Danica Patrick, a new dimension in the Daytona 500

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There will  be no more "Gentlemen start your engines," at least for 10 races this season. 

Danica Patrick should provide a new and exciting dimension to the Daytona 500, just 16 days from now, as of this writing.

Despite how she came to be listed among the participating drivers in the prestigious first race of the 2012 NASCAR season, her presence in the race will likely add to the NASCAR devotees looking forward to Sunday afternoons, starting, Feb. 26. Imagine; she could give Dale Earnhardt, Jr. a challenge for that most popular driver moniker. Feminist types, if there are any that follow NASCAR, as well as other females will root for her, because she is a woman. And women are still a rare commodity in the NASCAR garage. Men will root for her because, let's face it, she's stunning to look at, even when she isn't donning a bikini atop a race car. 

Granted, her guaranteed spot in the Daytona 500 was a little weird and certainly complicated. It was controversial and caused major aggravation for some. 

Basically Patrick was the beneficiary of a deal between Stewart-Haas Racing, (SHR) and Tommy Baldwin Racing, (TBR). In the spirit of cooperation, and perhaps a bit of cold hard cash, TBR will transfer owner points from TBR which finished in the top 35 in points last year. TBR's No. 36 car finished the season 33rd in points. It was piloted by Dave Blaney who remains a TBR driver this year. 

Because the No. 10 is brand new this year, it had no standing as far as last year's owner points were concerned. This deal between the two race team blurs the lines between the two teams, giving Patrick the golden opportunity to run in the 500.

Points earned by the No. 36 car ensured a starting spot in the first five races of the season, including the biggest race of the year--the Daytona 500. The deal will transform the No. 36 into Patrick's No. 10 car, fielded by TBR, but with all other aspects belonging to SHR. Greg Zipadelli, of SHR will be her Crew Chief. GoDaddy.com will be her sponsor. 

Patrick will run a limited schedule--10 races--in the Sprint Cup series. In those races where she doesn't compete, TBR driver David Reutimann will fill in. Otherwise, he will drive his No. 36 car for TBR. 

In addition to sharing a car, the two will also share team support and sponsorship. 

Patrick will also run a full schedule in the Nationwide Series, driving for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. which will likely  boost ratings on Saturday afternoon as well.

Some are furious that Patrick didn't have to race her way into the sport's most prestigious race like all the other drivers. They also say it isn't fair that Blaney who did earn his way in will have to race his way to a spot on the starting grid. Some blame Tony Stewart and Tommy Baldwin for taking advantage while others blame NASCAR for allowing such large loopholes in their ownership points rules. 

Personally, I'm just going to just be faithful to my gender. I'm excited to see Danica Patrick in the Daytona 500. If testing a few weeks ago is any indication, her presence in the sport will prove to be another exciting factor. The lady can drive. The fact that she is driving for my favorite race team doesn't hurt either. Wow, just 16 more days. I can hardly wait for the command, "Drivers, start your engines."

Ryan Newman is still the Rocketman!

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The season hasn't even started yet and already we read things like, "These days, a more suitable nickname for Newman might be 'Mediocre Man.' The 34-year-old driver seemingly does just enough to keep his ride--making the Chase every now and again and good for about one win a season."

This was a horrible mischaracterization from Scene Daily this morning.

Now I don't know what races Scene Daily is watching, but mediocre certainly does not describe the Ryan Newman I've observed during the 2011 season and before. While it may be true that team 39 only one won race last year, but for cripes sake, Newman's team finished in 10th place last year. That is better than 33 other drivers. How can you call a top-10 driver in the sport mediocre?

And need I remind anyone that in some cases, the end result of a race may not be reflective of the driver's ability alone. Ryan Newman is a top-notch driver, but some things are out of his hands. This is a team effort. In To win a race, the entire team must perform flawlessly. Ryan Newman doesn't change the lug nuts or refuel his race car. He does not go out of his way to run into other race cars.  

I just wonder why Newman is too often treated differently by some reporters/analysts/critics, not to mention NASCAR brass, than some of the other drivers. Yes, Dale, Jr. certainly comes to mind.

Newman has done some incredible things on the race track. I've listened to him when he is forced to limp an inferior race car to the finish line after being involved in someone else's mess. I've heard the never-ending determination, always striving to be better. I've heard his frustration. I've held my breath when a lug nut gets wedged in the nether reaches of a wheel causing a vibration; or some of the other bazaar things that have occurred. I've seen him go a lap and still finish in the top 5. Ryan Newman drives his heart out--every lap. There is nothing mediocre about him.

Let's go racing!

Image by Hans J E via Flickr

As if it was not exciting enough to know that we are just 31 days away from watching the Daytona 500, I just read the transcripts of an interview with the teams at Stewart-Haas Racing at Charlotte's NASCAR-CUP: Stewart-Haas Racing Media Tour at Charlotte, day 1 Media Tour.

It sounds like every member of this race team is pumped--ready to strap on their gear and go racing.

