By Ken de la Bastide
The Danica Patrick publicity machine is operating a full-tilt boogie as she determines where she will race in 2010.
Patrick has been racing with the Indy Racing League since 2005. She has been featured in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition and is the star of Go Daddy tacky television advertising.
She is rumored to be considering switching from open-wheel racing to NASCAR stock cars.
Patrick is currently under contract with Andretti-Green racing in the IRL after driving with Letterman/Rahal Racing at the start of her career. Reportedly Chip Ganassi’s IRL team is interested in signing her for 2010 and Jack Roush Racing is among the NASCAR teams considering signing her to drive a Ford Fusion.
I hope Patrick stays with the IRL.
Not to diminish her open-wheel career, but Patrick has recorded one victory while driving for one of the stronger IRL teams the past three seasons. She has never raced a full-body stock car at any level, starting her racing career in karts and open-wheel cars in Europe.
Patrick has said she views a move to NASCAR as a lateral move, meaning that she intends to climb right into a Sprint car and be competitive.
This has been tried before with mixed results. Sam Hornish Jr. has struggled in NASCAR, Dario Franchitti made the move for less than one season and then returned to the IRL and Jacques Villeneuve, a former Indy 500 winner and Grand Prix champion, couldn’t make the switch.
Sarah Fisher tried to make the switch driving a Richard Childress prepared stock car on the West Coast without success.
The drivers who have successfully made the switch are Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya.
If Patrick is serious about driving a stock car, then she has to learn the ropes of the sport. She should climb into a Champion Racing Association super late model and race at Winchester Speedway or get into a Pro Cup stock car and turn some laps at O’Reilly Raceway Park.
At the least she should compete in an ARCA race at Daytona and Talladega to prove she is capable of being competitive.
NASCAR officials would love Patrick to come race in the Sprint Cup Series — it would mean more publicity for the sanctioning body and may put a few more seats in the vacant grandstands.
Please Danica stay where you’re at. Win a few more IRL races and during off weekends, attempt to drive a late model or stock car before making the decision to switch.
In other racing news
There is plenty of racing action on the paved ovals around Indiana this holiday weekend.
The USAC sprint cars will be at Winchester Speedway on Thursday for the Rich Vogler Classic starting at 7:30 p.m. The newly formed outlaw figure-8 series will be at Anderson Speedway on Friday at 8 p.m. and the CRA late models are at Angola Speedway on Saturday for a 125-lap event starting at 7 p.m. There will be fireworks displays at all three tracks.
• Ken de la Bastide may be reached at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com or (765) 454-8580.
