DEVELOPING: Okay, it's official... Danica To NASCAR

((HT: GoDaddy.com/youtube))

The worst kept secret in NASCAR isn't a secret anymore...

Danica Patrick is racing a full-time Nationwide schedule and some Sprint Cup races in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in 2012.

"We are pleased Danica Patrick has chosen to race full time in NASCAR in 2012," NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said in a statement. "She has demonstrated a strong desire to compete and NASCAR provides the best opportunity to race against the top drivers in the world with the largest and most loyal fan base in motorsports on a week-to-week basis."

Here's some of the Q-and-A... for the really important stuff, like Daytona...


Here's CNBC's Darren Rovell talking about Danica's economic impact...
((HT: ESPN))

DEVELOPING: Danica To Run NASCAR Full-Time Next Season...? Looks That Way...

According to Marty Smith over at the four-letter, it looks like Danica Patrick will be driving Nationwide full-time for 2012 and running select NASCAR events for Stewart-Haas in the same calendar year with the idea of her going full-time Sprint Cup for Tony Stewart by 2013's season...

A presser is being arranged at GoDaddy's HQ in Phoenix to announce the whole idea.

"Tony Stewart has always said he'd love to have her, but we're a long ways from being at that point," Stewart-Haas spokesman Mike Arning said Wednesday. "From a Stewart-Haas Racing standpoint, things aren't there yet."

No word on how this would clash with her running in the Indy 500 every year when and if this announced...

Here was the discussion during SpeedWeeks at Indy this past year...
((HT: IndyCar/ESPN on ABC/youtube))


Turns out they were right...

BREAKING: Indy 500 Winner Happens On Turn Four Of Lap 200

Danica Patrick led with 13 laps left in the centennial Indianapolis 500, but was passed by Belgium's Bertrand Baguette to cycle through on the last round of pit stops...

Baguette had not raced in the IndyCar series in 2011 having worked with the Dallara chassis folks in a simulator to prepare for the race. Dario Franchitti was paying attention to his fuel numbers and had clocked laps in the 204-MPH range.

Baguette had to pit with four laps left giving rookie JR Hildebrand the lead with Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon, and Franchitti behind...

The 23-year-old from Sausalito, California looked like he was going to bring the National Guard-sponsored machine home for Panther Racing, but he hit the wall in turn four and ended up in the gray- which is disaster...

Wheldon survived for his second career win at Indy...
Hildebrand crossed the finish line against the wall...

You've got to be kidding all of us... and Wheldon does not have a ride for the rest of the IndyCar year... the HQ thinks that's short-term...

Here's the finish...
((HT: ESPN on ABC/IndyCar/MT89Motorsport2))

Danica To Run NASCAR Full-Time Next Season...?

((HT: ESPN))

Not really surprising anyone, Danica Patrick who has been purposefully coy about her future plans, looks like she is headed to the Nationwide Series full-time in 2012 before heading to the Sprint Cup in 2013.

Who, specifically, will she be driving for...??? Dunno...

Her contracts for both Andretti and JR Motorsports are both up after this season, and she looks like to be the mother of all free agents for the silly season...

Here's Linda Cohn with the guy who broke the story, Terry Blount...


One note... she wants the resources to run in the Indy 500 as well next year- regardless of who she runs for in the NASCAR ranks...

Indy 500 Bump Day Leaves Casualties

((HT: Versus/IMS/msnbc.com))

Bump Day at Indy is just as frantic as it always has been...

Weather was the big culprit this time- sun, rain, and then sun again for the last 75 minutes- and the drivers needed it.

Especially, Danica Patrick...

She was waiting in the queue as the last rain fell on the speedway just to get a qualifying run. She would get one and would end up 25th overall and bump out Alex Lloyd...

Here's Danica's 10-mile run for her spot in the field...
Bob, Wally, Jan, and Dan Wheldon are in the booth...

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

But it got better...

Alex Lloyd went for broke and found some speed- knocking out Marco Andretti and putting Ryan Hunter-Reay on the bubble...

James Jakes tried to knock out Hunter-Reay, but his attempt was waved off after two laps by the IndyCar folks for not having enough speed.

That left Marco as the final qualifier. The gun went off to end the session about 45 seconds into his run, but with an average speed of 224.628 mph, he jumped to the inside of Row 10 and Hunter-Reay was out of the field altogether.

