Danica Patrick prepared to roll into first Daytona 500
Minggu, 26 Februari 2012 by Android Blackberry
Danica Patrick prepared to roll into first Daytona 500:nascar, danica patrick husband, daytona 500, danica patrick bikini, go daddy
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It is not hard to tell when Danica Patrick is in a excellent mood.
She bounces into a space. She tends to make a comment about almost everything. She throws out some jokes.
"Do I stink? There is a fly around me," she said Friday in the interview room in the infield at Daytona International Speedway.
A tiny smile, and her attention was back on the reporters.
"Nice to be in right here without having to become scheduled to become in here," she said.
Unscheduled visits for the media center are good, indeed. They are a sign that a driver has done a thing superior. In Patrick's case, it was winning the pole position for the Nationwide race at Daytona.
She did that Friday, catching NASCAR's attention by becoming only the second woman to win a Nationwide pole and kicking off her initially full-time season in stock cars within the greatest way possible.
"Do you get any points for poles?" she stated.
She was joking. She knew you don't.
"Darn it," she said.
But what she did get from winning the pole was a confidence enhance in her stock-car abilities after spending the majority of the initial 5 years of her pro profession racing open-wheel cars.
And confidence, in spite of the crash that knocked her out halfway through the Nationwide race Saturday, is one of the most important factors she'll require right now when she starts her first Daytona 500. She'll go off 29th within the fluorescent green GoDaddy.com-sponsored No. ten Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Everybody's going to understand where she is.
"The superior thing, with a fluorescent green vehicle, she's simple to choose out," said her boss, Tony Stewart, who will begin third.
It does not take a fluorescent green car. The lengthy, dark hair, Sports Illustrated bikini shoots, Super Bowl commercials and years because the promoted face of IndyCar make the 29-year-old from Roscoe, Ill., the most recognizable female racer in the United States.
But with no results, she'll stay just that. Essentially the most recognizable female racer inside the United States. Naturally, she desires extra, and also the people today about her -- Stewart, crew chief Greg Zipadelli, Tv executives -- want additional for her.
"She is somebody that clearly has brought new fans for the sport," stated Wealthy Feinberg, ESPN's vice president for motorsports. "She represents appeal to a younger demographic, which is an critical region for us to develop our viewership base, and she's a darn very good race auto driver."
ESPN analyst Dale Jarrett said, "I feel she's a polarizing figure, and she's embraced the notion that she may be the face with the Nationwide Series and somewhat the Sprint Cup Series now. A lot of eyes are on her."
Patrick got scrutiny for crashing on the last lap of her Gatorade Duel on Thursday.
She hit the inside wall inside a violent collision, and her reaction in the vehicle was captured by in-car video.
The accident wasn't her fault, and her NASCAR colleagues were impressed by her coolness. They watched her walk away from the car on her own.
Moments like that, plus the laps she builds on the track, are going to help her acquire the trust of her fellow competitors and self-confidence in herself, Stewart mentioned.
"It's challenging for her now since she's attempting to acquire the self-confidence from the guys about her that she's solid and is going to make very good decisions, not just going to pull the pin each time she gets the chance to break out of line," Stewart said. "I believe there's more aggression and self-confidence in her than what she showed right here currently."
She'll get her chance to show aggression and self-confidence right now.
It will not be difficult to tell if she had a very good race. Listen for the jokes.Danica Patrick crashes in Duel 1
