Danica Patrick has yet to finish among the Top 10 in any race this season. She and Stewart-Haas Racing stand at 24th place, as Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Brickyard 400 is set to start on Sunday.
In IndyCar, Patrick has only won once and finished third in Indianapolis 500 of 2009. Although it is still the best record set by a woman in the race, there is lots of pressure on the favorite driver and model.
“I know that none of us are happy running 20th. I’m not. It’s miserable. So, we want to do better,” the NASCAR racer stated.
A bad season for the fan-favorite
Danica Patrick is the most successful female driver in IndyCar and American stock-car racing altogether, but she has finished better than 20th place only six times over the course of the past 19 races this season.
Patrick addressed that stock cars are very different from the ones when she started running, to which she has not been able to keep pace and confessed that she lacks experience when compared to the car technicians. She talked about having to work her way up, just as when she took up modeling and racing.
“A Top 5 for me now is a Top 15 right now. And it’s just different,” she stated.
In spite of her recent experiences, Patrick expects to have a satisfactory race for her and her team. She acknowledged that teams and cars of the Sprint Cup Series are different from IndyCar, but that there is still hope of improving her performance and managing to finish among the first ten positions, at least on Sunday’s Brickyard 400.
The Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard is set to start at 2 p.m E.T. You can purchase race day tickets here. Sunday’s race will be Tony Stewart’s last, as Kyle Busch is looking forward to claiming his second consecutive Brickyard win.
Expecting the best outcome
34-year-old Danica Patrick commented on the fact that Indianapolis is IndyCar’s hometown city, which brings a lot of expectation and excitement to the event. She said that, as she had learned from experience, “history is what makes things special.”
Indianapolis is where Patrick earned herself a spot among NASCAR superstars. This is her third Sprint Cup race to be held on IndyCar’s signature track, which is also the track where Patrick has had the highest rate of success. And even if she has had a rough season, Patrick still has support from fans, as she was voted to the Sprint All-Star Race. Many argue that she has the broadest fan base alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr.
This is Danica Patrick’s Race/Start/Finish table. Fans should expect an improvement from their favorite female driver, as no racing superstar remains in stardom for long after a constant stream of losses:
|
Race |
Start |
Finish |
| Daytona | 16 | 25 |
| Atlanta | 25 | 20 |
| Las Vegas | 18 | 21 |
| Phoenix | 36 | 19 |
| Fontana | 31 | 38 |
| Martinsville | 28 | 16 |
| Fort Worth | 26 | 21 |
| Bristol | 33 | 27 |
| Richmond | 21 | 24 |
| Talladega | 37 | 24 |
| Kansas | 23 | 20 |
| Dover | 31 | 13 |
| Charlotte | 19 | 21 |
| Pocono | 33 | 32 |
| Michigan | 25 | 21 |
| Sonoma | 11 | 19 |
| Daytona | 22 | 27 |
| Kentucky | 27 | 17 |
| London | 29 | 14 |
Source: SportingNews
“no racing superstar remains in stardom for long after a constant stream of losses:”
Except for Danica.
Danica admits a lack of experience but I don’t see her racing in the Truck series or Xfinity Series. Not only does she need the track time but she’ll have better finishes and boost her self-esteem. She’s killing her own career.
“Fans should expect an improvement from their favorite female driver, as
no racing superstar remains in stardom for long after a constant stream
of losses:”
Danica is no “racing superstar”.
She is simply a celebrity who was competent enough in Indy Car to warrant a tryout in the NASCAR Xfinity series and had enough popularity to buy a ride in Sprint Cup.
In no way, based on her “performance” and results, can she be considered a racer. Her longevity (or lack thereof) has not and will not be related to her “constant stream of losses” but rather by the ability of her P.R., marketing and management team to convince sponsors that there is perceived value to their bottom line.
I have seen her drive down the Indy Backstretch. She is one of the best “Traffic” driver ever. Their were some tragic stuff that happened in Indy racing just before she left, in my opinion those things played a big part on her leaving. Her skills are useless for Nascar racing, anyone can draft for two hundred laps.
She was the Queen of Indy at one time. Huge mistake leaving Indycar, now she is lost in the Nascar shuffle.
We’ve all seen many Indycar Champions come to NASCAR just to get eaten alive.
Jacque Villeneuve comes to mind except he even won in F1 and still couldn’t make it in NASCAR!!
I can’t resist; “lackluster season?” How about lackluster CAREER!
troof!!