Danica Mania Begins
Christopher Krul
Saturday February 18 2012, 9:00 PM

Well, I turned on the Bud Shootout and the first Fox Broadcast of NASCAR of 2012. Here I was expecting we would hear updates about driver changes, new cars, new rules, and talk about Tony Stewart being the defending champ. But no, they jump right into Danica Patrick racing in NASCAR. Danica Mania has begun.

If asked, I think most race fans and they will tell you, Danica Patrick is over rated. I really want to like Danica, but I was about to puke everytime Danica showed up on Fox offering her expert insight on NASCAR. Really? This is coming from someone who has raced part time in the Nationwide Series and lacks street cred. Is Danica reallythat bad of a driver? Run a search on Youtube to try to find good passes or wins. You will find more crashes, fights and temper tantrums than wins.

So then today I watched qualifying expecting to see her blister the field. She is in the back. No surprise. I took note how when she did not qualify as well all the attention shifted away from her and not a peep was said about her. But this kind of hype is nothing new in sports. Take such journalists favorites like Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods or Brett Favre. I have a theory that most of them have posters of them up on their walls. The sports journalists will cling to them and hype them up, then when something goes wrong or they choke, not a mention of them at all or criticize the heck out of them. I guess that is just how it works. Sadly while sports journalists are so hyperfocused on this they ignore other things.

I have watched Danica race. Saw her race at the St Pete Grand Prix. She crashed and all through the race she was whining on the radio. She is not setting the sport on fire. Unless you seen her racy Go Daddy Ads and that is about all there is to it. I will give her some credit, she gets the non-racing fans interest and that has been good for the sport. However it is amazing how alot of the non racing fans have no idea she only has 1 win in IRL. No championship and no Indy 500.

All this week, I am gonna be annoyed to hear,DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK tony stewart DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK dale earnhardt jr DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK DANICA PATRICK.


There are other stories out there in the garage that are going to get lost thanks to this overexposure of Danica Mania and it annoys me.


Jeff Gilder
@jeff-gilder   12 years ago
Can I get an amen for the brutha?
Robin L. Agner
@robin-l-agner   12 years ago
Amen!She must have missed the makeup booth last night on the way to watch the race. To me she looked pretty rough last night.
Tim Leeming
@tim-leeming   12 years ago
Very well written and very true. I think she is very, very over rated as a driver and it continues to bother me that her tight leather outfits with the loose zipper got her the ride over so many young drivers so much more entitled. From what I watched on FOX this weekend, you can find D.W. leading her cheering section. Wonder what the poor hick from Owensboro is going to do if it comes down to Danica and "Wild Thing" racing for the win? D.W. is such a Kyle Busch supporter he goes beserk when Candy Man does anything. She annoys me. D.W. annoys me. Both Busch boys annoy me. Maybe I need better medication. I'll call my doctor.
Christopher Krul
@christopher-krul   12 years ago
Thanks. I am just already sick of this Danica Mania. It was all over Indy and now it has bled into NASCAR. It is just pathetic how we prop up someone like Danica and ignore the real talent. Some call Dale Jr overrated but that guy has won races and Championships. Danica has just 1 win and only looks good in pictorials. Which brings me to another point. What message is Danica trying to send, "Hey girls, be pretty, stay pretty, take your clothes off and you can have anything"DW has a bias. Heck he probably has a Kyle Busch poster up on his bedroom wall. I can think of two reasons why DW likes Kyle so much. 1.)It reminds him of himself and 2.) He is driving a Toyota. One has to remember that DW was a partner in Toyota's racing development program. He is a company guy for Toyota. They even made a DW Edition Tundra truck. So of course he is going to be cheering on the best Toyota driver. He is gonna use his TV time to prop up Toyota. Then have Mickey in the booth and I cannot help but be compelled even more to mute the TV.
Christopher Krul
@christopher-krul   12 years ago
Yes, the athletes I have mentioned have have accomplished alot. What I was trying to get at is, how at times the media goes overboard with them to the point where they regarded as immortal or not even human at all. Like they cannot do no wrong. These guys have flaws. Danica has some serious flaws and she is regarded up there with the likes of Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods and Brett Favre who are accomplished athletes. I am not trying to say she is like any of them, but that she is grouped into those who are accomplished. But I just find it amazing how they get propped up and taken down when something goes wrong with them. I am just saying the obsessions can really get annoying at times and they go overboard. That is the part I was getting at. I mean who can remember every day you could not turn on ESPN without at least some mention of Favre and where he would be playing next year? You would even turn on a baseball game and they are talking about it. You could not escape it. Even the local news was making it top story.
Leon Phillips
@leon-phillips   12 years ago
Hay all she needs is seat time seat time seat time all she needs is seat time thats all you hear about these new drivers is seat time if they bring money to the table they Will give them seat time till the money runs out or the sponsers leave LOL