Danica: Go Away from Go Daddy

Three weekends into the NASCAR racing season, one of the main stories remains Danica Patrick and her full-time debut in the sport. After great start to the season, winning the pole at Daytona for the Nationwide race, her performance since has not exactly lived up to the hype.  Early crashes in races at Daytona, when the most people were watching to see how she'd do, led to a lot of criticism from people who are/were on the brink of NASCAR fandom, as well as the haters she's had all along.  Clearly, she's only in NASCAR because of her looks and marketability, right?  That's their argument.

I couldn't disagree more.  She can drive, and I believe she is just as talented behind the wheel of a racecar as about two thirds of the Nationwide Series drivers and about 30-50% of the Cup field.  She does just need some time to show it.  She won a race in the INDY series, and not while racing for one of the top teams.  That's hard to do in that series.  She has run well at times in the ARCA and Nationwide Series in the limited number of races she's entered.  To be fair, she's also had some moments when I've thought... "man, that was stupid!", but if I had a dollar for every driver I've ever said that about, I'd be paying someone to type this for me right now.

I won't say that NASCAR needs Danica to be successful, but it wouldn't hurt. As a father of three girls, who I would LOVE to see on a racetrack someday, I think her being on the track in a male dominated sport sets a great example for my kids that they can do whatever they want to do when they grow up, and helps pave the way for them to be racers if that's what they choose.  Danica's looks certainly bring a different kind of attention to the sport, and whether you think that is good or bad, it is still added exposure and a new set of story lines for a sport that struggled a bit up until last year's incredible season.

Stepping aside for a second... NASCAR is very much a family sport, and I believe its growth depends on it staying that way.  My grandfather went to his first race at the old Beach and Road Course in Daytona, took his son-in-law (my dad) to his first race in Daytona in 1979, and my dad passed the love of the sport on to me when he took me to my first race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1985. In my opinion, this is the way that many if not most NASCAR fans were created, whether it be father and son like me, or perhaps someone getting their spouse and their family into it.  NASCAR drivers are largely just regular people, even still in this day and age, who all types of fans can relate to.  Not flashy, not in need of constantly being in the spotlight or being famous.  They just love to race, and I think most are still amazed that they can do it and make such a comfy living. 

So back to Danica.  She's flashy, attractive, always in the spotlight, and mostly known for being not only one of the few women to ever drive a racecar, but also for arguably being the best looking woman ever to make it to racing's highest levels.  But she's still just a racer.  Maybe she's used her looks to help her career, maybe it's just worked out that way for her, but for her, either way it means she can race.  It's really no different than a driver who pulls into victory lane and sounds like his interview is scripted, reading every sticker on his car and uniform and thanking his crew, etc... Drivers will do whatever it takes to be able to do what they love for a living, and that is and always has been a job in and of itself because sponsors alone are what allows them to race every weekend.  Sometimes it helps to be different, like Jeff Gordon was in the '90s or Kyle Busch is now.  Danica does what she needs to do.

That said, in my opinion, Danica would benefit from a new, more conservative sponsor.  I really wished this would happen when she went full time in NASCAR, a sport known for its conservative image and values.  To illustrate my point, take a look at these two commercials.

To me, this is still an attractive woman promoting a sponsor.  If a typical guy walked past her looking like this, I'd say he'd probably still take a second look.  You're probably much more familiar with this commercial though...

After seeing the Nationwide commercial for probably the hundredth time, and especially when I saw her video intro on NASCAR.com Raceview for yesterday's Nationwide Series race (in which the only skin you saw was on her face), I realized how much better it might be for her if that is the way we saw her all the time.  Wouldn't it be an interesting experiment to take her out of the Go Daddy commercials, and into something much less risqué?  She doesn't need any more exposure... everyone knows who she is.  Now, as Brad Paisley once said, "I'm still a guy", but for her career in NASCAR, and if she wants to be known and respected more for her driving ability, I think it would be better for people to see more of her driving, and less of her.