It was almost a year ago that I wrote about race car driver, Danica Patrick, being a bitch. Well, I don't so much think that she is a bitch anymore than I think any of her fellow male drivers are bitches, which is to say, yep, most of them are. It was just that at that time she was getting trolled a lot by fans who thought that because she is a woman she had no business trading paint with the boys. That post is available elsewhere, somewhere on this blog.
Now Danica is in the news again because Kyle Petty has deemed her to be "a marketing machine" and "...someone who can go fast but is not a driver..."
A marketing machine in a sport where the cars are rolling billboards and the drivers are walking billboards? Imagine that! Does NASCAR know about this? They might be shocked, shocked to find advertising and promotion going on in a sport that is The Fortune 500 on wheels.
Sheesh, Kyle Petty, do you THINK?
Kyle is an announcer for TNT's coverage of NASCAR. Before that he was a journeyman driver for 30 years, working for several car owners and I think he won 8 races. Not bad. But, before that, he was born the son of the greatest driver in NASCAR history, Richard "The King" Petty. In fact, he still is The King's son! Some say he always will be!
I bet at some point in his career he may have heard whispers that, the only reason he had a Cup ride was because of the legacy of his father.
I am certain, in fact, that he did, because I've read that and heard that for years. When your dad is the best there ever was and you follow in his footsteps in the family business, you better be really, really good or you will forever look like the toddler traipsing around in daddy's boots. It just won't be cute anymore when you are thirty.
I think it's safe to say that Kyle could drive the car fast but that he wasn't a racecar driver. Yep, there is a difference. A racecar driver would have won a lot more races in 30 some years. Having a 30 year career of mediocrity isn't a luxury too many people in a business like NASCAR are afforded. It takes a ton of money to work your way up to the point where someone is willing to spend a ton of money on you to drive fast on Sundays. They expect you to be a racecar driver for those millions.
I think Kyle got a ton of breaks because of the Petty name. Kyle Jones would have been out of racing after a year or two of not running well, if he ever got to Cup level in the first place. There is always someone behind you and they may be faster and better.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. took up for Danica. His late father is second to Richard Petty in NASCAR greatness. Maybe better. The two were the best of their generations and it's hard to compare them, like Ruth and Aaron even though they did compete against each other.
Junior knows what it's like to be the son of the greatest. A very likable kid, he has had comparatively far better success than Kyle did. So far, 19 Cup wins in 15 years. Pretty much off the line, Junior had the adoration of his father's legions of fans. Even people like me who didn't like his daddy, like Junior. I think his nick knacks sell better than any other drivers. He's kind of a... marketing machine...in that respect.
He can drive fast but, honestly, I don't think of him as a driver either. Nor do I think that, without a famous name, he would have had anything resembling a career in NASCAR. It's too hard to break in without a buttload of money behind you. And that plus a famous name helps too.
Danica Patrick having a spankable bottom helps her for sure. It helps the sport too but, it really helps the business that NASCAR is most of all. Yeah, she's a marketing machine. Duh. Yeah, she's got a spankable bottom (in this Ferrerman's expert opinion) and, yeah, she can drive fast. None of these things are crimes in her business or make her less deserving than your average Petty or Earnhardt.
Every week in NASCAR, 42 cars begin the race. It's really a race between the ten best of those cars. The other 32 are there to fill out the field. One of those guys in the back of the pack could win the race but, not likely. One of those guys back there might be the better driver but, in a sport about money, that pays really good for showing up, a lot of guys are just happy to be there.
This is Danica's first full year in Sprint Cup. I think it's too soon to tell if she's a driver yet. I know it is too soon for the likes of Kyle Petty to be making that call. I'd like to hear from Mark Martin or Kenny Schrader- you know- racecar drivers, They might know best.
10 comments:
Kyle, Kyle, Kyle.... Not quite Paula Deen material but he'll likely regret saying something which most rational people will see as blatantly misogynistic. And stupid!
It was too much, too soon. Attendance is down in NASCAR. They refuse to say how much though because they're not like the other sports where they post these figures. He might be under orders to spice things up a bit. No such thing as bad publicity, right?
You mean he's a paid NASCAR troll?
Well, they only pick the best and brightest for that job!
:)
HA!
Well, now that you mention it....
Happy July 4th Patriots!
Deer Whisperer/Luke
A driver or two did speak up for her. Sorry, can't remember who ... read it on Yahoo/Sports/Nascar pages. Also, one columnist/blogger did "call out" K. Petty for the same points you discussed.
Patrick probably would have been best served with at least another year in Nationwide Series (kind of "junior varsity"), maybe some truck racin' too just for good measure.
