Carolyn Brewster: Hype surrounding Danica is unappealing to some fans
Danica Patrick has already generated many headlines in NASCAR, but some fans resent the hype surrounding the Nationwide Series rookie. // Stephen Dunn, Getty Images for NASCAR
COMMENTARY
I said nothing all through early February when we were reminded constantly that Danica Patrick would run at Daytona.
The casual NASCAR observer might have assumed Patrick was going to race in the Sprint Cup Series when, in fact, it was the Nationwide Series.
I sat quietly through all that hype. I remained silent when Patrick overcame a spin to place sixth in the ARCA race and commentators spewed accolades in such abundance that I thought I might spew myself. Someone needed to remind them that it was an ARCA race and not the Sprint Cup championship.
When Patrick did wreck in her much-anticipated Nationwide debut at Daytona, again, I said nothing.
Then her 36th starting position heading into the second Nationwide event at Auto Club Speedway made “news” and yet mum remained the word from me. But a stout 31st-place finish (and yes, I’m being sarcastic) at California has me ready to talk.
The problem hasn’t been her finishes. I fully expect any rookie coming into the Nationwide Series to have a learning curve. I assume mistakes will be made and wrecks are sure to happen on occasion. The real problem with Patrick’s finishes comes from all the media hype she receives prior to posting them.
Journalists and commentators shoved her debut down our NASCAR-loving throats. That kind of attention allows very little room for mistakes – and rookies need the space to make them. Better to climb the pedestal first than to fall off of one you should never have been placed on to begin with.
Clearly, Patrick has appeal. When she shows up, so do the ratings. But is she merely a flash in the pan? We have been peddled a product, and because of the mass attention she has received, there is an expectation to deliver sooner rather than later. That is amazingly unrealistic considering few drivers have their careers front-loaded with success.
The media is not alone, though, in creating the ridiculous frenzy. Patrick’s “toying” with her entrance into NASCAR over the past several years has made her just as guilty of the high expectations.
As a fan, it was this constant “will I run in NASCAR or maybe not” that initially soured me. The love-struck media only did more to compound my inability to accept her as legitimate.
And so, I am waiting. I am waiting not for just a good finish but for consistent finishes. Then, and only then, I might consider buying a ticket and hopping aboard the much-publicized Danica train.
