Danica retires in 2018

[Earl Marischal]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/motorsport/42033699

steve

Edited November 18, 2017 by Earl Marischal

[Old Coyote]

About time .......... she has never shown the ability to be a success in the Nascar arena 

[bbowser]

It's a results driven sport, like all sports.  As long as she was bringing sponsor dollars to the team she had a seat, regardless of where she ran.  As soon as $$ went away, so did she.  Pretty much the fate of any driver in this day and age.  Why else is Stewart-Haas putting Almirola in the car, he has never shown much on the track but he is bringing a sponsor to the table.

[aurfalien]

Hi,

That's too bad.  They should have given her a few more seasons.

She has done much better with Haas since signing in 2016 then her previous team.

[CRANMAN1]

Its too bad she has talent to drive a car. Would have liked her to do more Nationwide/Xfinity till she was ready to show what she could do in cup. Idk why she hasnt had same cars @ SHR as her other teammates but then again the others have struggled execpt for Harvick. And alot of the wrecks aren't her fault Think her indy car background and how she reacts to wrecks in Nascar is differnt and she just hasnt got that into frame of mind.

[donb]

It's a results driven sport, like all sports.  As long as she was bringing sponsor dollars to the team she had a seat, regardless of where she ran.  As soon as $$ went away, so did she.  Pretty much the fate of any driver in this day and age.  Why else is Stewart-Haas putting Almirola in the car, he has never shown much on the track but he is bringing a sponsor to the table.

I agree. I think she was a good driver but poor results can only go so far. Money talks and BS walks!

[MarkJ]

I wonder how she would have done with a top flight crew chief and the best equipment available. She always ran up front at Indy in an indycar which is no easy task. I think they just used her to get sponsors but didn't really try to win with her. 

[aurfalien]

I wonder how she would have done with a top flight crew chief and the best equipment available. She always ran up front at Indy in an indycar which is no easy task. I think they just used her to get sponsors but didn't really try to win with her. 

Hi,

I agree even though I don't follow racing even 50% of the time.  I think it'd be cool to see her back full time in Indy.

[restoman]

Before SHR switched to Ford, they had a close working relationship with Hendrick and used Hendrick engines and chassis, with a fair bit of engineering help from Hendrick teams...it was really some of the best equipment in the series.

She has had some good runs but never enough to be anywhere near the consistency needed to be competitive. Whether it was a lack of chemistry with her crew chiefs or a failure on her part to communicate what she needed to run fast, she never really made it out of the 25-30th place field.

In a "what have you done lately" series, she couldn't produce. Tony Stewart is a results-driven guy himself - you had to know that at some point, her lack of said results and loads of torn-up equipment was going to factor in to her future. Throw in a lack of big $$$$ sponsorship and it was her time to leave.

I gotta admit though: she was a lot easier to like once the talking heads stopped telling us how good she was, usually seconds before she stuffed the car into the wall.

[martinfan5]

Hi,

That's too bad.  They should have given her a few more seasons.

She has done much better with Haas since signing in 2016 then her previous team.

Her entire NASCAR Cup career has been with SHR( Stewart HAAS Racing)

Edited November 20, 2017 by martinfan5

[martinfan5]

I wonder how she would have done with a top flight crew chief and the best equipment available. She always ran up front at Indy in an indycar which is no easy task. I think they just used her to get sponsors but didn't really try to win with her. 

What are you talking about ?,  when SHR was with Chevy, all their chassis's and engines , R&D and everything else came from HMS, so for a Chevy team you dont get much better than HMS during the their time with Chevy,  unless you go over to Toyota.  SHR was off this year because it was the first year as  Ford team, so they were not on point as they were for 2016,   she is what she is, a 25th place driver, nothing more, nothing less,  she had the equipment to be front runner.

I am just commenting on the equipment side, not the personal side.

 

Edited November 20, 2017 by martinfan5

[aurfalien]

Its helps to know what you are talking about,  her entire NASCAR Cup career has been with SHR( Stewart HAAS Racing)

Odd, I guess I misunderstood Wikipedia on her.  Thanks for the correction.

 

[martinfan5]

Odd, I guess I misunderstood Wikipedia on her.  Thanks for the correction.

When she started in NASCAR, she was driving for Jr Motorsports in the Nationwide series( which gets support from HMS) she went part time in the Cup Series in 2011 driving part time for joint venture between Tommy Bladwin Racing and SHR .  WHat that means is SHR was providing the cars/engines/support to Tommy Bladwin Racing for when Danica was in the car, but it was all SHR , but for the paper work on NASCAR's side, it was TBR that owned the car.

You might of been talking about her entire NASCAR career, I was talking about just her Cup part .

 

Edited November 20, 2017 by martinfan5

[aurfalien]

When she started in NASCAR, she was driving for Jr Motorsports in the Nationwide series( which gets support from HMS) she went part time in the Cup Series in 2011 driving part time for joint venture between Tommy Bladwin Racing and SHR .  WHat that means is SHR was providing the cars/engines/support to Tommy Bladwin Racing for when Danica was in the car, but it was all SHR , but for the paper work on NASCAR's side, it was TBR that owned the car.

You might of been talking about her entire NASCAR career, I was talking about just her Cup part .