That left three cars in for Andretti and two out. Michael Andretti said it was the worst day he's ever had, emotionally, as a car owner.

DEVELOPING: Danica Finishes Fourth In Nationwide

Establishing a new watermark for female drivers in NASCAR, Danica Patrick wrapped up her Las Vegas experience by crossing the finish line fourth.

Mark Martin won the Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after Brad Keselowski hit the wall on the last lap.

Justin Allgaier finished second and Keselowski was third.

Patrick's finish was the best by a woman in a national NASCAR race since Sara Christian finished fifth at Pittsburgh in 1949 in the Cup Series.

Here's your highlights...
((HT: NASCAR/ABC/BumpsNotes))

Castroneves Takes Indy Pole, Danica Booed...

((HT: WXIN-TV Indianapolis))

The format is a little different, but it seems the results are the same for Indy qualifying in Indy...

Castroneves and Team Penske are littered all over the leaderboard at the Pagoda.

Helio averaged just under 228 miles-per-hour on his four lap average, and as a part of the new format, the drivers who were 2 through 8 got a chance to shuffle the deck in their own practice period.

Here's your top seven...

1. Helio Castroneves 227.970
2. Will Power 227.682
3. Dario Franchitti 226.990
4. Ryan Briscoe 226.554
5. Alex Tagliani 226.390
6. Scott Dixon 226.233
7. Graham Rahal 225.519

Danica Patrick qualified 23rd at 224.217 and will start behind two other women -- Brazil's Ana Beatriz and Switzerland's Simona de Silvestro, who were 21st and 22nd.
She called out her team on the public address after her run and got booed by the crowd...

Here's when Fox59 caught up with her...
 

J-Dub's JR Motorsports Update

((HT: examiner.com))

((ed. note- We're going to start showing you these when he pumps them out because he is finally writing things after a long absence not of his own doing- even if it is about the Nationwide Series...))

The NASCAR Nationwide Series is in the second of a two-week break, gearing up for the Scotts Turf Builder 300 on March 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway. JR Motorsports will probably only be entering one car into the NNS race – Kelly Bires and the #88 Hellmann’s Chevrolet. Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, has rejoined IndyCar full-time, and will not race for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and JRM again until New Hampshire on June 26.

Kelly Bires Update:

Bires ((pictured, thanks facebook.com)) has a good car during Las Vegas qualifying, but ended the race very early when a tire somehow got cut down on Lap 6 – sending the #88 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet hard into the wall. Replays of the crash showed what appeared to be tire parts coming out from underneath the #88 before it struck the wall. Bires was looking to improve on his 7th place finish in Fontana, and will have to wait until Bristol to get the car back on track. On his Twitter feed on March 10, Bires said, “Just spent some time at JRM and took the guys out for lunch. Bristol cars look awesome! Excited for my first race with Hellmanns!”

Some have said the Bires would be the “Invisible Driver” at JRM when they signed Danica Patrick, but Bires has responded well. Bires has developed quite a fan following, and his Facebook page was covered in condolences after Las Vegas. Some of the FB comments said, “Sucks that that happened, that car looked great. Hopefully you guys can catch a break at Bristol,” “Kelly, it is okay. I know you are going to be a winner. It is a shame that the racing tires do not have more puncture resistance,” and “Man that sucked, it is what it is, just gotta regroup and get ready for bristol. Tough break for jrm all together today.” The break has done Bires some good, allowing him to get in some rounds of golf, as well as goose hunting trip in Buffalo, NY. Would you call that a “wild goose chase?”

With two starts under his belt (Dale Jr. raced the #88 at Daytona, and came in second), Bires is in 33rd place with 183 points, and has brought home $54,861 for the season.

Danica Patrick Update:

According to Bob Pockrass at SceneDaily, Rick Hendrick likes how Danica Patrick has approached her first NASCAR NNS season. “She's a pro at handling herself," Hendrick said Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "And she's learning. She doesn't try to profess to be any further along than she is. ... It's so refreshing. "When you get someone who has done real good in one division and won big races in open-wheel, they come in and they [often] don't want to act like that they don't know everything and they feel like they've got to be [running] up front."

