Does she or doesn’t she? Only her hair dresser – whoops, uh, err, I mean – business manager knows for sure.
Does Danica Patrick have a future in NASCAR? More importantly, does she WANT a future in NASCAR?
Given Rick Hendrick’s comments over the weekend in Phoenix that time could be running out on doing a deal with Patrick – or, perhaps translated, does that mean Hendrick is losing patience with Patrick to do a deal with him and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – will we actually see Patrick in any type of NASCAR or ARCA vehicle come 2010?
I’m really beginning to wonder.
One thing about Hendrick, he’s a straight-shooter. He typically tells it like it is. He doesn’t often dodge questions. He’ll look you in the eye and tell you what’s on his mind – most of the time.
“I just think that (Danica and her management team) are not even close to making a decision on whether to even do it this year or next year,” Hendrick told reporters at Phoenix. “You never know until it’s done. You never know until it’s signed. And anybody can change their mind.”
Does that sound like a successful multi-millionaire businessman being confident Patrick will soon put pen to paper, as in sign a contract?
Uh, no. Read between the lines and there must be a snag somewhere. Or, maybe Patrick is doing what she does best: posturing for something more, be it money, exposure, a bigger cut of souvenir and licensing earnings, etc.
Or maybe she has no intention of coming to NASCAR and is simply enjoying the attention and the breathless anticipation – which is turning into folks not willing to hold their breath much longer for her arrival as the new queen and diva of stock car racing.
Hendrick is one of the smartest and shrewdest businessmen on this planet. He’s made a fortune on top of the other fortune he already had by just bringing Dale Earnhardt Jr. to his team nearly two years ago.
There’d be a similar cash cow frenzy – not to mention tens of millions of dollars in marketing and sponsorship – to Hendrick, Junior and Patrick if and when she signs on the dotted line.
But more importantly, Hendrick needs time to market her. She can’t expect to sign one week before next season starts and expect to have incredible attention and deals already in place.
Frankly, given that she’s managed by IMG, one of the biggest agents and celebrity managers in the business, I would have thought her advisors would have told her to sign a long time ago; or, certainly by now.
Some might think it’s Hendrick who is posturing with his words. I don’t think so. I think he’s getting a bit tired of waiting.
And if there’s one thing you DON’T do in NASCAR, it’s keep Rick Hendrick waiting. Just as quick as he can sign you, he can just as easily say “the heck with you” and cast you adrift to try and make another deal.
Or, perhaps, could Patrick be playing one NASCAR owner vs. another? Could she be looking for a better deal with, say, Jack Roush or Tony Stewart or even Michael Waltrip, all who’ve expressed interest in the tempestuous lass from Roscoe, Ill.?
Danica has matured and developed into a good racer (including finishing a career-best fifth in this year’s IRL standings). I’ll give her that. But that she keeps dragging and dragging and dragging this whole thing along – if indeed that’s what she’s intentionally doing – she’s only hurting herself in the long run.
If she keeps people like Hendrick, Brian France, Mike Helton and others in the NASCAR power structure waiting for her to make up her mind, she’s losing a large amount of potential support rather quickly. They’re all salivating at the prospect of Patrick coming to NASCAR, how it would help the sport, improve TV ratings and at-track attendance, for starters.
And, at the same time, what does her maybe yes, maybe no likelihood mean to fans? I’m betting that those who potentially would join her fan base may also get tired of waiting, or think she’s playing the role of a princess who isn’t going to commit until she’s fully satisfied, even if it goes against the grain of folks in NASCAR and its fans.
For Hendrick to put a marketing blitz promoting Patrick to work, he needs a good two months. There’s things like media advertisement buys, press conferences and appearances where everybody says the right thing and all are wearing smiles, as well as photo and commercial shoots. There’s also getting her outfitted for her car, hiring a crew chief and team, building several cars for her to drive and, perhaps most importantly, getting her plenty of driving practice in the upcoming off-season.
The thing is, all that takes time – and lots of it. But the longer Patrick drags things out and potentially plays NASCAR for a fool, the more she’s hurting herself, to where it’ll be her that ultimately winds up looking like the fool.
Rick Hendrick can very easily go out and find himself another female driver, either someone from the Drive for Diversity or one of Patrick’s feminine arch-rivals in open-wheel racing like Sarah Fisher or Milka Duno. They’d jump at the chance to have Hendrick’s money and backing to put them in a NASCAR ride.
Let’s hope Danica realizes the mistake she’s making by stalling before it’s too late. I know I recently said I was going to give her the benefit of the doubt and judge her fairly as she made the transition from the IRL to NASCAR, but she’s simply not winning many friends with her delay tactics.
And if there’s one thing that you can never have enough of in NASCAR, it’s friends, lots of good friends.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/17 at 08:30 PMI think she is waiting for someone to offer her the big bucks she wants and to get a agrement to start right off in the cup series she just doesnt seem to be the type person to get “trained” shes not that good in irl but her marketing value is the highest inthe racing venues and world wide with the new sponsor for irl im sure she was part of that deal they put alot of money in to being the main sponsor for six years i just cant help thinking how much id hate hearing about how pretty she is all through a race i hope she stays in irl i dont know anybody that wants to see her in the cup
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