Don’t tell me Danica Patrick doesn’t have talent

By Mike Smith (contact)

Friday, Sept. 11, 2009 | 3:46 p.m.

A quick search of racing-related Internet sites will reveal several stories on the possible move by Danica Patrick to NASCAR. Included with these stories are a cornucopia of comments by readers, many of which question Danica’s level of talent as a race car driver. Some even suggest that she has no talent.

That’s just asinine.

There’s no denying that it takes tremendous talent to successfully navigate any race car at high speeds. Some fans minimize her IndyCar win at Motegi, Japan as some sort of fluke because other competitors pitted for fuel in the final laps. But a win is still a win.

The real question is whether or not she has enough talent to compete in the Sprint Cup series. Making the transition from a 1,565-pound IRL race car with a lot of downforce to a 3,400-pound stock car with a lot less downforce is no easy task. Just ask other drivers like Dario Franchitti or Sam Hornish Jr. Don’t tell how difficult that move can be.

Obviously, drawing cartoons and driving a race car require very different skill sets. But if my editor told me to stop drawing editorial cartoons and immediately switch to drawing a comic strip, the transition would be very difficult. They are completely different animals and the change would take a substantial amount of time and work. And after all of that, the comic strip might not be successful.

But like any smart driver interested in moving to Cup, Danica is doing her homework. She has been talking to anyone and everyone who has extensive experience in NASCAR. It’s been reported that she has visited shops owned by Joe Gibbs, Richard Childress, Jack Roush and Michael Waltrip. Her most publicized visits have been to Tony Stewart’s organization. Danica wants to make an informed decision based on reality. “She doesn’t have some misguided idea that it’s going to be easy doing it. She wants to do it in the right way. She has the intention of doing everything right,” Tony Stewart told the Associated Press.

Talent isn’t the only variable in this possible scenario. The right team and the right amount of financing are also crucial. I’d hate to see her end up at a Cup team that can’t provide her with what she needs to win and then see her take the blame for lackluster performance.

…

The NASCAR merger merry-go-round took another spin on Thursday when it was announced that Richard Petty Motorsports will merge with Yates Racing. The team will run Fords in 2010 and that will leave Penske Racing as the only Cup team to field Dodges.

The announcement included the usual public relations comments about positive aspects of the deal, but let’s face it, these mergers are all about teams fighting for survival. I wonder if the contracts that these teams agree to include terms that allow for easy separations once the economy turns around. You can read the full story here.

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