newjerseynewsroom.com

BY DAVE RAGAZZO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

You don’t need to be a racing fan to know who Danica Patrick is.

The female driver is preparing for her first full season with NASCAR, and expects it to be a learning experience. 

She got quite the lesson Thursday when she was nudged off the track and slammed into a SAFER barrier at the Gatorade Duels. The crash had many, including the commentators, holding their breath as Patrick gave the thumbs up and emerged from the wreckage.

"It happened really quick," said Patrick, according to the Vancouver Sun. "You just have to brace yourself. I guess in these situations I just have to be glad that I'm a small driver, and I've got room."

So after a scary moment, she now prepares for her official Sprint Cup debut on Sunday when she participates in the Daytona 500.

After becoming one of the most accomplished female drivers in IndyCar history, Patrick will look to make the full-time switch to NASCAR. She has competed in partial NASCAR seasons the last two years, and this year she will run the full Nationwide schedule racing for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports.

How she will do as a full-time NASCAR driver has been one of the burning questions of the 2012 season. Other NASCAR chimed in and told SportingNews exactly what they think of Patrick.

“Who doesn’t want to see a female driver come in here and be able to race with the guys and do well and be marketable?” says four-time champion Jeff Gordon. “It’s great for the sport.”

Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson agrees with Gordon and thinks that she has helped NASCAR attract different demographics of fans.

“We need people tuned in and watching and she brings in a lot of new fans,” says five-time champion Jimmie Johnson. “She has been able to get our sport onto a different platform, with mainstream media and things that she is involved with outside of racing. I’m excited about it.”

Patrick had some minor success racing at Daytona last year in her first Nationwide experience. She finished 14th and 10th in the two races.

However, the rules have changed from last year to this year, and one of the biggest changes is the two-car drafting system that has helped so many drivers in the past. Now drivers will be forced to race in huge packs.

“Oh, wow. Big time, big time,” she said about learning the new rules. “It’s going to be about getting some rapport with some of the drivers I haven’t raced with yet and getting a feel for how the pack running is going to go.”

It may take a while before the NASCAR world knows if Patrick will be a serious threat in the Nationwide series. Gordon thinks that patience will be a virtue for the 29-year-old Patrick. He believes that in time, she will become one of the top drivers in American motorsports.

“She’s a competitive driver, but I think that her lack of experience in the Cup cars – and for anybody, it doesn’t matter who it is – is still there,” he said. “It’s not going to happen overnight, it’s going to take some time.”