Danica Patrick was supposed to bring all sorts of attention to stock car racing. This probably isn’t what NASCAR had in mind.
Instead of having to qualify, she just got a free pass into the Daytona 500. The loophole is not new, but Danica zipping through it makes her and NASCAR look bad.
Basically, her Stewart-Haas Racing team bought the starting spot from Tommy Baldwin Racing.
Dave Blaney earned it based on last year’s performance, but he’s not nearly as hot as Danica.
So what was his has become hers. In the NFL, it would be like Jerry Jones buying a few Cardinals wins to assure the Cowboys got a playoff spot.
I hope I’m not giving JJ any ideas. If I am, at least we can be fairly confident the NFL wouldn’t stand for it. In NASCAR, this is business as usual.
Patrick didn’t set up the system. But since she is the beneficiary, the chicanery is suddenly news.
If you didn’t know better, you might even think NASCAR is greasing the track for her.
Not so, say Danica fans. They are right when they claim she’s being held to a different standard. That happens when you’ve been anointed the greatest thing to hit NASCAR since the invention of the Styrofoam cooler.
This is the start of her big career move from IndyCar. There was no way Daytona, GoDaddy.com, FOX and the National Organization for Women were going to risk Patrick not making NASCAR’s Super Bowl.
I almost feel sorry for her. Or as sorry as I can for somebody who makes an estimated $12 million a year based on decent racing skills, a pretty face and an exceptional ability to pose on car hoods in a bikini and high heels.
But the guy I really feel sorry for is Blaney. The top 35 in last year’s point standings get automatic spots in the first five Sprint Cup races of the following season.
Blaney cajoled the No. 36 car to 33rd place. That was a nice feat for TBR, which doesn’t have near the money or horsepower of NASCAR’s elite teams.
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