Danica Patrick exhibit at the NASCAR Hall of Fame

[mythoughtsareracing]

I wish I was kidding.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...hibit/2183947/

"The Charlotte shrine to stock car history added a display saluting her as the first woman in the 65-year history of NASCAR's premier series to qualify first for a Sprint Cup race."

I'll acknowledge it's a milestone in the history of NASCAR, but it's not like Princess Sparkle Pony is the first woman to drive a stock car, nor the first to have success.
Sure, she's the first to win a pole (not going so far as to say she EARNED it), but is it really worthy of an exhibit in the HoF?

[FordCosworthPanoz]

I thought the Hall of Fame already had a Danica exhibit?

[canamman]

Patrick is one of my favorites, but thats funny.

Love her or hate her, I can't remember anyone making this kind of impact
in the sport. For a 100#s, she gets up on the wheel and can most of the time
keep it straight. She's still in the middle of the learning curve.

[The Original Instag8or]

How exactly has she made an impact on the sport? I see it more as the media, her fans and NASCAR insisting that she has made some sort of impact.

I mean, a pole on a RP track is so easy that so far this season, both John Wes Townley and Milka Duno have done it. May be in ARCA, but the point remains the same.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by The Original Instag8or

How exactly has she made an impact on the sport? I see it more as the media, her fans and NASCAR insisting that she has made some sort of impact.

I mean, a pole on a RP track is so easy that so far this season, both John Wes Townley and Milka Duno have done it. May be in ARCA, but the point remains the same.

I was with you until the last line. Sorry but pole in ARCA is hugely different than in a top class with the best cars. Now if they had made a women in stockcars exhibit with mostly Danica stuff I couldn't really object but it's not like she is the one and only woman racing anywhere.

[The Original Instag8or]

^ I understand the Cup>>>>>>>>>ARCA statement, but since you may be unaware, to put it as nicely as possible, Milka is not the best talent even at the lowly ARCA level.

My point is/was that all pole on a plate track proves is that you have either the best equipment or the least restrictive plate.

[canamman]

Originally Posted by The Original Instag8or

How exactly has she made an impact on the sport? I see it more as the media, her fans and NASCAR insisting that she has made some sort of impact.

Impact - Media ,Marketing dream.
Race Results- Pretty good resume .

Is she going to rewrite the record book, of course not. She may own most of the female records before she is done.

[FAS33]

Originally Posted by The Original Instag8or

How exactly has she made an impact on the sport? I see it more as the media, her fans and NASCAR insisting that she has made some sort of impact.

she's made alot of impact, usually involving, taking others out of races.

[skycafe]

The bothersome aspect is that the Hall of Fame seems now to want to make an "as it happens" display. I can see making an entry on a list of achievments or records, but there is no need for display, they have a rich heritage that they probably should honor first.

[canamman]

Originally Posted by skycafe

The bothersome aspect is that the Hall of Fame seems now to want to make an "as it happens" display. I can see making an entry on a list of achievments or records, but there is no need for display, they have a rich heritage that they probably should honor first.

Good point. It being a business that needs to generate some revenue,
they thought it might get a few more turnstile clicks with the race in town.
With out a race in town, museums and hall of fames can be quiet at times.
You forever have to keep some displays rotating somewhat to keep it fresh.

[JHamilton]

Too bad no one will see it.

[skycafe]

Originally Posted by canamman

Good point. It being a business that needs to generate some revenue,
they thought it might get a few more turnstile clicks with the race in town.
With out a race in town, museums and hall of fames can be quiet at times.
You forever have to keep some displays rotating somewhat to keep it fresh.

BLAH!!!! It is degrading to history to dishonor it by trying to spiff it up with contemporary marketing #@*#. Does Danica now have more space then Bobby and Donny Allison, Buddy Baker, etc.? At a Nascar Hall of Fame?

[skycafe]

Originally Posted by canamman

Good point. It being a business that needs to generate some revenue,
they thought it might get a few more turnstile clicks with the race in town.
With out a race in town, museums and hall of fames can be quiet at times.
You forever have to keep some displays rotating somewhat to keep it fresh.

BLAH!!!! It is degrading to history to dishonor it by trying to spiff it up with contemporary marketing #@*#. Does Danica now have more space then Bobby and Donny Allison, Buddy Baker, etc.? At a Nascar Hall of Fame?

