Oh to be a track promoter right now. Yeah I know times are tough and people aren’t buying tickets like they used to, but a gift has landed on their doorsteps. That gift is of course Danica Patrick and you better believe every track operator on the Nationwide schedule is crossing their fingers she graces their facility.
With the very careful rollout of Patrick, JR Motorsports and her handlers are doing their best to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. How well Patrick does on track at the moment though is irrelevant.
In attendance at JR Motorsports Thursday was New Hampshire Motor Speedway GM Jerry Gappens. He was a man on a mission too. With a lobster in tow he was looking to attract Patrick to race at NHMS in June. Gappens certainly isn’t alone.
How excited do you think Gillian Zucker, president of Auto Club Speedway, is? She might have the sports’ newest and most exciting driver debut at her facility. That’s a boost California (the speedway) could certainly use. Where better to debut Patrick (if they choose to do so) than in the second largest media market with no other distractions?
Now I know many of you are already getting sick of Danicamania (get used to it), but aren’t you the least bit interested in how she runs? I know I am. I’ve heard the Disney World test was promising. Certainly the ARCA test will be at least a little bit of an indicator.
This interest in Patrick can only increase interest in the sport. As I see it, that’s not a bad thing. While I can’t say I agree with his analogy Jerry Gappens thinks so too.
Hannah Montana? I don’t know about that, but more eyes can’t be bad. More ticket sales can’t be bad either.
I’ll be honest I’m a Danica skeptic, but I hope she does well. She has a lot of detractors, but she will definitely bring some fresh blood into the sport.
Can the reality meet the hype? We’ll have to see. But until then track promoters are certainly going to be taking this to the bank.
Related posts:
- Hey Team Danica, Get With It
- Why Danica Patrick Is Not Coming To NASCAR
- Kudos To Danica, But I’m Not Sold Yet
- How To Scare Away Sponsors; and Danica Patrick
- Danica Taking Safe Path To NASCAR
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on Dec 18th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Success or failure, whenever Danica is on the track, people will watch the race and fill seats at the racetrack. It will be good for business, and offers a chance to grow our fanbase. The hard part will be to hold the attention of these new arrivals and casual fans after the initial excitement ends.
I also don’t know whether she can succeed in NASCAR. The depth of her commitment will be a significant factor; her ability to deal with adversity will be tested. I think she’ll do okay, but everyone will have to be patient.
I mean, can she be any worse than, say, John Wes Townley?
on Dec 18th, 2009 at 10:53 am
I am not putting her down, but she is probably not going to be a competitive driver in NASCAR for a few yrs. if ever. It just takes too much dedication, skill,and fortitude, which she may attain, but having to put her ability into her INDYcar career will hamper this goal. But does it really matter? Danica is still HOT,HOT,HOT.
on Dec 18th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I was going to send the lobsterguy a nasty email about kissing Danica’s pampered butt, but then I noticed the New Hampshire Speedway gave $125,000 to poor kids this month through a donation program.
on Dec 18th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Three words. More godaddy.com commercials.
on Dec 18th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I hope she is able to attract more interest to the Nationwide series and, thus, hopefully more sponsor interest which I hope will help the series and some of the N-wide only teams. It does seem to me that NASCAR needs to do something to tilt the series more to those who want to race and away from the start-and-park parasites like MSRP.
on Dec 18th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Unless Danica can drive in this league she’ll hasten the ruin of the sport. I don’t know why NASCAR is so convinced that ‘really good racing’ will not sell, and that they need a circus freakshow, a half arsed concert and a very loud destruction derby all rolled into one, instead of…really good racing…
NASCAR please listen, people only watch to see the final 20 and we’re wearier by the week of the circus freakshow, the half arsed concert and the very loud destruction derby. It’s one thing to have this ancillary stuf as filler, but quite another to make it into your main attraction.
