Pages

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

2015 Driver Spotlight Preview: Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick 2015 Season Preview


By Richard Tix


Everyone's favorite lady NASCAR driver, ok, she is the only current Cup female driver, but its still a fact. 2014 wasn't the jump many NASCAR fans wanted to see. Maybe that's because they think she is capable of more? But many of them just want to jump on her to cut her down.

Now, I am not a Danica fan, but I also wouldn't consider myself a Danica hater, either. But, some fans only want to look at wins, top 5's and top 10's as a way to dive into a drivers ability. In the reality, only 43 individuals can race each weekend which puts the odds of top 10's at a premium. 

Should she have had more top 10's in 2014? Depends on who you ask.

The thing that I take from Danica being in NASCAR is that she has a sponsor that wasn't in NASCAR. She brings in fans who did not care or watch NASCAR before. Most important, she gives everything she can to the sport and tries to improve week after week. 

In 2014 she improved in top 10's, top 15's, and top 20's compared to 2013. 8 of her 14 top 20's came in the final 14 races so she ended on a improving note.


Bold Predictions/2015 Season Expectations: 
  • No, sorry Danica fans I don't think she gets a win in 2015. However, I do think a Danica win would be great for the sport as it would bring some added attention. If she was to push for a win she might do it at Daytona or Talladega where she has done well (resrictor plate racing). She showed promise at Kansas and Atlanta, so I hope to see more from her there and similar tracks. I think she might end 2015 with about the same number of top 10's (3) but I do think she may get her first top 5 on the Cup Level. Realistically she should look to improve upon her top 15 and top 20 numbers and make sure to improve on her average finish. 


No comments:

Post a Comment