Patrick finally enters NASCAR

[YmoBeThere]

"The wait is over. Danica Patrick has reportedly reached a deal to join NASCAR with JR Motorsports."

Above was noted on Yahoo! Sports just a minute ago.

[Rolvix]

Wooh! (I guess?)
I don't follow racing, what did she race in before?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Wooh! (I guess?)
I don't follow racing, what did she race in before?

Indy cars. She started on David Letterman's team, but apparently either she wouldn't put out or he wasn't interested in her (most likely the former and not the latter, she's a damn good looking woman), so she changed teams a couple of years ago. Wonder if she ever met Tiger...? I think her best Indy finish was 4th, in her first start there. She led it near the end a couple of years ago, but yellow flags put her back in the field a bit.

[Lavabe]

Wooh! (I guess?)
I don't follow racing, what did she race in before?

You need to join our fantasy NASCAR league.

[Rolvix]

Wooh! (I guess?)
I don't follow racing, what did she race in before?

You need to join our fantasy NASCAR league.

I don't know anything about NASCAR! (Except to pick Jimmie Johnson)

[Lavabe]

Wooh! (I guess?)
I don't follow racing, what did she race in before?

You need to join our fantasy NASCAR league.

I don't know anything about NASCAR! (Except to pick Jimmie Johnson)

You need to join our fantasy NASCAR league.

[Miles]

Wooh! (I guess?)
I don't follow racing, what did she race in before?

You need to join our fantasy NASCAR league.

I don't know anything about NASCAR! (Except to pick Jimmie Johnson)

I didn't know anything about NASCAR either, but I joined and despite the minor interference of moving cross-country this spring, I really enjoyed it and learned a lot about NASCAR. I have a new-found appreciation for the sport and look forward to playing next year.

[TillyGalore]

Too bad Danny Pat won't be in the fantasy league.

I will watch the Nationwide races she is in. I'd love to see her give blech a run for his money.

I still hate the busches. In case anyone was wondering.

[Lavabe]

Too bad Danny Pat won't be in the fantasy league.

I will watch the Nationwide races she is in. I'd love to see her give blech a run for his money.

I still hate the busches. In case anyone was wondering.

You'll be rooting for her because it looks like she'll be part of Jr's team.

And she'll have access to Hendrick folks.

She will be successful in getting a lot of people to go to the races.

[YmoBeThere]

I won't be rooting against her, but I certainly won't be rooting for her.

(Why not Mr. Meanie?)

Because she was a fair to middling driver at best.

[rockymtn devil]

I won't be rooting against her, but I certainly won't be rooting for her.

(Why not Mr. Meanie?)

Because she was a fair to middling driver at best.

I think Danica suffers from her media exposure (not that I'm sympathetic; she earns plenty based purely on that exposure). Because she's so exposed, people expect her to be the Jimmy Johnson of IRL and consider her to be mediocre because she isn't. But she isn't a disappointment either.

In five seasons in IRL, she's finished: 12 (rookie of the year), 9, 7, 6 (highest American), and 5 (highest of any non-Penski/Ganassi driver).

Not only has she improved every season, but she's been a consistent top-10 driver. I think that's better than "fair to middling...at best." No?

[bjornolf]

Did I hear that she's gonna be driving the "Go Daddy" car, or did I hear that wrong? Does that mean I'll be seeing her gyrating next to Candice Michelle in a commercial soon?

Does this just torpedo all her credibility as a serious driver, or am I reading too much into this?

[rockymtn devil]

Did I hear that she's gonna be driving the "Go Daddy" car, or did I hear that wrong? Does that mean I'll be seeing her gyrating next to Candice Michelle in a commercial soon?

You heard right. I just saw the car on SportsCenter. Apparently she's only driving NASCAR on a limited basis, to the extent it doesn't interfere with her IRL driving. It sounds like a trial run for her: prove yourself in some races on the Nationwide series and you can move up to the Spring Cup.

Why would it kill her credibility? Sponsorship is the lifeblood of NASCAR, and she already had a built-in endorsement deal with GoDaddy.

[Miles]

Did I hear that she's gonna be driving the "Go Daddy" car, or did I hear that wrong? Does that mean I'll be seeing her gyrating next to Candice Michelle in a commercial soon?

Does this just torpedo all her credibility as a serious driver, or am I reading too much into this?

I don't think it affects credibility as a serious driver in any sport/cup series. However, I think it sucks and there's a lot more than just coincidence that an attractive women is sponsored by GoDaddy. For what it's worth: I'll never use GoDaddy products or services and try to avoid them like the plague.

[Lavabe]

Forgive my ignorance, but what EXACTLY does "godaddy" do? Who are their competitors?

[bjornolf]

Forgive my ignorance, but what EXACTLY does "godaddy" do? Who are their competitors?

I believe they are a webname registration site. Aren't they?

[Miles]

Forgive my ignorance, but what EXACTLY does "godaddy" do? Who are their competitors?

bjornolf pretty much got it all right. THey, like a jillion other companies, offer a variety of web hosting services: site hosting, design, e-mail, they're a CA for getting ssl certificates and bunch of other boring nerdy stuff. As far as I can tell, there is nothing unique about their services compared to their competitors, other than shamelessly objectifying women in their advertising.

[YmoBeThere]

I won't be rooting against her, but I certainly won't be rooting for her.

(Why not Mr. Meanie?)

Because she was a fair to middling driver at best.

I think Danica suffers from her media exposure (not that I'm sympathetic; she earns plenty based purely on that exposure). Because she's so exposed, people expect her to be the Jimmy Johnson of IRL and consider her to be mediocre because she isn't. But she isn't a disappointment either.

In five seasons in IRL, she's finished: 12 (rookie of the year), 9, 7, 6 (highest American), and 5 (highest of any non-Penski/Ganassi driver).

Not only has she improved every season, but she's been a consistent top-10 driver. I think that's better than "fair to middling...at best." No?

Yes and no. I base my opinions on the inability, perhaps with the exception of JPM, of recent Indy driver's to do much of anything in Nascar. There is a big difference between open wheel and Nascar, one could just look at the IROC results of years past to gauge that. If I remember those results correctly. So, my response probably needed the additional background.

[DukeUsul]

Forgive my ignorance, but what EXACTLY does "godaddy" do? Who are their competitors?

bjornolf pretty much got it all right. THey, like a jillion other companies, offer a variety of web hosting services: site hosting, design, e-mail, they're a CA for getting ssl certificates and bunch of other boring nerdy stuff. As far as I can tell, there is nothing unique about their services compared to their competitors, other than shamelessly objectifying women in their advertising.

They also do a very poor job of it and are more expensive than most others. Their signup process is atrocious - constantly trying to upsell you and in somewhat underhanded ways.

There are many reasons not to use GoDaddy that have nothing to do with their advertising choices.

[Miles]

Forgive my ignorance, but what EXACTLY does "godaddy" do? Who are their competitors?

bjornolf pretty much got it all right. THey, like a jillion other companies, offer a variety of web hosting services: site hosting, design, e-mail, they're a CA for getting ssl certificates and bunch of other boring nerdy stuff. As far as I can tell, there is nothing unique about their services compared to their competitors, other than shamelessly objectifying women in their advertising.

They also do a very poor job of it and are more expensive than most others. Their signup process is atrocious - constantly trying to upsell you and in somewhat underhanded ways.

There are many reasons not to use GoDaddy that have nothing to do with their advertising choices.

I figured as much. When your product sucks, it's time to let sex sell.