Sunday, February 17th. History was made in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series when Danica Patrick won the Pole for “The Great American Race”, the Daytona 500.
The biggest race of NASCAR, the season opener, one of the biggest races in Motor sport and a woman was in the Pole position.
This doesn’t mean she’ll win in fact half of the others 42 Drivers alongside with her have more chances than her, plus just 9 Drivers has won this race from the Pole the last time was in 2000 with Dale Jarrett in number means that Danica have a 17% to win the Daytona 500 from the pole.
But what this Pole means for NASCAR and Racing in general?
First to all in the marketing, NASCAR knows how to do that, the ratings here in US and around the world because this race will be broadcasted in more than 100 countries on 20 Languages LIVE and especially this is a message to all the Girls around the World
Danica Patrick said in the press conference post qualifying “the gender doesn’t matter”, “You can do whatever you want”.
Her Pole gives to the world a message and that message says “Move on Boys, I am fast too and I can make some good competition with you guys”. See how the daughters of Drivers like Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson want to meet her.
Last Sunday Jeff’s daughter, Ella asked for a picture with Danica post Daytona 500 qualifying with her dad.
Who cares if most of the time the media talks or her Go Daddy commercials about her experience driving Sprint Cup Cars or her relationship with the 2-time NASCAR Nationwide Champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Her legacy has started because show to the Girls that they can do whatever they want as she said on the press conference post Qualifying.
She inspires Girls to reach their gold’s not just in Motor Sport in life and in other areas, and do thing were only seen men doing that.
What if we finally we had a Woman Driver and person who inspire her wasn’t a Sebastian Vettel, a Fernando Alonso, a Sarah Fisher, a Simona de Silvestro, etc it was Danica who inspired her to reach that dream of being an Race Car Driver and being success.
As many of the NASCAR Fans, reporters, Drivers and people who have a decent knowledge about NASCAR and I has been wondering……………
What if she wins the Daytona 500, what if Danica Patrick wins the “Great American Race?”
Dale Jarrett says (the last one who won the Daytona 500 from the Pole and NASCAR on ESPN Race analyst) says: “Anybody in the race can because is such a wild card, last year Nationwide Race, guy running 11th on the last lap gets to the Checkered Flag first. Anything can happen in this. You must have to put yourself in a position for that to happen”. The winner of that race that Jarrett was talking is the reigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion, James Buescher.
Let’s imagine that for a minute. A win there changes Sports history forever setting a new precedent in NASCAR, Motor Sport and Sports.
If Danica wins was because she had a great Car, team work, she could handle the draft and side draft and the most important because she beat the pressure around her and media’s paraphernalia about her.
She’d better known as a Daytona 500 winner and not for her appearances in the Sport Illustrated Swimsuit magazine or her sexy and provocative Go Daddy commercials on TV.
She would be respected as a Driver and not as “Sparkle house” or “pay Driver”
I don’t how this would change the media coverage (I’m not a journalist so I don’t know that I’m a Blogger who has a lot of knowledge of NASCAR, Motor Sport and Danica).
David Carter, exclusive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of California says: “There would be, I hesitate to say, unprecedented media coverage, because it seems like all media coverage is unprecedented these days”.
Darrell Waltrip, NASCAR on Fox race analyst says if Danica wins Sunday’s race: “It would change this Sport forever, take it to another level. I promise you”
In conclusion. Danica is making history in NASCAR and Motor Sport as she did at IndyCar but not because she won the pole for the biggest race of the year. Without taking the green flag she’s leaving a legacy in NASCAR and Motor Sport in general.
This is a long year, a long season Danica has to prove a lot of things not just in Daytona.
She has to change the perception in some people, fans and expert.
One of those is Brad Keselowski, 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion.
“Oh, there’s that 30th-place driver,'” Keselowski says. “That’s the reality of it. People who talk to me about Danica and say, ‘Man, you need to give her more of a chance.’ No, you need to give her less of a chance. You need to treat her equally and think about those who never came even close to getting the opportunity she had.”
Technically Brad sees Danica as a “pay Driver” as many of the fans have the same kind of opinion about her.
¿Can Danica change that in one year?