EDMONTON -- IndyCar racer Danica Patrick says while she hasnt decided if
shell bolt to NASCAR fulltime next season, it will be a racing decision
and not simply a move to boost her stratospheric Q-rating.
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"If it was only about that and about the amount of people watching and
that stuff, I probably would have left a long time ago," Patrick told a
news conference Friday prior to practice for Sundays Edmonton Indy.
"But I didnt, and thats because I follow my gut and I follow my heart,
and I think about where Im going to have the most fun, and where I feel
like Im going to have the best chance to win."
If thats the case, then Patrick could be as good as gone.
The 29-year-old from Roscoe, Ill., seems to be having more fun driving
part-time in the NASCAR Nationwide series for JR Motorsports than in the
open-wheel series.
Shes now in her second year in NASCAR, and the results are starting to
come.
On March 5 this year, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Impala, she was fourth
at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, becoming the first woman to win a
major NASCAR national touring event.
On July 1 at the famed Daytona International Speedway, Patrick led for
13 of 100 laps and took control, directing teammate Aric Almiroal to
"Just follow my ass, OK" and draft in behind her as she carved a path
through the wind.
Hopes were dashed on the final lap when Patrick got caught up in a
multi-car wreck, but she still managed to lug the fiery stock car over
the finish line for a 10th-place finish.
Afterward she jumped out of the car, high-fived her crew and told
reporters: "I had a hell of a lot of fun."
IndyCar, by comparison, has been six plus seasons of steady but
unspectacular results in the No. 7 electric green GoDaddy.com
Dallara-Honda.
This year has been no exception. Patrick has five top-10 finishes in 10
races, but has never been higher than fifth. The championship is a
distant memory -- she sits tied for 10th with Canadian Alex Tagliani,
180 points back.
She has won one race in her career and while she runs consistently in
the top half of the field, the results have not reflected a driver with
access to top engineers and a racing team with deep pockets like
Andretti Autosport.
Its been promise unfulfilled for a woman who burst onto the national
racing scene in 2005, making history for women at the Indianapolis 500
by finishing fourth and leading for 19 laps.
Success, combined with her good looks and savvy marketing, vaulted her
into instant IndyCar "It Girl" status.
Shes in swimsuit layouts, and on talk shows, presents awards with
heartthrob Justin Bieber, and seen by millions in Super Bowl
commercials.
There have been moments of unalloyed joy, capped by her spraying
champagne on the top of the podium after her lone IndyCar win, in Japan
in 2008.
Most days on track, though, the worlds photographers always seem to
catch her looking like a robot, marching in a straight line from pits to
paddock, her mouth a razor-thin scar, humanity obscured by oversized,
black Terminator sunglasses.
When there is emotion, it ends up being YouTube fodder of her squabbling
with other drivers, complaining about the car on the radio, or having a
slapfight with infamous IndyCar road hazard Milka Duno.
Patrick said she still loves the feel of the open wheel.
"Theres nothing like driving an open wheel car. They have an amazing
feel out there," she said.
"(But) sometimes its a little bit of follow the leader (in Indycar), so
sometimes its fun to race the stock car."
She admits she prefers the breakneck speed of the ovals to the
twisty-turns of the road and street courses.
IndyCar has moved away from ovals in the last few years, and circuit CEO
Randy Bernard says it will stay a 50-50 split. The hard-core
traditionalists and gearheads like the ovals, he said in a recent
interview, but the youth market and the big sponsorships are with the
street and road venues.
Patrick said she has made her peace with that.
"I think we have to go where the people are, and where the people want
to see us, not only get the fans to come out to the race track, but get
them to watch on TV," she said.
"You can get a remarkable 200,000 people at a race, but a 0.2 (TV)
rating is not good.
"You have to get the ratings. Thats what the sponsors look at, so
whatever you have to do to get that I think is the right direction."
Its also one more reason for her to go to the more popular NASCAR, but
Patrick isnt saying.
"I just listen to my heart," she said.
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The Senators led 2-0 early in the second period, but the Maple Leafs
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The Roughriders are fairly well positioned heading into the off-season.
Yes, they have some big ticket free agents to deal with but ones they
should be able to retain.NEW YORK, N.Y. - The NHL has fined Nashville
Predators forward James Neal $2,000 for violating the leagues revised
rule against diving and embellishing.The new rule, implemented for this
season after approval by the NHL Board of Governors and the NHL Players
Association, is designed to bring attention to and more seriously
penalize players and teams who repeatedly dive and embellish in an
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coacches on a graduated scale. Kurt Warner Rams Jersey. Neal was issued a warning after an infraction at St. Louis on Nov. 13.
No penalty was called then. His second violation at San Jose on Saturday
led to the fine imposed Wednesday. Neal received a penalty for
embellishment on that play.Third and fourth violations carry fines of
$3,000 and $4,000 fines, respectively. A fifth violation yields a
maximum $5,000 fine for a player and $2,000 for the head coach.
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