As every media outlet imaginable has reported, Danica Patrick made her stock car debut in Saturday's ARCA race in Daytona. Debates have been sparked regarding how to view this story of epic proportion. Some have said Patrick's sixth place finish was a fluke. Others have been singing the praises of Patrick. While Danica's debut was impressive we shouldn't declare her "NASCAR's Best and Brightest" just yet.
Patrick and the ARCA series have received received unfathomable amounts of attention all week and more than likely, the only story that received more attention in the world of sports was Saints' Super Bowl victory. It seemed at first that Patrick was extremely cautious, sometimes to a fault. She hardly moved into the high lane, sometimes leaving her "hung out to dry." Throughout the event, she was able to keep up with the lead pack. Her first incident as stock car driver occurred with approximately thirty laps left, when she was turned by fellow open-wheeler Nelson Piquet, Jr. (or as one ESPN reporter said, "Nelson Picket.") After this setback, it almost seemed as if Patrick had became more familiar with the car. She began to systematically move up through the field and had as good of a chance as anyone to win the race with one lap remaining. While racing to the checkers, she successfully dueled Ricky Carmichael for the sixth finishing position. After the race she was cheerful and optimistic, as opposed to her past antics in the Izod IndyCar Series.
While Danica has silenced some of her naysayers, we shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves. Most refer to restrictor plate tracks as wild card races, where almost every driver has a legitimate shot to win. The running order changes drastically lap by lap, so it isn't fair to judge her on just this race. In addition, Patrick hasn't even been on the track in a Nationwide Series car yet. Her on track debut will be today, during first practice.
Danica Patrick showed that she can drive a bulky stock car last weekend. However, it is still entirely to early to judge her.
Photo Courtesy of www.autoweek.com
