Danica-Mania Goes On the Road

SONOMA, Calif. – While the rest of my world is in east Tennesee, I’m moonlighting in lovely wine country. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not in the mix.

Danica Patrick just got done with a media conference here at Infineon, and the second question she was asked was, “A lot of people are saying you’re doing this for the money. Are you?”

Having spent a fair amount of time around Danica, that was not designed to please her, and it didn’t. “If I wanted to go for the money, I would have done it in 2006. If anything, NASCAR has gone down, money-wise, from then. I am doing it because it is what I want to do, I love driving the cars, and it’s time.”

OK, it wasn’t Kevin Harvick in full snit or Tony Stewart when someone has whizzed in his oatmeal, but for her, it was pretty pointed. And I can’t disagree with her.

She could have had beaucoup bucks if she’d struck while the iron was hottest, back in ’06, but she would have flamed out super-fast. Shoot, she still might, but hey, when your sponsor says, “I’m going wherever you go,” there’s some leeway for that.

GoDaddy has a lot of money, and if they use it to prop her up early on and make her better later, more power to them. It will be good for her, for the company and for NASCAR, which needs a shot in the arm worse than anyone.

She will bring attention…usually in the right way, and that is something sorely lacking in NASCAR right now, outside the Busch vs. the world sagas and the odd whoopsie on rules.

The IndyCar folks are facing reality, and they don’t like it much, but what can they do? I grew up living IndyCar and I still think it’s a great series. A little short on big names, but who isn’t these days?

Oh well…for the first time since late May, early June, the temp where I am is below 65 degrees. I’ll be watching Bristol, and thinking about how Danica is going to do there…