[canamman]

Originally Posted by skycafe

BLAH!!!! It is degrading to history to dishonor it by trying to spiff it up with contemporary marketing #@*#. Does Danica now have more space then Bobby and Donny Allison, Buddy Baker, etc.? At a Nascar Hall of Fame?

Dont know the size of the display skycafe. Have not seen it. Only commenting on the posts here. I think its a good bet the space
of the inductees will not be infringed upon.

[Paradise City]

Patrick's outstanding quality is that she is a marketing cash-cow. The market thinks she looks good in a bikini and she's an American racing driver and this excites the market in a new way and that's why she is where she is today.

She's completely unsuited to NASCAR. If she got her head together she'd knock out a win or three in Indycar over a long career. That's her level if she disciplined herself and stayed on good terms with her crew. She might get lucky at 'dega but bar that she's destined to make up the numbers in NASCAR.

[canamman]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

She's completely unsuited to NASCAR. If she got her head together she'd knock out a win or three in Indycar over a long career. That's her level if she disciplined herself and stayed on good terms with her crew. She might get lucky at 'dega but bar that she's destined to make up the numbers in NASCAR.

She already got a indycar win. I think it was Motegi. I would really like to see her win the Indy 500.

Check out this link. Add up her her earnings in 2012 in both
nwide and sprint and compare them to her indy earnings
in 2011.
http://racing-reference.info/driver/Danica_Patrick

[MJ_N_09]

Wait, she has a K&N race under her resume? I never knew that. I have no problem with Danica being in Nascar and becoming the fan favorite at least behind Dale Jr. She is easy on the eyes too. However, her NNS crew chief pre this year, Eury Jr, said it best; she has to earn respect.

[The Original Instag8or]

To paraphrase: "She brings attention to the sport"

Ahem, check out the IRL TV ratings and attendance figures for the year BEFORE she got to IRL to the last season she raced there seven years later. Declines in both.

Please explain "how" that happened, and how that was somehow "good" for the sport.

My opinion: She brings in an awful lot of looky loo types, casual newbies. That would be good, except... they hear all this media hype and come in with high expectations, yet see nothing but a car struggling to crack the top 30, so they shrug their shoulders and move along to the next train wreck TV channel.

[Icarus_nz]

Oh call the Waaaaaammmmmmmmmmbulance fellas.
This is not an easy sport. At least she brings interest and generates discussion.
I know - lets replace her with another boring clone whose biggest talent is daddies chequebook.

[The Original Instag8or]

^ Daddy's chequebook, GoDaddy's chequebook... difference?

In a sport that is obviously broadcast by and for those with shortened attention spans, NASCAR hardly needs the distraction of a mildly pretty bikini model. It was a good sport on its own, other than the aforementioned short attention span broadcasts.

[Icarus_nz]

Originally Posted by The Original Instag8or

^ Daddy's chequebook, GoDaddy's chequebook... difference?

Massive difference IMO

Ask anybody who has gone out and attracted any sort of true sponsorship.

I'm hoping that was a throwaway comment from yourself

[FAS33]

she needs to go back to where she really belongs, in the kitchen making sandwiches, cleaning the house etc.

[Paradise City]

She was not good for Indycar. She created a small bubble of prosperity and a sense of complacency and for a sport in deep crisis that is not good. No sport should rely on one name for its success and certainly not a sport that is so profoundly weak as Indycar. This is Indycar's fault btw, not Danica's.

She decamped to NASCAR, left Indycar in its weakened state and has performed poorly in her new field. She's a good business proposition but her talents - and she has some talent - has been misdirected into NASCAR. She'll earn a good living as a bikini on wheels carnival act but as a sportswoman she'll waste away. It's 100% her prerogative of course but it's not something that merits my praise.

[gomick]

She came 8th in the Daytona 500 after starting from pole - wish Marcos Ambrose could do that
Just wait til you see her on the road course & where the hell is Danicafan???

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by gomick

She came 8th in the Daytona 500 after starting from pole - wish Marcos Ambrose could do that
Just wait til you see her on the road course & where the hell is Danicafan???

It was a processional race. Her achievement there is that she didn't crash.