By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
December 30, 2011
Danica needs NASCAR more than NASCAR needs Danica.
Patrick, perhaps best known to non race fans as the racy face of GoDaddy.com, is moving full time from Indy Car racing to NASCAR’s Nationwide Series in 2012. Patrick won one Indy Car race in her career on the international circuit, and nearly became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 last Memorial Day weekend. She showed NASCAR potential in her limited racing there in 2011, achieving three Top 10 finishes and one Top Five finish in a dozen Nationwide Series races.
But after Tony Stewart’s dramatic victory at Homestead last month and a slow, economy-driven resurgence in TV ratings and track attendance for NASCAR, the circuit seems to be doing fine without the Danica distraction. Patrick is not likely to win in 2012, but NASCAR is certainly poised to do so.