NASCAR fans love to preach about the importance of paying your dues.
In the eyes of the stock-car true believers, a driver must earn the right to compete at the top levels of the sport through years of dedication and mentorship.
That’s a big reason why so many folks feel insulted by the mania surrounding Nationwide Series media darling Danica Patrick.
While more proven drivers in the series must struggle to keep their teams and careers afloat, Patrick was basically given a free pass to front pages and highlight shows despite having no experience in a stock car.
The situation is akin to the instant-celebrities created through talent and reality shows on network television.
To the dismay of her marketing machine, Patrick floundered badly through her first three races with the JR Motorsports team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Patrick has been involved
in wrecks and earned penalties for speeding down pit road. She’s also been lapped by faster drivers.
The struggles of Patrick are no surprise, however.
Consider that Patrick has been trying to adapt from a 1,500-pound Indy Racing League open-wheel rocket to a bulky 3,400-pound stock car.
Some of the biggest stars of the open-wheel racing world have struggled mightily with that adjustment.
The irritating part of the Patrick story is the almost-blind worship of television commentators.
In the eyes of these well-paid and well-directed guys, Patrick can do no wrong.
When Patrick crashes, she does “a great job” of keeping her car off the wall. When she drops to the back of the field, she does a “great job” of being patient. You get the picture, Patrick is “great” for ratings.
Meanwhile, we’re treated to television commercials showing Patrick in her underwear, taking a shower, or being massaged by a scantily-clad woman.
All this in a family sport? Where have you gone Tommy Houston and Jack Ingram.
To be fair, Patrick has paid plenty of dues in the open-wheel arena. She grew up in karting and then moved to England as a teenager to refine her skills.
In her well-chronicled journey to the Indy Racing League, Patrick has been forced to endure plenty of skeptics in the press and cold shoulders in the pits.
Just because Patrick has won one IRL race, she should not be elevated over more worthy Nationwide regulars such as Jason Leffler or even rising stars such as Trevor Bayne and
Justin Allgaier.
It will take at least two seasons and several short track events before we can really determine if Patrick has the talent and mental fortitude to jump to stock cars.
So far, the Danica-Manica story has been based more on sex appeal than actual performance. And that’s a sad sermon for the sport.
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