica's driving (and if someone is complaining, it's usually Marco, who's as big a whiner as you all think Danica is). Castroneves has said previously that he has no problem running wheel-to-wheel with her. This whole "she's non-competitive in IndyCar" meme doesn't make sense either. A non-competitive driver does not finish 5th in points. A non-competitive driver does not have 2 top 5s and 4 top 10s in 5 career Indy 500 starts. I know she doesn't compete for wins a lot, but she's still an above-average to good driver, and not the scrub some make her out to be.

If you're gonna hate Danica, fine. I'm not a fan myself, but don't make criticisms up or heavily exaggerate them, especially if you don't watch IndyCar and thus has never actually seen her race.

11/5/09

gearhead wrote:

YES I HAVE WHATCED IRL SHE HS WON ONE RACE THATS MAKES HER THAT GOOD I DONT THINKS SO I SAID SHE MIGHT MAKE IT IN NASCAR BUT I DONT THIINK SO

11/5/09

1	Remember - When she finishes 10th at Indy she's in FRONT of 23 world class drivers................

11/6/09

Shiloh884

2	You got my last respect for the day! LMAO She needs to stay in IRL definitely. If she wants NASCAR she needs to start where everyeone else does, not at the top. Most of the drivers I know would love to see $300,000 for the entire year. She is no better than the rest of the boys!

11/6/09

Of course she will. But when you bargain for a contract you ask for the sky - they'll say dirt, then she says clouds and they say tree tops and they'll meet somewhere in between - but she's got to ask ! The sponsore pay the bucks so it's not like Childress is spending his own money. Take away Junior's sponsors and he'd start running up front again. He doesn't have to worry about breakfast tomorrow morning and that makes him highly over rated. She'll get good money, for sure. TV camera time is a premium and they'll all be on her.

11/6/09

troutabout wrote:

GET THE RIGHT TEAM ITS JR MORTOR SPORTS

11/6/09

troutabout wrote:

1. Danica was talking to Dale Earnhardt Jr about racing for the team he owns, JR Motorsports, which has cars running in the Nationwide Series.
2. Richard Childress is nowhere in the mix of this.
3. Dale Jr drives for Hendrick Motorsports - his dad, Dale Sr, drove for Richard Childress before he died in 2001.

11/6/09

LiquidSteel

0	24fan wrote: GET THE RIGHT TEAM ITS JR MORTOR SPORTS I think its called Jr Motor Sports..... Not JR MORTOR SPORTS. Spellcheck. Check it out sometime!

11/6/09

Shiloh884

1	JrCanuckFan wrote: Interesting that espn is reporting it, but not a word of it on NASCAR.com, and neither was there on SIRIUS. I'll wait for an announcement from a more reliable source than ESPN I think I agree with you on that one!!!!!

11/7/09

cliffhanger1958

Come on people, think about it. How many of the stars of today in Nascar started there careers at that rate of pay. She doesn't want to learn anything about driving a 3500 Lb car around a track at almost 200 mph, I believe her sole interest is stacking her bank account even higher. Maybe she should go check out F1 for that kind of money. Make her climb the ladder just like the rest of Nascar has done.

11/7/09

0	This ain't Buddy Baker's NASCAR. Wanna bet that Keslowsi and Logano already make a million a year in endorcements ? She'll climb. And Childress was just a name I threw out there - she's shopped around at more places than just Junior's. There's more teams than I have fingers to count . Wanna pick a finger ?

11/8/09

JRSFLAME88

0	Latest news that I have heard is she will drive in The Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports beginning in Feb. I can't confirm it but I think it will be only part time if this is true.

11/9/09

JRSFLAME88

0	JRSFLAME88 wrote: Latest news that I have heard is she will drive in The Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports beginning in Feb. I can't confirm it but I think it will be only part time if this is true. Are you stalking me?

11/9/09

cliffhanger1958

troutabout wrote:

This ain't Buddy Baker's NASCAR. Wanna bet that Keslowsi and Logano already make a million a year in endorcements ? She'll climb. And Childress was just a name I threw out there - she's shopped around at more places than just Junior's. There's more teams than I have fingers to count . Wanna pick a finger ?

Ok it's not Buddy Bakers era, if it were Danica wouldn't even have looked to Nascar the first time. Not enough money back then. But the mention of Buddy Baker gives me an idea though. He has a driving school, lets get Danica to that, stick her in a fully prepared car and let her take a whirl at it. Don't get me wrong now, I'd love to see Danica in Nascar, And I think she's capable of learning the sport and even being competitive with the big boys eventually, but never being in a 3500lb. car @ 200mph creates a learning curve that does not warrant $300,000 a race. Like I said before, her only interest is padding her bank account, if she get's the money she's requesting then, and only then will her heart be in it.
Let's do the math, $300,000 a race times 36 races on the cup side equals $10,800,000 a year. Hell Jr. doesn't even make that with all his endorsements in the cup cars, much less the Nationwide series.
Like I said elsewhere if she wants that kind of money send her to F1...

11/9/09

cliffhanger1958

0	Ok now boys & girls, Let's take the T & A out of the equation, Now has Danica done enough in any racing venue to warrant this amount of money, or does she just have a great management firm?

11/9/09

0	JRSFLAME88 wrote: Latest news that I have heard is she will drive in The Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports beginning in Feb. I can't confirm it but I think it will be only part time if this is true. LAST THING I HEARD BE FOR THE RACE ITS STILL IN THE WORKS

11/9/09