[Glanteeignile]

Before him she was into hockey players. I remember Sergei Fedorov for some time, and then there was at least one more after him.

Oh, I know, she was. But since she's been married she's kept a relatively low profile.

[Nurba]

Steffi Graf wasn't- and isn't- seen the same as Kournikova or Patrick. One reason; her nose.

She did some modelnig- and apeared in SI- but wasn't anywhere near as photoged as either of the women being discussed hee (Anna K or D Patrick).

Anna K.'s somebody who was more hype than pay out and *never* paid out on any singles title.

Moses was mentioning some of the top women's tennis players Anna was facing at the time.

I never made a comparison between their looks.

[DoctoNilsonDen]

Before him she was into hockey players. I remember Sergei Fedorov for some time, and then there was at least one more after him.

Pavel Bure.

[12Cickprior]

Wasn't/isn't Anna K turned into arm candy for a number of hockey players?

The human pin-cushion...as she's affectionately known as here.

Federov, Bure, & many many others she's been arm candy for.

[GVsdJZ2H]

Moses was mentioning some of the top women's tennis players Anna was facing at the time.

I never made a comparison between their looks.

you don't tell him what you said.

[Grzqbmhy]

The human pin-cushion...as she's affectionately known as here.

Federov, Bure, & many many others she's been arm candy for.

I've only ever heard Fedorov, Bure, and Inglesias. I'm not saying there weren't more, but to have 3 public relationships hardly turns her into Paris Hilton.

[Abaronos]

Agreed, Anna fared better in her sport than Danica has thus far in hers.

And don't give Danica an excuse. She chose that male-dominated "sport"...no one forced her into it. She chose to play with the boys, and the boys have kicked her ass all over the place.

I still don't know how RYR can say "Danica can drive a stock car!". Really? What convinced you? The wreck at Daytona that she drove into, or the 8th-worst finish at California? She has a LOT to learn.

I still say that perhaps she should have tried to master her own series before thinking she could come to NASCAR. Again, can anyone tell me if she's ever finished in the top 5 overall points in INDY Car? I honestly don't know, but I don't believe she has.

Danica finished fifth in points last season.

Her win at Motegi wasn't rain-shortened. The race was postponed a day due to rain. She won because of her fuel strategy.

[Saduyre9de]

The human pin-cushion...as she's affectionately known as here.

Federov, Bure, & many many others she's been arm candy for.

Are you saying that if she had as many things as she had sticking in her, were actually sticking out of her, shed be a porcupine?

[gardeniyas]

Danica finished fifth in points last season.

Her win at Motegi wasn't rain-shortened. The race was postponed a day due to rain. She won because of her fuel strategy.

My point remains.

[Opislossy]

My point remains.

I was just correcting your facts. I don't disagree with your point. I think she should stay in the IndyCar Series. For one, because she is still an improving driver. Two, because in open-wheel racing, she's a star. She has a chance to really become something special in and for the IndyCar Series. She'd rather just go for the quick buck. That's all a move to NASCAR will do for her. She's not good enough to really compete yet. And, she's just another driver in a stock car. There is no shortage of NASCAR stars. But, her paycheck will probably be bigger now. Though, not for long, I would imagine.

[Gilowero]

From FOXSports Mark Kriegel:


"After wrecking on the 83rd lap of the Sam’s Town 300, Danica Patrick’s nascent NASCAR career can be summarized, in order of finish, as 35th, 31st and 36th.

That said, her first several weeks on the stock car circuit should be seen for what they are: a resounding success.

Who else, in the midst of what is still a recession, could make even casual fans care about Nationwide races in February?

It’s worth mentioning that Patrick – who was running third before pitting on lap 74 of Saturday's race, should not be held culpable for the mishap.

“Completely, 100 percent my fault,” said Michael McDowell, who had a damaged right bumper and was dropping down from the high line when he got in the way of a fast girl with fresh tires.

