Archives for December 2009

What was it like to drive a 3,450-pound stock car at Daytona? It was a big difference. The car moves around quite a bit.

The car was definitely getting some action in the rear over the bumps. It was getting a little bit loose, but I kept my foot in it and tried not chasing it too much with the steering.

Why did you decide to sign with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports? I think this really came together because of how competitive.

The car is and how good it is, but also the relationship with Bob Parsons and GoDaddy with Dale Jr. and [Rick] Hendrick.

There were a lot of reasons why this came together. It was really for all the right reasons. Are there plans to expand to a full-time schedule in NASCAR?

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Danica Patrick took to the high banks of the Daytona International Speedway Friday afternoon, driving an ARCA car for the first time. Patrick was 12th out of the 26 drivers who participated in the rain shortened test session.

She turned a lap around the 2.5 famed speedway in 51.095 seconds at a speed of 176.142 mph during the single car session that lasted only 35 minutes due to inclement weather.

Venturini Motorsports prepared machines took the top three spots in Friday's ARCA testing, with Mikey Kile the quickest of the day at 180.708 mph.

The 2010 ARCA Series opening Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 is scheduled for Saturday, Feburary 6 at the Daytona International Speedway and will be run between NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying for the Daytona 500 and the Budweiser Shootout.

Daytona will be a proving ground for new NASCAR Driver Danica Patrick. Her stock-car debut won’t come at the Nationwide Series opener at Daytona International Speedway as it was once speculated.

Instead it will take place at the Feb 6 ARCA opener. Read more below. The brilliant Indycar driver is transitioning over into the National Association for Stock Car Racing circuit, but still needs to fill a few gaps in her 13-race schedule.

Her first NASCAR race is set to take place on February 20 at the Auto Club Speedway in California. Then just one week later she will compete again in Las Vegas.

I would imagine the reason that she declined to participate at the 2010 Daytona 500 is because of the level of talent at the elite series, which in turn would increase the already mounting pressure on the female driver.

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The popular IndyCar driver recently signed a deal to compete in select NASCAR Nationwide Series races with JR Motorsports in 2010. However, she could be challenged as the fastest woman in IndyCar if Swiss racer Simona de Silvestro joins the series next year.

Patrick, who first gained notoriety in 2005 by becoming the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500, has enjoyed a level of success and a lot of media attention in America's top open-wheel series. She became the first woman to win a major open-wheel race when she won the IndyCar event at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in 2008.

De Silvestro, a five-time winner in the competitive Atlantic Championship Series, is looking to move up to the IndyCar Series in 2010.

De Silvestro, 21, has the potential to become even more successful than Patrick at the IndyCar level based on her results in the Atlantic developmental racing series.

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An offseason ARCA test usually garners about as much attention from the media as a bingo game at the local nursing home.

That will change come Friday when Danica Patrick takes the driver's seat in a stock car at Daytona. Never before in history has a December ARCA test meant so much to so many.

Reporters who previously wouldn't give this test session a second thought will be at the track to see how it goes for Patrick.

Our own David Newton has graciously given up his last shopping weekend before Christmas to attend the test. ESPN's Mike Massaro also will report from Daytona.

Andrew Booth, PR manager at Daytona International Speedway, admits this test will be a little different.

We had Joey Logano down here in the ARCA test last year, so that brought some attention," Booth said Monday.

"We always have some intrigue, but Danica definitely has taken it to a new level. "Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and many others are coming.

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As the world’s most famous female racecar driver, the IndyCar star Danica Patrick’s decision to participate in the Nascar Nationwide Series has sparked debate in the sports world. That’s no easy feat when you consider that Patrick is as comfortable courting controversy as she is tearing around a track at more than 200 miles per hour.

Lucrative contract deals – not to mention a sultry photo session in the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue – have already provided the 27-year-old with plenty of fame and fortune. The occasional heated track-side argument with other drivers — like this incident with Milko Duno — only increases her reputation.

Yet during five years in IndyCar, Patrick’s undeniable speed (and celebrity) has not always translated into on-track results. With only one win in 81 starts, some view Patrick’s foray into stock cars as premature. Others suggest the move to the Nationwide Series – a second-tier feeder series for the Sprint Cup — is a step down in terms of racecar technology.

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This past season teenager Joey Logano, a native of Middletown, became one of the most-hyped NASCAR rookies in years, and his trading cards and die-cast cars remain among the hottest items among racing collectors.

But while his accomplishments did little to stir interest among non-NASCAR fans, the official announcement this past week that Danica Patrick will race.

A partial NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule in 2010 with the JR Motorsports team likely means that NASCAR cards will likely be more popular next year than they have been in more than a decade.

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When deciding how to enter NASCAR next season, Danica Patrick was very diligent, thanks to the advice of Tony Stewart, who traveled the same path in the late 1990s. Patrick visited the Stewart-Haas Racing shop several times over the summer, sparking rumors that she might drive for it in 2010.

The rumors were far off the mark; Stewart-Haas doesn't have a Nationwide Series team and has no plans to start one soon. Stewart, however, knew that Danica needed to begin driving stock cars in the Nationwide Series.

He also knew that she should only accept a deal with a top team -- she shouldn't make a deal just to get in the series. It appears Patrick listened to Stewart; Patrick's Nationwide schedule hasn't been determined, but she'll be doing it with JR Motorsports, the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-Rick Hendrick collaboration that finished third in last year's championship with Brad Keselowski.

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The question has been answered. After months of speculation, IZOD IndyCar Series star Danica Patrick announced this week her plans to run a limited stock-car schedule with the primary focus being on the NASCAR Nationwide Series for 2010 and 2011 with JR Motorsports (JRM).

However, before Patrick enters the NASCAR Nationwide Series, she'll first tackle the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards which is often referred as the stepping-stone to NASCAR.

Patrick will join veteran ARCA driver Patrick Sheltra, his Sheltra Motorsports team and not to mention a healthy and impressive plethora of other drivers and teams expected to partake.

In the three-day open test session at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway beginning on Friday December 18 and concluding on Sunday December 20, preparing for next year's season opener.

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The IndyCar Series may be about to lose its most marketable quantity, Danica Patrick, to NASCAR.JR Motorsports announced Tuesday that the 27-year-old will race in NASCAR's season-opening weekend, participating in the Automobile Racing Club of America event at Daytona in February. She will also drive in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series, although no dates were announced.

“It's been a long time coming,” she said of her NASCAR deal. “I have always said I love to drive, and if I could make it work to race in both IndyCar and NASCAR with the right sponsor ... then I'd love to drive in NASCAR.”

The news came just days after Patrick signed a two-year contract extension to race for the Andretti Autosport team along with an option for a third that may keep her in the IndyCar Series until the end of 2012.

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