An article about Danica going on a tour of a NASCAR shop.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/stor...wart-Haas-shop
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An article about Danica going on a tour of a NASCAR shop.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/stor...wart-Haas-shop
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Would this be newsworthy if it were any other IRL driver? IMHO, no.
If it were Helio or Dixon a bunch of us IRL fans would sit up and take notice. The marketing people probably fear a Danica move more then anyone though. Except possibly Helio, he of three Indy 500's and a Dancing with the Stars title. And the ladies seem to like him a lot.
If they had the fan base and were past IRL winners...yes!Originally Posted by Esperante
"If you don't do it this year, you'll be another year older when you do"
http://www.pbase.com/davidm2
http://www.jacksracephotos.net/
Last night, Lee Spencer of Fox Sports was on a PRN show & threw this out there as "breaking news".... now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't RM comment on this Sunday on Speed?
Maybe she wanted to try out that 7 post shaker rig????
Ignorant men marvel at extraordinary things. Intelligent men admire simple things.
If she does - it will be the biggest mistake of her career - Dario was a winner of several races prior to leaving to try the "greener" field and the "green" dried up. Danica has a name, so did Sarah when she made her attempt. She was not the "splash" she thought she was going to be in making her way up the ranks. "Splat" is a better desription and she came back also - but her wave of popularity had become a mere ripple.
Per Roger Penske and others, she needs to start at ARCA and work her way up over the next couple of years. I really wonder if she will have the patience to start all over again after being looked at as a top level star for the last few years.
We may find out.
Witnessed Mario's "Miracle at Indy"...Watched 3 win their 4th Indy 500...Was there for Petty's 200th win...Saw the last Novi qualify
I'm still not convinced there was any "green" funding the ride that Dario entered the series in.
As for Sarah, that was all about Childress getting the "Diversity" funds that nascar was giving out at the time.
I would expect both would have done substantially better than what they showed had the funding been in place.
Dario hit it at a hard time, with the restrictions on testing they have now it is VERY difficult for someone trying it for the first time to get any seat time.
And then, add in the 35 provisionals they have in the field & even when you make the field on speed, you may be going home.
I agree with RP on that... at this time, the only way to make the transition is to do an "ABC" type of a program. But, I'm not sure anyone would want to fund that at the present time.
It would be better for NASCAR and the ICS if she stayed where she was. Her tantrums wouldn't fly in NASCAR.
I'd expect Danica to be a lot smarter than Dario. (She WILL be a lot more commercially appealing.)
I imagine she has few illusions as to her expected performance in NASCAR and will make the move only if there's a lot of green up front and a lot of longer-term promotional contracts.
Remember, she's fairly mediocre in a field of mediocrity where she races now, yet still manages to be the "face of the sport" and to likely take home way more than average bucks from Indy racing.
The move to NASCAR can be nothing but an attempt at more of the same at a higher level of dollars.
This IS "racing business" and not the nerdville of racing purity.
Plus, it's simply hilarious where in a sport where all the press discusses the "search for rivalries" and where any press is good press and Kyle Busch provides plenty, to think a "tantrum" from Danica would be a negative. Again, this is "racing business" and not a morality play.
And, wouldn't it be something if Danica and Dale, Jr., were to trade cars for a race or two?
Give me a break.
NOBODY that's an American racing fan gives two cents about Dario and guys like him.
Don't get me wrong, I think he's a good driver and an OK guy, but he doesn't have the right personality to draw a fan base among American fans.
There'll never not be a "hard time" for guys like him in NASCAR.
Unless her contract restricts her from other racing, it should be very easy for her to line up an ARCA ride in non conflicting scheduled races with some sort of Cup team backing. Low cost, low risk relatively speaking. If she does well there, then her stock goes up even more. If she doesn't, not much ventured and not much lost either.
Some people will do nearly anything in order to be able to not do anything.
Except the bargaining chip she has at this point. I believe she is an "unknown quantity" in a stock car at this point. If she was to "fail to impress" with her skill there - her "stock value" drops as would her value to an ICS owner.
If she goes - she goes - and her value to the ICS falls either way if she is successful or not. If she is successful, the dollar amount will price her out of the ICS. If she fails, she will not be able to comand the higher amounts to keep her from jumping.
Danica's stock is her sponsor appeal which appears independent of her ability (or lack there of) as a driver.
What's more likely in this economy, a team owner landing partial sponsorship on her name in NASCAR or a full sponsorship deal in the Versus era ICS?
I wish I knew - Dennis "Cutty" Wise
When its game time, it's pain time! - Terrible Terry Tate
How so?
Hornish wasn't all that great in his Nationwide races, but Roger still moved him into Cup and do you really think if Sam said, "Roger, I like what I'm doing, I want to keep driving the 6 car in Indycars" that Roger says "no way"? Come on.
They (the other IRL owners) know what she can do in an Indycar, so her struggling in stock cars wouldn't do anything to diminish that value since I'm sure they all would expect her to struggle anyway, as other openwheelers have.
Preached safety and warned of death at Daytona this year and then drove like the Grim Reaper for three hours - Robin Miller talking about Tony Stewart
I'm an American racing fan, and I happen to enjoy a globe worth of motorsports.
Minimal funding & no on-track testing made it much more difficult for Dario to make the transition in 2008 than it would have been for him in '06 or '07.
I don't see her value falling in ICS from not doing well in ARCA. I am suggesting that she continue her regular ICS schedule and just do some ARCA races when they don't conflict. Her value to her sponsors, both current ones and possible new ones goes up just from additional exposure.Except the bargaining chip she has at this point. I believe she is an "unknown quantity" in a stock car at this point. If she was to "fail to impress" with her skill there - her "stock value" drops as would her value to an ICS owner.
If she goes - she goes - and her value to the ICS falls either way if she is successful or not. If she is successful, the dollar amount will price her out of the ICS. If she fails, she will not be able to comand the higher amounts to keep her from jumping.
just leveraging her bargaining position in the IRL
I had previously convinced myself of that, but now I'm not nearly as positive of it as I thought I was.
What if this visit was not for a NASCAR ride, but for a shop expansion ride. I.E. Tony Stewart already owns alot in open wheel OTHER. What if he's looking at MAYBE, just maybe expanding those operations into ICS? Her contract with AGR is up. Just a thought.
Oh miss Money Penny
"I love Indianapolis. I love the people. I love everything about it....the tradition, the history." - Dan Wheldon
DP on Rome's TV show from earlier today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8TWPMgkdZE
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