 

Hi,

Ahhh yes but what I gleaned just now is how seemingly over complicated it has become to simply drive a car as fast as one can w/o wrecking and hopefully finishing in the top.

Even eating has gotten complicated.

[iBorg]

I think Kyle Petty summed up Danicamania well. 

"She's just a marketing machine," Petty told Speed's Matt Clark. "In a market where everybody who crawls into a race car on Sunday afternoon, in Cup racing is male, she's the female. I don't have a problem with her being a marketing machine. More power to her. Fans have bought into the marketing to think she's a race car driver. She can go fast, and I've seen her go fast. She drives the wheels off it when she goes fast. But she's not a race car driver."

Petty even brought up a fitting quote from his father, famed driver Richard Petty.

"The King always had that stupid saying, but it's true. 'Lots of drivers can drive fast, but very few drivers can race.' Danica has been the perfect example of someone who can qualify better than what she runs. She can go fast, but she can't race."

Petty even tried to sugarcoat it a bit at the end, but there is no doubt he's not impressed with Patrick as a driver.

"I think she's come a long way," he said. "But she's still not a race car driver and I don't think she's ever going to be a race car driver."

Read more: http://autoweek.com/article/nascar-sprint-cup/kyle-petty-says-danica-patrick-marketing-machine-not-race-car-driver#ixzz4yw07YpLO

 

I really wish she'd been more successful. Unfortunately she could run well for part of a race but couldn't manage to drive a full race without making some mistake. In five  years of full time Cup competition her DNFs averaged 5.5 per year. That's a lot of tore up metal. While she might not have been responsible for all of those, her ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time was amazing. Her average finish each of her career years was 24th. Those are statistics that aren't going to get you a top flight car. 

[1930fordpickup]

Danicas sponsorship money are the only reason she lasted as long as she did. 

Between her and JR taking up 80% of the tv time was a huge turn off.  Glad they are off the sprint cup track. 

[droogie]

I wonder how much of the fan base will go with them.

[Modeltruckbuilder]

Danicas sponsorship money are the only reason she lasted as long as she did. 

Between her and JR taking up 80% of the tv time was a huge turn off.  Glad they are off the sprint cup track. 

Agreed. To me, Dale Jr. was the poster boy for everything thats wrong with todays Nascar. He got as far as he did because of who he is. His last name brought in sponsors, and as long as he had a sponsor he had a ride. Danica was all hype, and she rode the wave as long as she had a sponsor. I won't miss either one of them.

Edited November 20, 2017 by Modeltruckbuilder

[restoman]

Agreed. To me, Dale Jr. was the poster boy for everything thats wrong with todays Nascar. He got as far as he did because of who he is. His last name brought in sponsors, and as long as he had a sponsor he had a ride. Danica was all hype, and she rode the wave as long as she had a sponsor. I won't miss either one of them.

Oh,  I don't know... he did manage to make it to the podium 26 times. 

He wasn't his Dad on the track, no doubt, and the Earnhardt name is a big one, but I think he managed to get and keep the sponsors on his own. Sponsors spend to get their name out their - there is no other reason - and like it or not, Jr. delivered that, along with some decent race results throughout his career.

I thin the majority of fans see him as a bit of a throwback to the way things used to be. He's about as honest and plain-spoken as anyone in the garage. 

Chase Elliot is going to pick up a lot of Jr. fans, so if you aren't wild about particular drivers getting a lot of air time hold onto your hat: it ain't over yet!

[iBorg]

I think Nascar's ratings will continue to decline with Jr.'s retirement. I'm not sure anyone will miss Danica. Many of the old time fans supported Jr. for his name and will stop watching with his retirement.

Nascar's problem is the graying of the fan base. I don't see much hope in that not continuing. I know twenty somethings that don't miss NFL or MLB games but don't care if a race is on or not. Nascar's best chance is if enough of the older fans will support Chase Elliot as a throwback to Bill. That's a big if. Unless Nascar seriously addresses their ratings and the cost to compete, I think the sanctioning body is starting a irreversible decline. The 1990's will be remembered as the golden era much like drag racing in the 60's.

[DrKerry]

Always liked her, saw her rise from driving shifter karts near my home town. Watched her race in Rockton and Durand Ill, when she was quite younger.... She's got talent and can drive, would of been better if everyone would of let her alone to race instead of diliberatly taking her out.... Just sayin'!!!!!!

[FordRodnKustom]

I agree with most of the analysis above but I think her real talent was with open wheel racing and she never really made a successful transition into the heavier stock cars. Perhaps she will find her place again at Indy in '18. Good luck.

[Greg Myers]

My lasting memory will always be seeing her slide around the last turn at PIR with flames pouring from her car as she crashed on the last lap into several other cars that had a chance to score points.

[Modeltruckbuilder]

Always liked her, saw her rise from driving shifter karts near my home town. Watched her race in Rockton and Durand Ill, when she was quite younger.... She's got talent and can drive, would of been better if everyone would of let her alone to race instead of diliberatly taking her out.... Just sayin'!!!!!!

She was over hyped from day one. Thankfully she never got anyone seriously hurt let alone kill someone like Deborah Renshaw did. The media used her as an attraction to promote the sport, and in the end she did more harm than good.

[arcaguy]

It's good that she is retired. She crashed in just about every race! Must have cost her owners a ton in cars. Perhaps she will end up in broadcasting where she may flourish.