Danica Patrick knows she’s a polarizing figure. She’s well aware of all her critics. It’s understandable, given that Danica Patrick is the most well known of NASCAR drivers, despite the fact that she finished 27th in the standings this past Cup season. Patrick had an average finish of 26th place.
“The King” Richard Petty has bashed Danica before, but not quite like this.
When asked about Patrick’s chances to win a Sprint Cup race, Petty answered decisively according to Wheels.ca (via Jim Utter of the Charlotte Observer).
“(Only) if everybody else stayed home,” Petty said.
LOL! When you’re “The King,” you can get away with that. He’s the sport’s all-time winningest driver with 200 victories. You know how Jimmie Johnson seems to win all the time? He has 66 career victories.
Petty made his comments while attending the Canadian Motorsports Expo in Toronto. Later he talked about the positive contributions of Danica Patrick. How she’s brought so much additional attention to the sport of NASCAR.
“If she’d have been a male, nobody would ever know if she’d showed up at a race track,” Petty said according to Wheels.ca. “This is a female deal that’s driving her. There’s nothing wrong with that, because that’s good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport.”
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)