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Danica Patrick doesn’t belong in NASCAR, period
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So what kind of message would a Danica Patrick in her current form coming to NASCAR send to young female racers hoping to make it in the sport? (AP)
Dario Franchitti won his second IndyCar Series title at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday by using a smart fuel mileage strategy call by team owner Chip Ganassi that allowed him to go from third to first, win the race and secure the title.
This past season was the first full one for Franchitti after trying his hand in NASCAR. The foray into NASCAR was nothing short of disastrous for the Scotsman who won the 2007 IndyCar title.
While Franchitti was winning his race Sunday, the rumors in NASCAR again centered on Danica Patrick’s continued flirtation with the sport.
Despite widespread reports that she has signed a contract with her current IndyCar team, the talk around the NASCAR garage was that Patrick is still considering giving NASCAR a try.
The rumors have the tails wagging and hounds barking since Danica Patrick is a marketers dream. Because in America sex still sells and while Patrick is a so-so driver at best, no one can argue that her face and figure sell whatever it’s attached to. It’s not about racing stats it’s about BWH measurements. Top-10’s, top-5’s, pole positions and race wins mean less then the old fashioned 34-26-34.
And that’s just a shame.
According to published reports, Patrick has set forth certain conditions for her NASCAR ride. From a single race salary ranging anywhere from $50,000 to $8 million to being guaranteed a car that has enough owner points attached so she won’t have to worry about making races on speed. No doubt fruit baskets in her dressing room and only a certain brand of sparkling water, along with a masseuse were discussed as well.
The sad truth is, even with the outrageous demands Patrick seems to want, NASCAR teams desperate for cash haven’t dismissed her. That’s because they know that with Danica Patrick’s signature on a contract the sponsor wallets would open up like floodgates. For cash strapped teams it would be akin to Jed Clampett finding ‘black gold’.
If she did sign with a team, they would turn her over to a sponsor who would immediately slap a branded bikini on her and start selling, while the team would be saying ‘please make sure you spell our name right on the check.’
Racing should be about how you perform in the racecar not how you look spread out on the hood.
Anyone who watched this weekends IndyCar finale was treated to a Danica commercial fest that included her all male pit crew dressed up like women and a titillating spot urging viewers to visit a website to ‘see more’ as a provocative Patrick walked towards the camera unzipping her jacket. No word on how many were disappointed when they found out that ‘seeing more’ meant eyeing Patrick wearing a tank top emblazoned with the sponsor’s name, but no doubt the sponsor grinned at the pageview count.
So what kind of message would a Danica Patrick in her current form coming to NASCAR send to young female racers hoping to make it in the sport? NASCAR already has a black eye from a minor scandal several years ago when a married team owner courted his young female driver. She faded from the scene shortly after, perhaps before her potential was ever even realized. The couple recently got married by the way.
While that incident was never really discussed publicly, no doubt the story still floats around the edges haunting some in the sport. And if Patrick decides to come to NASCAR we now want to send the message to young female drivers that it’s not about how you race, but how you look? You don’t have to actually win any races… but you might want to consider some implants.
It’s hard enough for a parent to try and teach a daughter to celebrate her own self worth, that looks don’t matter as much as character does, when they are assaulted by images of a scantily clad woman sprawled out on the hood of a racecar. It’s not the kind of image our young women should ascribe to and not one NASCAR should either.
Most fans don’t care what their driver looks like in a bathing suit, only that they can win races.
By the way, Patrick finished 19th at Homestead Sunday. Not that anyone noticed, they were probably all on the Internet trying to ‘see more.’
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