Danica Patrick doesn’t belong in NASCAR, period

Dario Franchitti won his second IndyCar Series title at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday by using a smart fuel mileage strategy call by team owner Chip Ganassi that allowed him to go from third to first, win the race and secure the title.

This past season was the first full one for Franchitti after trying his hand in NASCAR. The foray into NASCAR was nothing short of disastrous for the Scotsman who won the 2007 IndyCar title.

While Franchitti was winning his race Sunday, the rumors in NASCAR again centered on Danica Patrick’s continued flirtation with the sport.

Despite widespread reports that she has signed a contract with her current IndyCar team, the talk around the NASCAR garage was that Patrick is still considering giving NASCAR a try.

The rumors have the tails wagging and hounds barking since Danica Patrick is a marketers dream. Because in America sex still sells and while Patrick is a so-so driver at best, no one can argue that her face and figure sell whatever it’s attached to. It’s not about racing stats it’s about BWH measurements. Top-10’s, top-5’s, pole positions and race wins mean less then the old fashioned 34-26-34.

And that’s just a shame.

According to published reports, Patrick has set forth certain conditions for her NASCAR ride. From a single race salary ranging anywhere from $50,000 to $8 million to being guaranteed a car that has enough owner points attached so she won’t have to worry about making races on speed. No doubt fruit baskets in her dressing room and only a certain brand of sparkling water, along with a masseuse were discussed as well.

The sad truth is, even with the outrageous demands Patrick seems to want, NASCAR teams desperate for cash haven’t dismissed her. That’s because they know that with Danica Patrick’s signature on a contract the sponsor wallets would open up like floodgates. For cash strapped teams it would be akin to Jed Clampett finding ‘black gold’.

If she did sign with a team, they would turn her over to a sponsor who would immediately slap a branded bikini on her and start selling, while the team would be saying ‘please make sure you spell our name right on the check.’

Racing should be about how you perform in the racecar not how you look spread out on the hood. More at Examiner.com