“Holy s---, he turned down,” she was heard to say over the radio. “That was bull---- ... a broken bumper and he’s trying to ------- race!”

By the time Patrick appeared in the garage with her GoDaddy Chevrolet and its crumpled front end, she had calmed down considerably. One imagined NASCAR officials were secretly disappointed, as nothing would’ve created more of a buzz than her seeking to bitch-slap the offending driver.

Instead, the stock car industry would have to make due with expressions of mild regret from its prettiest and most volatile rookie.

“It would’ve been nice to have a decent finish,” she said. “I was feeling better and better all the time.”

Actually, taken in another context, Patrick’s showing can be argued as a kind of victory. By running well for as long as she did, Patrick dispelled the memory of her tentative performance (something nobody wants to see, a tentative Danica) last week in California.

“Fontana,” she said, “was a real humbling experience. But I guess it was probably good that I went there because I got to go there again. So I might as well figure it out.”

In other words, she gave the people something to look forward to when she returns from IndyCar racing in June. “California was a fluke. Today she showed what she’s really made of,” said crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who, despite the wreck, added that “she come here and she done what she needed to do.”

If that seems a bit of an overstatement, understand that everything about Patrick’s NASCAR debut has been overblown. The idea of her first three Nationwide races as a reliable forecast of her future is preposterous.

Consider the best-known open wheel racers, and how they fared in NASCAR’s second-tier series. Sam Hornish Jr. ran in nine Nationwide races before making his Sprint Cup debut in 2008. His order of finish: 36th, 43rd, 31st, 35th, 15th, 25th, 43rd, 25th, 31st. Juan Pablo Montoya ran 11th, 28th and 34th at the end of the 2006 season.

If you’re looking for a longer apprenticeship, consider Tony Stewart. In ’96, he ran nine times and didn’t finish in the top 15. The following season, a year that saw him win an IndyCar championship, he competed in five Busch series races, crashing in three. It wasn’t until ’98, when he signed with Joe Gibbs Racing, that Stewart had any appreciable success, finishing in the top five in 22 starts.

So who cares if Danica Patrick wrecked in her third race?

Actually, everybody does. She’s hot-tempered and fine-looking and if she’s exploiting or sexualizing her own innate assets, well, so be it. At Friday’s media session, Patrick — who left home at 16 to compete in England — was asked if she’d have been as successful if she hadn’t posed in a state of spectacularly immodest dress for the magazine FHM back in 2003.

“I feel comfortable with everything I've done and had fun with it," she said. “That's just my style. I do things that are interesting and fun and show a little bit of my personality."

As these exchanges go, it was typical: a good question followed by a disingenuous answer. After all, her primary sponsor has put more cleavage in the Super Bowl than Janet Jackson.

Besides, NASCAR isn’t the most American of endeavors by accident. It’s all about sponsorship and marketing. And if some drivers are upset at the attention she commands, it’s only because Danica Patrick has done a superlative job in branding herself. The rest of NASCAR can’t wait until June."

[HwoRas1]

From FOXSports Mark Kriegel:


"After wrecking on the 83rd lap of the Sam’s Town 300, Danica Patrick’s nascent NASCAR career can be summarized, in order of finish, as 35th, 31st and 36th.

That said, her first several weeks on the stock car circuit should be seen for what they are: a resounding success.

Who else, in the midst of what is still a recession, could make even casual fans care about Nationwide races in February?

It’s worth mentioning that Patrick – who was running third before pitting on lap 74 of Saturday's race, should not be held culpable for the mishap.

“Completely, 100 percent my fault,” said Michael McDowell, who had a damaged right bumper and was dropping down from the high line when he got in the way of a fast girl with fresh tires.

“Holy s---, he turned down,” she was heard to say over the radio. “That was bull---- ... a broken bumper and he’s trying to ------- race!”