But yep ... promotable/marketable for Sprint Cup attendance and TV viewing/revenue is a factor. That's to be expected. That started, though not as pervasive as now, back in the first major TV contract with CBS at about 1980. Earnhardt, Sr. and the young Jeff Gordon was certainly promoted. When FOX got in the picture in 2000, promotion took a leap.
Yeah, Earnhardt, Jr.brand outsells any other concession in NASCAR.
Time will tell. While Patrick has backing now, her skill will rise to a competitive, or it won't. There are several apt comparisons. Her "boss", team co-owner Tony Stewart, is the only one I can think of who transitioned well from the open-wheel Indycar environment. John Andretti (Mario's nephew) transitioned as a less-than first rate Indycar driver to about the same quality NASCAR driver.
Patrick has won an Indycar race, and was competitive in several. Several who have won Indy 500s and Indycar championships or were somewhat competitive have not transitioned well or equally: Franchitti (Ashley Judd's ex), Montoya (also tried Formula 1), and Hornish, Jr. Montoya is at journeyman level. The other two washed out of Sprint Cup ("varsity" racing).
She has started and finished best (1st and 8th, respectively) in the season opener Daytona 500. Back there this Saturday night for the July race, it will be interesting if she improves upon her lackluster racing since.
Reading comments attached to Yahoo/Sports/NASCAR news and blog items is a hoot; until it gets tiresome. Whiners, haters, and conspiracy theorists abound. There are, seemingly, ubiquitous complaints about NASCAR throwing cautions to benefit "favorites", the ever-present hater vs. fanboy arguments for/against 2 or more drivers, and the whining that some drivers are getting more air time on TV coverage no matter the position during the running of the race. There's a lot of that for Patrick and Earnhardt.
Not to mention those with selective memory and stricken with nostalgia about the "old days" of NASCAR racin'.
Hey, DW! You know your racin'! The first race I ever sat down through the whole thing was the Daytona 500, '93- the "Dale and Dale show." I was a pretty serious fan for better than 10 years but, it's lost its luster. I kinda watch it like the NBA now, tuning in for the last 5 minutes. I had to smile at the conspiracy about cautions, having heard that a lot and seriously pondered it myself. Unlike any other major *sport*, it is a family business, with the France kids calling the shots...The rules change every week and, if a driver doesn't like it, he can race dirt tracks in Wisconsin...
Good point about the transition from open wheels. Night and day, really. AJ Foyt did pretty well but, that was back in the day.
Danica will be fine. Not her fault that she's more promotable as a pretty woman than some of the filler at the back of the back. She needs some time and probably should have run one more year of "JV" but, there she is.
Boogity, boogity, boogity ... Oh, for the record: Sprint Cup starts 43 cars each race.
Thanks, Ferrerman! I've been following Indycar and NASCAR for quite awhile, F1 just slightly less, and "kind of" follow endurance/prototype/sportscar road racing. OMG, A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti were primo skilled and versatile racers in their prime. Both were Indy 500 winners and Indycar season champs. Each won a Daytona 500. Foyt was on a winning driver team for a 24 Hours of LeMans race and competitive in those "sportscar" races, and Andretti won a F! season championship, and won several F! races. He won races in prototype/sportscar racing as well.
Though not attaining "legend" status to the same degree, Dan Gurney was a noted versatile, competitive racer too. Just don't remember if he did any NASCAR racin'.
Drag racin' interest was limited to teens to sometime in my mid-20s. I suppose if I was true fan of racin', I'd be a faithful of the local short dirt or asphalt wars where I've lived in time.
Went to a dirt track race once and it was "meh". Racin' [almost] constantly sideways just seemed a little weird. :)
Deer Whisperer/Luke
Forgot to add:
Promoting racing goes way back in time; through the chariot racin' days back to ancient Greek marathons/Olympiads.
Race track owners (including the local ones) are often termed promoters.
After all, promotion is a bulwark of capitalism.
And this ....
My race viewing has changed too. Start, first 20-25 laps, and tuning back in for the last 25 laps or so. As you also wrote, this holds true for other sporting events too now. I'll hang with pro football for most games; and possibly a marque college football contest.
Deer Whisperer/Luke
I think that as I've gotten older, sports has lost a great deal of it's urgency. The Cubs taught me that, beginning in'69 and on and on... Watching the Blackhawks last month was awesome but, my heart would have survived if they had lost. I just want to be entertained and thrilled now so, tuning in for a hopefully exciting finish is fine by me.
I've been to one dirt track race and it was fun but, it looks like more fun for the drivers than anybody else. I admire the fine line between getting sideways and losing control. Most good drivers have a lot of dirt in their background. I mentioned Schrader because I always admired how much he loved to race and would pretty much drive anything, anywhere. He really loves it and lives it. The late Dick Trickle too.
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