on Dec 18th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
It seems that JR Motorsports is the real winner here. Danica is a female Jr. It does not matter if she wins races. Danica is a very good looking and very popular marketing machine. JRM will reap the profits from the sales and appearances she will make along with the endorsments she will start doing off track. look at JR and Wrangler jeans, non NASCAR but big dollars to JR. NASCAR will win just because she is on track. The exposure,equalls dollars, big dollars. The promoters will win because she will sell tickets. I would love to be able to be a nation wide sponsor this year, the amount of exposure the series will get this year should be great for all envolved. over all Danica is a win win for everybody financially envolved this year. If Danica can start winning the profits could increase two fold. It interesting to watch all this go on. it’s all big business, get use to it, I’m sure were going to see her around for many years to come.
on Dec 18th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
I looked up the word “flop” in the dictionary and the definition was “Danica’s short career in stock car racing.” See picture of Danica. Atleast it was a Go Daddy picture.
on Dec 18th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Hey MS, I like ZZ Top and think they fit in fine at a NASCAR prerace show, so wait outside if you can’t hack it. Or show up just as they drop the rag. That way you don’t have to spoil it for the rest of us who are havin’ some fun. Danica will get her shot, and you can yell at her and flip her the bird just like we did Rusty Wallace. So enjoy raceday, buddy. The road goes on forever and the party never ends.
on Dec 19th, 2009 at 2:27 am
Look at it this way….Not winning races has not hurt Jr!
on Dec 19th, 2009 at 9:16 am
While the media seems to have over-saturated us with the Queen of Hype, they seem to be ignoring another IRL driver who may make the transition and that’s Milka Duno. While her record may be mediocre in the IRL series, she was extremely competitive in sports cars before she tried the IRL. I can see her being more of a true competitor and race car driver than the Queen of Hype. And she’s not a pampered little princess either. She’s got some “guns” on her that a lot of the Cup guys would be envious of from her days of manhandling sports cars. I’ll take substance over hype anytime.
on Dec 19th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
NASCAR is no longer about racing. They are using Vince Mcmahons slogan of “Sports Entertainment.” I was watching Touring Car racing today and they really racing and NOT saving their equipment for the end of the race. I think NASCAR should go to segment racing so you have to race all out EVRY lap. Danica is sports entertainment, Jr is sports entertainment, this pains me to say, but Kyle Busch races hard EVERY lap and is a true racer and I would like to see 43 Kyle Busch mentality racers out there.
on Dec 20th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I used to detest Danica. When she came onto the scene and raced in that first Indy 500, I rolled my eyes, and called BS. I thought “this is rigged crap, and they are gonna serve her up a gimme win”, but she did not win. I still did not like her, I just didnt.
But she hung around, and hung around, and she raced, and she did not take crap off of anyone, and I started to warm up to her.
She raced …. and she raced some more, and she hung around, and was a pro, and she does look kinda hot and sexy, and I am a red blooded man ,,,, and I never heard anyone talk much crap about her track behavior, but a couple of times I did see her go after other idiots who messes with her. SHE WENT RIGHT FOR THE JUGUAL WHEN SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS DONE WRONG,,, I admire that. She is full of P&V, and she pokes fun at herself, and she poses in bikinis, and she races cars for a living, that is pretty cool ,and she is pretty hot. sexy.
I like her a lot now.
Since when was winning required to be a star. I have watched Danica, and she has fire in her eyes, and she races a quality race, she is clean, and she does not mind speaking her mind.
Who knows how the “good ole boys” will treat her in NASCAR, but it is a fact, “Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned”.
The only people with legit problems with her joining NASCAR are the men who deserve a ride, more than her, but they dont have one ….. for one reason or another.
last words…??? UmmmmmmmYUMMY!@!! , you gotta lust a woman who can drive a racecar well, and looks great in a bikini …. I do.
GO DANICA!!!! … BRING IT ON BABY!! ( as she punches me in the face and says …”dont call me baby … beeeeatch” ; ) ummmm hurts so good.
on Dec 21st, 2009 at 10:09 am
TexasRed…did you not read my post in it’s entirety before commenting? I said it’s all fine and well to have all of this ancillary stuff as filler, but quite another thing to have it as the main attraction. I like ZZ Top too (I was even at the historic Fandango concert
) but the point is that this should be a side show to enjoy before a *good* race. Not a smokescreen to obfuscate the fact that your ticket bought you a seat to nothing more than a 180mph parade with a single ‘heat race in the last 20′…