Kevin Harvick is also more than willing to help the NNS rookie, actually pointing her to the more efficient high line at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – urging her to follow him, even though she was towards the end of the pack and he was leading the race at the time. On January 19, Harvick also called Patrick the first true female “competitor” in NASCAR. "We've never had a female -- in my era -- that's been competitive," Harvick said, according to Tania Ganguli and the Orlando Sentinel. "I think most of them have just been here because they're female. I think Danica's the first real female racecar driver that's coming in here. I'm not saying she's going to be competitive overnight but she's the first one who's got any sort of credentials that should be racing cars."

After three races, Patrick is in 34th place with 183 points (tied with her teammate Bires), and has earned $102,679. Remember, Patrick will not get into an NNS car again until the New England 300 at Loudon on June 26.

Next NNS Race for JRM:
Race: Scotts Turf Builder 300
Location: Bristol Motor Speedway, TN
Date: March 20, 2010
Time: 2:00pm EST

Follow me on Twitter(JRM_Examiner), or become a fan on Facebook!

See you on the track!

Here's a flashback of Bires early Vegas experience...
((HT: NASCAR/ESPN2))


UPDATE: Scott Wimmer will be behind the wheel of the #7 car when Danica is not driving. Team co-owner Tony Eury, Jr. says the car is "too good" to be parked. JR Motorsports is trying to find sponsorship for the races where they have an interest in running, but no sponsor dollars as of yet...

Danica Patrick go Boom...

Well, NASCAR's new wonder kid got her 1st Nationwide Race experience today and quite an experience it was. She was cruising along in 21st place during the DRIVE4COPD300/Impossible to read fast race at Daytona when she got caught up in the leftovers of a crash that happened in front of her.

The story from the Orlando Sentinel RIGHT HERE

((Danica seems to draw a crowd//Courtesy: Gary W.Green/Orlando Sentinel))

The wreck was pretty unavoidable, though from what the experts are saying is something that a veteran might have been able to avoid. She had struggled early in the race, expressing some confusion over restart rules and also stalled her car on pit row at one point. She would finish in the back of the pack, the race would be one by Tony Stewart.

Every indication from the NASCAR folks is that she should be able to make the adjustment to stock car racing. Though different from the Indy Cars she primarily drives, indications are she has the skillset to be competitive. However, we may not find out until 2014, when her contract with Andretti Green Racing ends.

Here is video of said incident...at least until the 4-letter word pulls it. Thanks TwahLah and the You Tube:

Danica Gets 6th In ARCA Debut

((HT: Speed/ARCA))

Danica Patrick finished sixth in her stock car debut at Daytona on Saturday. She had a few white-knuckle moments including a big save through the infield grass after getting popped by Nelson Piquet, Junior, and a rubbin' moment in the final few laps.

"I had so much fun in a race car today," Patrick said in her post-race mob. "I enjoyed mixing it up. I can't wait to do it again."

That opportunity may come in the Nationwide race at Daytona next weekend. Her crew chief, Tony Eury, Junior, is all for the jump up, but word has to come from Patrick early in the week for it to happen.

Oh, by the way, Bobby Gerhart won another race in the ARCA series, and he was asked if he was overshadowed by Danica-Mania...

"Overshadowed? By what? Did I miss something?" he asked. "Honestly, I'm glad [Patrick] was here. She brought some well-needed attention to this series."

If Patrick decides to run in the Nationwide, it will be at the expense of full-time Nationwide JR Motorsports driver Kelly Bires.

Here's your highlights, thanks from our friends at BumpsNotes

Danica does NASCAR...Well at least The Nationwide

It looks like Danica Patrick will be working her way into NASCAR after all. She won't be running a "Full" schedule, but she will be running select Nationwide events (Nascar's version of AAA Baseball) this upcoming season.

Patrick signed a deal to be a part of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick's racing team and will Drive the #7 GoDaddy.Com car in the series. The announcement was made in Phoenix, Arizona.

More from the Phoenix Business Chronicle RIGHT HERE

((Danica Patrick tries to look Sultry//GoDaddy.com))

There has been a lot of discussion in the Motor Sports circuits as to whether she will or she won't. Most thought that when she signed her recent deal with Andretti Motor Sports that she was going to stay with the Indy Cars. She obviously will for a period of time, but it seems obvious that she is testing the NASCAR waters. Quite honestly, it's no surprise. There is a limited but devoted group of Indy Car fans...but the races are on the Versus Network and aren't seen by a whole lot of people. By contrast NASCAR offers a considerably larger viewing audience, never mind the 110,000 or so that attend each race.