By the time Patrick appeared in the garage with her GoDaddy Chevrolet and its crumpled front end, she had calmed down considerably. One imagined NASCAR officials were secretly disappointed, as nothing would’ve created more of a buzz than her seeking to bitch-slap the offending driver.

Instead, the stock car industry would have to make due with expressions of mild regret from its prettiest and most volatile rookie.

“It would’ve been nice to have a decent finish,” she said. “I was feeling better and better all the time.”

Actually, taken in another context, Patrick’s showing can be argued as a kind of victory. By running well for as long as she did, Patrick dispelled the memory of her tentative performance (something nobody wants to see, a tentative Danica) last week in California.

“Fontana,” she said, “was a real humbling experience. But I guess it was probably good that I went there because I got to go there again. So I might as well figure it out.”

In other words, she gave the people something to look forward to when she returns from IndyCar racing in June. “California was a fluke. Today she showed what she’s really made of,” said crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who, despite the wreck, added that “she come here and she done what she needed to do.”

If that seems a bit of an overstatement, understand that everything about Patrick’s NASCAR debut has been overblown. The idea of her first three Nationwide races as a reliable forecast of her future is preposterous.

Consider the best-known open wheel racers, and how they fared in NASCAR’s second-tier series. Sam Hornish Jr. ran in nine Nationwide races before making his Sprint Cup debut in 2008. His order of finish: 36th, 43rd, 31st, 35th, 15th, 25th, 43rd, 25th, 31st. Juan Pablo Montoya ran 11th, 28th and 34th at the end of the 2006 season.

If you’re looking for a longer apprenticeship, consider Tony Stewart. In ’96, he ran nine times and didn’t finish in the top 15. The following season, a year that saw him win an IndyCar championship, he competed in five Busch series races, crashing in three. It wasn’t until ’98, when he signed with Joe Gibbs Racing, that Stewart had any appreciable success, finishing in the top five in 22 starts.

So who cares if Danica Patrick wrecked in her third race?

Actually, everybody does. She’s hot-tempered and fine-looking and if she’s exploiting or sexualizing her own innate assets, well, so be it. At Friday’s media session, Patrick — who left home at 16 to compete in England — was asked if she’d have been as successful if she hadn’t posed in a state of spectacularly immodest dress for the magazine FHM back in 2003.

“I feel comfortable with everything I've done and had fun with it," she said. “That's just my style. I do things that are interesting and fun and show a little bit of my personality."

As these exchanges go, it was typical: a good question followed by a disingenuous answer. After all, her primary sponsor has put more cleavage in the Super Bowl than Janet Jackson.

Besides, NASCAR isn’t the most American of endeavors by accident. It’s all about sponsorship and marketing. And if some drivers are upset at the attention she commands, it’s only because Danica Patrick has done a superlative job in branding herself. The rest of NASCAR can’t wait until June."

Mark Kriegel needs to put his 2003 FHM down and think with the correct head prior to writing.

That article was as lame as Danica herself.

[crazuMovies]

Mark Kriegel needs to put his 2003 FHM down and think with the correct head prior to writing.

That article was as lame as Danica herself.

Bottom line is that, like her or hate her, she'll bring more buzz to NASCAR than any male driver will.

And in a sport that has seen its market share and advertising revenue drop in recent years, ANYTHING that pulls back in viewers, or adds new ones, can be nothing but a good thing for NASCAR.

[8cyVn4RJ]

ARCA race is getting ready to start and Danica is 12th in line.

SPEED channel.

[Unhappu]

thank you, forgot about the arca race. should be interesting

[car.insur]

I have a handful of ones ready

[Sleedyhex]

the big one on lap 7

[jagxj12]

i'm by no means a racing aficianado, but when a car is spinning like 1/4 mile in front of you on the track the point is to not drive straight into it, right?

[gueremaisse]

This race is going to last forever.

[Agitoligflise]

I have a handful of ones ready

Ones? You're doing better than me, thats for sure.

All I have is a bunch of I.O.U.'s.