With so many changes--good changes--like bringing in the most popular woman in racing, Danica Patrick, Tony's new Crew Chief Steve Addington, and Tony's best buddy, Greg Zippadelli as competition director--this group is fired up. In addition, Ryan Newman has just announced new sponsorship from Aspen Dental, which is completely new to NASCAR. That is quite a coup! The mood, quite apparent in the interview, is contagious!

The last days of this off-season will be painful, at best, but filled with anticipation. Let's go racing!

Looking forward to Daytona 500

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Oh boy, in just 35 days, I will be busy preparing for the debut of the 2012 racing season. Hubby and I have been counting down the days until the Daytona 500 since the off-season began.

We will forgo a usual Sunday supper for our favorite flavor of Tornados. I like the Cheesy Pepper Jack while hubby prefers the Cheese and Pepperoni. We like to show our support for Ryan Newman's sponsors wherever possible.

We are a Ryan Newman family after all.

I anticipate that while I make for the first course of our decadent race day dining delight, something I call race-day guacamole, with the hot peppers I have been growing from last year's plants, on the sun porch. While I'm in the kitchen and hubby is putzing with who knows what in the garage, the living room will be alive with familiar voices as Race Day on SpeedTV fills our not-so-high definition television screen. We have not yet acquired that flat screen TV we have been dreaming about. We just can't afford to replace a perfectly good television set, but when this one breaks, that will be the first order of business. I can't wait to watch Ryan strap into his race car on a big, high-definition TV.

My morning preparation for the Daytona 500 will also include cranking up the laptop computer. I want to make sure its Windows Vista is fully updated, spybot has checked for any nasty bugs, and the hard drive defragged. I want the computer to run at top speed, which isn't great to start with, and certainly want no surprises while listening to Ryan being directed by his spotters. I want to hear every word from Tony Gibson as he talks to Ryan who will be flying around the racetrack at speeds nearing or surpassing 200 mph.

I used to sew during races, but no more. These days, I don't want to miss a moment of the action on the track. I'm sure I will wear my t-shirt that bears Ryan's name and likeness, as well as the #39 hat. Anything I can do to steer a little good luck Ryan's way, I'm happy to do.

Good luck Ryan for a great 2012 season.

Daytona testing live on Speed

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Seeing the race cars back on the track for Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona was a healing prescription for the off-season doldrums. Thanks speedtv.com for the very accommodating live video stream during the morning sessions and afternoon sessions televised for three consecutive days.

This little tease may make the next thirty-five days even more difficult as we wait for the first official race—the Budweiser Shootout on Feb. 18. The Daytona 500 is forty-three days from now, on Feb. 26.

NASCAR has implemented many changes for the 2012 season. One change that I don’t agree with has to do with radio communication. Drivers can no longer access other drivers, their teammates, or crew chiefs other than their own, during a race. As a fan, I admit it was often times difficult to monitor the action on the track, since I can access only one driver at a time. But I would gladly sacrifice my access in favor of safety. I have to agree with something tweeted Friday by Kenny Wallace when he called the change “dumb and dangerous.”

My only reference point here is when I listened to Ryan Newman--which I always do--talking to Denny Hamlin on the radio when the two of them were running in tandem. Newman, who was being pushed by Hamlin, gave Denny a heads up over the radio about what he was about to do, such as going to the inside or passing other cars on the high side. Since Hamlin couldn’t see through both his and Newman’s windshield, it was like he was driving blind. I think that information through communication made for safer racing overall. Without that communication, I think the driver in the rear will have a more difficult time of it. Oh there will be hand signals, but I’m not sure that is adequate or entirely safe.

This and many other changes were implemented by NASCAR, supposedly to make the racing better for fans and less costly for car owners. We don’t yet know how that will affect the racing. One of the goals though was to cut down on cars driving in tandem for 500 miles at Daytona and Talladega. Personally, I didn’t mind watching that style of racing, however, I can imagine it is frustrating for the drivers. Driving should be an individual activity, not reliant on someone else to make judgment calls and similar decisions.

The result of the changes so far, seem to be faster speeds, less tandem racing, and an overall better product. In addition to the radio communication, other new mandates include a smaller opening in the restrictor plate, a change in air flow through the radiator, shorter spoiler, larger shark fin, and electronic fuel injection engines.

We probably won’t know how the performance will change during the 2012 racing season based on this weekend’s testing. All we can hope for is that our favorite teams figure out how to take the best advantage of all they learned.

The rules were not the only changes. With all the team changes, it will be difficult, for example, to recognize A.J. Allmendinger in the Penske Racing’s #22 car. Former driver Kurt Busch is now in the Phoenix Racing #51 car. How strange will it be to see Kasey Kahne in the #5 car formerly driven by Mark Martin and Kyle Busch before that.

The first cup runs by Danica Patrick look really promising. How exciting it will be to see a woman running with the boys at the front of the pack. Go Danica!