Well, it finally became official at a Thursday afternoon press conference in Phoenix. In what was probably the worst kept secret since Dale Jr decided to leave DEI, Danica Patrick and sponsor GoDaddy.com announced they will run the full Nascar Nationwide Series schedule in 2012 in the No. 7 Chevy for JR Motorsports.
There is no question that this is a positive for Nascar. In every race Danica has run since her first at Daytona last February, she has been the focus of attention whether she has run in the top five or in the thirties. Ratings will definitely be higher for Nationwide races and ticket sales will no doubt follow a similar trend.
The big question is how will she fair over the course of the 34-race Nationwide schedule? She has shown dramatic improvement over last season. She even has a top five to her credit, finishing fourth at Las Vegas. But she still has yet to prove that she is a consistent top ten contender. Transitioning from an Indy car to a big, heavy 3,400 lb Nascar stock car is no easy task and the only one to do it with any success has been Juan Montoya. Patrick will definitely continue to improve, but she will not win a race(unless its because of fuel mileage or rain).
Also to her credit, Danica has definitely gone about this process the right way. Running Nationwide first, she has shown that she does want to succeed in this sport. But the second half of the announcement proved to be more of a money grab than anything else.
It was also announced that Danica would also run about eight to ten Sprint Cup races for Stewart-Haas Racing. While these races are still being determined, it has been strongly rumored that her first race will be in the biggest one of them all: the 2012 Daytona 500. I don't care what kind of equipment she has, Hendrick engines or not, she is not going to crack the top thirty five in any race she runs without help from either fuel mileage or Mother Nature. Guys like Joe Nemechek and Michael McDowell could, in reality, finish ahead of her! These are start-and-park drivers! She needs to focus on Nationwide and get her bearings first before going anywhere near the Cup garage.
Sam Hornish, Jr and Dario Franchitti are two of the biggest names in Indycar. But despite their success, they fizzled out quick in Nascar's top division. Danica Patrick may run well in Nationwide and finish in or around the top twenty on a regular basis, but when she does get to Cup she is in for a very rude awakening.
SO all that is left to do now is race. Danica will run a few more races this season for JR Motorsports in addition to her full time Indycar schedule with Andretti Autosport. But only running the Nationwide Series next season will be the best thing for her. Just focusing on one series will probably allow her to improve a little bit quicker than what we have seen. But she needs to prove she can run competitively in Nationwide before moving up to Cup. She may prove herself in Nationwide, but she will definitely go the way of Hornish and Franchitti by the time she finishes that tenth Cup race.
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