Ask a NASCAR insider this question and heads veer side to side to see who is within earshot. If you get a positive answer, you can use their name. If it goes against the NASCAR grain, then it must be from an anonymous source.
After her record-breaking top ten finish at Bristol this past weekend, the question becomes even more of a hot potato topic. Finishing ninth, Patrick passed Janet Guthrie for most top ten finishes by a woman in NASCAR’s top-level series with six. She is currently sitting in 13th place in the overall standings, ahead of teammates Kurt Busch (22) and Tony Stewart (28).
According to her detractors, Patrick does nothing but drive to finish, or at least not wreck. Some will even say that she is not a competitive threat in the male dominated sport. While she has spent the last two seasons running for experience, her continued improvement, as a driver is real. Does this improvement translate into a chance at a win? Again, the heads will swivel side to side. Some say yes, many still say no.
Patrick fought through the 9.5-hour ironman event that the Bristol spring race became thanks to rain delays courtesy of Mother Nature. Starting in position 26, Patrick found herself running in the top 20 most of the race even after being spun several times while being caught up in the numerous wrecks that occurred.
Patrick said, “I didn’t think this day was ever going to end.” It lasted so long, she had a conversation on the radio with crew chief Kevin Knost about having to pee, and that she would not do it for the first time in her favorite driving suit.
Patrick, has years of racing experience, including the Indy Series where she had one win. She came into NASCAR the right way by doing time in the Nationwide, now Xfinity Series to learn her way in stock cars. She made the transition to full time in the Sprint Cup Series in 2013 in the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Experience aside, many say that she is not treated like the rest of the drivers. You will not see one of her male counterparts charge her car and throw a punch at her if she commits an unforgivable atrocity during a race. She already had a confrontation with Denny Hamlin, in which he can clearly be seen stroking her arm trying to ‘deal’ with her.
Others will point to her good looks, sexy photo shoots and often risqué Go-Daddy commercials as her reason for being here in the first place. In addition, many online surveys name her the hottest woman in racing on a regular basis. Should these factors come into the conversation when determining her ability as a race-car driver? Again, depending upon when or where the question is asked, it is a fifty-fifty split.
Additionally, how do rumors of Patrick being less than excited about sponsor and autograph appearances factor into the whole race-car driver question? It is said, by many, that Patrick is known for temper tantrums with her handlers. Then again, the same is said about some of the male drivers as well.
Sideshow antics aside, is Patrick improving as a driver and can she be a real threat in the Sprint Cup Series? The answer is yes. It is an observable fact, her racing skills are improving and she is becoming more aggressive in her style. This means her confidence is growing with every race. If Danica Patrick can become consistent in her recent ways on the track, it may not be long before visits the winner’s circle or even more interestingly, make the Chase for the Cup.