I promise. Unless she pulls a rabbit out of her helmet and actually wins. lol

I’m sitting here watching the recording of the Nationwide Series season opening in Daytona. The race is long over, and everyone knows who won.  Except me. I’m at alittle over halfway through the race, and I need to vent.

The one thing I knew, for sure, before starting the DVR, was Danica did not win. I’m sure if she had, I’d have never avoided the breaking news. And, now I’ve witnessed the reason why. She wrecked. Poor thing. Now I can watch the rest of the race without all the Danica hoopla.

And here comes the vent.

I am thrilled to see a female taking on NASCAR. But she’s not the first. In fact, she wasn’t the only female in today’s race. Chrissy Wallace was taken out in the first few laps. Yes, you recognize that last name. She’s Rusty’s niece. She’s made a handful of races since the 2008 season in the Truck Series, and is attempting a move into the Nationwide series this year.  Bet you hadn’t heard that, had you?

Of course not.  She doesn’t have the marketing panache of the Go Daddy Girl.

Jennifer Jo Cobb is made her rookie debut in the Truck Series race tonight, too by the way.

And there was Shawna Robinson, who attempted all three series, including Sprint Cup from 1991-2005. Damn, I really wanted it to be her.

Erin Crocker made four Nationwide starts in 2005.

I can take you back to the beginning from NASCAR’s Strictly Stock and Grand National Series.  Sara Christian 1949-50. Louise Smith 1950-51. Ethel Mobley 1949. Ann Bunselmeyer, Ann Chester, Sandy Lynch. Marian Pagan, Fifi Scott. Goldie Parsons in 1965. Christine Beckers in 1977. Janet Guthrie 1976-1980. Lella Lombardi 1977. Robin McCall 1964.

I guess we’ve all but forgotten Patty Moise. First woman to lead a Busch Series race in 1987. First to win a qualifying race in 1988.  In 1990 she broke the one lap closed course speed record at Talladega with a lap of 217.498 mph. In 1995 Patty set a speed record for qualifying at Atlanta.

There are more. Deborah Renshaw in the Craftsman Truck Series 2004-05. Kelly Sutton, trucks 2003-05.

The list is short, for sure. But it’s there. And it’s going to take someone like Danica and the marketing monsters behind her to bust the doors open and make a female racer starting in the field just another day at the track.

The women and girls out there, who want to be serious competitors in this sport and earn their way into the big league, need the opportunity that Danica & Co are forging.

They need to be seen, not only as serious competitors, but as contenders, to earn those almighty sponsorship dollars — and keep them. But the media frenzy is driving me nuts.

And it has me worried. Her Go Daddy sponsor worries me more, with its T&A sex-sells strategy.

Danica has to perform.

She has a solid Indy record to bring to the table.  Five years, two teams, 81 IRL races, 3 poles, 41 top 10’s, and 1 historic win, with season rankings progressing from 12th to 5th. Compare that to Tony Stewart’s five years, 25 IRL races, 8 poles, 15 Top 10’s, 10 Top 5’s, and 3 wins. Solid. Not spectacular. Either one of them.

But, Tony didn’t have to make the open wheel to stock car transition in the fish bowl Danica is doing it.

Yes, Tony set stock car racing on its ear by tearing up his 1999 Rookie Season with 3 Cup wins and finishing 4th overall. But he spent two seasons in the conversion before that, entering only enough races to get that all important “seat time” you hear Danica talking about.

Danica has the sponsors (read money), the background, and the attention. She’s going to need to do something with it before she irritates the shit out of the 40% female fan base, the dwindling slew of hardcore redneck Neanderthals, and the other competitors on the track with the frenzied marketing strategy.

Kyle Busch nailed it on the head. “The only thing I will say is that TV has been doing a horrible job because they’ve been covering her way too much, which isn’t a problem. That’s fine, you’ve got all these people watching TV, and they want to hear about Danica. Well then, take advantage of that and show the less funded-team, the underprivileged people that want to have funding so they can race the rest of the year. Danica is only going to be here for 12 races or whatever it is this year. It would help the rest of those teams that want to try to make a full run at it get the coverage that they need and the exposure that they deserve to try to race the full season. Just my opinion.”

To her credit, Danica has shown nothing but deference to the veteran drivers. But, too much of that sentiment, and the publicity blitz backfires.

She is poised to make huge inroads for women in NASCAR. I want to see it. I really do. And, already, I dread the media spin. But if it will open doors and create opportunities, I can live with it.

If she cracks under the pressure, or just can’t make the transition, my fear is that she will set women back 20 years, and they will continue to struggle, like Chrissy, for sponsorship.

So, dammit, Go Danica! Go get ‘em! And take Chrissy with you!