Enjoy one of Ms. Patrick's finer moments...her argument with Indy Car racer Mika Duno...Thanks You Tube:

Danica Nearing Deal To Race For JR Motorsports

((HT: ESPN))

IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick is nearing completion of a two-year contract with JR Motorsports, the NASCAR Nationwide Series operation owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and a source close to the negotiations described the talks as being "in the final phase."

A second source close to the situation confirmed the deal is moving forward, saying "talks are moving in a very positive direction and it would probably be a surprise if it didn't happen."

A deal is likely to be closed in the next week to ten days, but won't be announced until the off-season.

Patrick is trying to secure the number 7 for her ride, and it looks like her main sponsor in IndyCar will follow her to the Nationwide Series.

Here's Mike Massaro, Marty Smith, and Ryan McGee discussing the idea of Danica driving for Junior and in the Nationwide Series...


Those of us at OSG HQ hope that she learns the appropriate lessons of driving in NASCAR and carries them over to open-wheel...

If she doesn't she'll end up like her predecessors- Patty Moise and Shawna Robinson

Ganassi "Interested" In Adding Danica... But...

((HT: Sporting News/Reid Spencer))

IndyCar and NASCAR owner Chip Ganassi made no attempt to hide his interest in hiring Danica Patrick—for the IndyCar Series—with the possibility of allowing her to test the NASCAR waters through an alliance with a Nationwide Series team.

"If I told you I didn't have any conversation about that, or I wasn't interested in that, I'd be lying to you," Ganassi said Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "Like a lot of teams, they've had discussions, and she's on the market right now, and she's ready to make the next step in her career, wherever that takes her."

Ganassi, however, cautioned reporters not to make assumptions about the progress of any discussions with Patrick, the most marketable star in the IndyCar Series.

"I wish I could tell you I'm a lot further down the road on that, but I think the fact of the matter is—like most other teams—we're in the top of the first inning on that subject," said Ganassi, who fields two IndyCar teams in addition to Sprint Cup teams for Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex Jr. through Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

"You might characterize it as we're on the pace lap yet here, so it's way early."

If Patrick decides to make a full-time move to NASCAR racing, however, Ganassi feels she'd be better off with a team other than EGR.

"If she wanted to do NASCAR on a full-time basis, I would suggest that there are better places for her to go and do it with," Ganassi said. "I don't think our team's in a position to do that."

Ganassi has six Cup wins as an owner since he began fielding cars in NASCAR in 2001. His last Cup Series win came from Montoya in 2007. It was Ganassi's first Cup victory since 2002. Ganassi has six wins in the Nationwide Series.

Danica Wants Her An Explanation...

Danica Patrick's season is off to a tough start after she crashed out early in the season-opening Honda Grand Prix.

She was running ninth in the 22-car field on Sunday when rookie Raphael Matos tried to pass as the two went into one of the tightest turns on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit.

Both cars crashed, with Patrick's Andretti Green Racing entry slamming hard, rear end first into a tire barrier.

As the uninjured drivers walked away, Patrick patted Matos on the helmet as if to say, "Use your head." The two then waited for a ride back to the pits, with a lively discussion taking place as Matos sat on a wall and Patrick stood in front of him.

Patrick, who has been known to blow up at other drivers in similar circumstances, was calm after she got back to the team's pit.

"It's not exactly the ideal spot to pass," she said. "We were going into the fast chicane there and there's no room, there's no room for two people. ... I was looking in my mirrors and I saw him. He just wasn't all the way up next to me."

Matos, making his IndyCar debut with the Luczo Dragon team, wasn't ready to take the blame.

"We just had a very unfortunate racing accident," the Brazilian said. "It shouldn't have happened. Danica made a big mistake passing a lapped car and I really had a good run on her. I was halfway up on her. I thought she'd give me enough room to pass, but she didn't."

Patrick, the only woman in the field, ended her day in 19th and Matos was 20th. Each completed just 31 of 100 laps.

Here's the come-to from VS/IndyCar League...

IRL Catfight

OK, I can't resist. Deadspin's Matt Sussman just posted this video...and it's hilarious! Danica Patrick vs. Milka Duno...my money's on Danica.

"It's not my fault that you're slow!"



The original story is hyah.

Enjoy!

--John V. Wood