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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Driver Spotlight: Danica Patrick

2014 Driver Spotlight on Danica Patrick


By Richard Tix

Danica, Danica, Danica. Here on NASCAR Behind the Wall we have not taken advantage of the huge Danica following by taking advantage of Danica herself. I have not created a Danica article just because I know it will get looked at over and over again. But, its time for Danica's time in the NASCAR Behind the Wall Spotlight.

She is a polarizing figure in the NASCAR world. Macho men say there is no place for girls, Women say why can a women drive, and then there are the people stuck in the middle. Fact is, she hits a demographic in the fan base that is normally not tapped into.

Many fans say the fan base is shrinking, if so, where would we be without Danica? It doesn't matter if she is in 10th or 30th NASCAR media will target her out and make sure everyone knows whats happening in her world. Well, this past Saturday, it was because Danica was in 10th (or better!).

Saturday night at Kansas Speedway Danica started the race off 9th; just one week after qualifying 7th at Talladega. That in itself is a huge win for Patrick as she started top 10 for the third time this season, only one of those being a Superspeedway (Martinsville, Daytona, Kansas). Just to note, all of SHR started out in the top 10 and only Kevin Harvick finished better then her.

In 2013, Danica only qualified once in the top 10, and that was the first race of the season. So in 2014 the first key to her success is starting out front. After Kansas Qualifying many still doubted her (me included) because we have seen her have a decent start, but fall back. The quote that she is sitting back and learning has been used a lot, but many times people are looking for more, they expect more out of a second year driver.

Well, Danica gave them that at Kansas. In the middle of the race, there she was still sitting back learning in 10th place. With 50 laps left in the race she was still sitting back there in the top 10 learning. Then on the last lap Danica was still sitting back there learning and finishing 7th

Danica Partick finished 7th at Kansas. That 7th place finish was her best career finish in a Cup car, including the 2013 Daytona 500 when she took the Pole and finished 8th. Everyone made a big deal the week before when she led a lap at Talladega, but that was a minuscule accomplishment compared to her Kansas run.

We know she can figure out a Superspeedway, but we see small team drivers with small funding win at these tracks from time to time. The real accomplishment is how well she ran on a fast Saturday night at Kansas. It isn't just the fact that she ran well at a non Superspeedway, but she did it on a track and a night that it seemed like all the other drivers were spinning out with no help (bumping or nudging, maybe some aero). 

She spent 92.9% of the race in the top 10 on Saturday. That is hands down the best percentage she has had at a non Superspeedway track in her career. Not only that, but without seeing the stats I bet most of that time was actually in the top 10. Her average running position was 10th on the night and she had 44 quality passes (If you want all the loop data, check our racing reference). 

Enough about Kansas though, this isn't a one race spotlight. How about the 2014 season in general. At this point last year (11 races) she had 1 top 10 (Daytona), 2 top 15's, and 3 top 25's. So far in 2014 she has 1 top 10, 2 top 15's and 6 top 25's. Looking at that stats, no it isn't a huge difference, but there is definitely and improvement this year. 

I don't think many fans give her the credit that she is improving, but would rather take the easy shot at her when she is running 30th. The fact is, she has been getting better results in year two and because she is a cash cow she wont be going anywhere unless she chooses to.


My Take:

I have always been tough on Danica, but not just for the normal reason's. I think there are more deserving drivers in a lower ride or even without a ride that would love her spot. I understand that from SHR's view they need someone who will put a sponsor on that car, so she is an easy choice, but I think it is the easy choice. She could bring that sponsor to any team and help bring up a lower tier team just with sponsor money. Meanwhile, SHR could try a bit harder to get sponsor's for another driver in her place.

But, its not really her fault she has the ride she has, NASCAR is all about money. So I do not blame her for that. However, I am critical in that fact that she should not get a different point of view when it comes to learning as others. Every polarized driver (Man or Woman) should be created equal. In ANY drivers second year I expect to see some kind of improvement or I will start to be critical. The Kansas run was very impressive, and I have given her all kinds of credit for that (and credit for having a better start to the 2014 season in general) but I still expect more out of her. 

This is not because she is a girl, but because she has a year under her belt. I want to see her start contending for top 15's at some point and not just riding around learning. I think Danica has the motivation to be a top 15 driver but we just have to start seeing it on a more consistent basis. Maybe Kansas is the tipping point and the #10 team has it all figured out?

I do think Danica is good for the sport and that is the other reason I am critical. If she doesn't continue to show that she can contend in the top 15 on a more consistent basis (like Kansas and Superspeedways) the pressure may amount to the point where she leaves NASCAR. Obviously if I think she is good for the sport, leaving is not a good thing. Danica not only brings in new viewers but with those new viewers new sponsors can enter the market. More sponsors could lead to some smaller teams who are not struggling as much and maybe can start to contend. But all of this is dependent on Danica competing and not just riding around learning, at some point she just has to drive.


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