Agent Patrick Infiltrates Enemy Lines

Here’s what I hope Danica’s 6^th-place finish in Saturday’s ARCA race really said:

“Hi, I’m Danica Patrick. I’m beautiful, charming, a good racecar driver and, sometimes, a real pistol!

I’m over here driving stock cars because I want to stretch my legs a little bit, and it could prove to be a lucrative career move for me in the future but, for now, I’ll just be visiting.

My regular job is driving in the IZOD IndyCar Series, and that season starts very soon. The cars are really cool looking, the racing is super close—with open wheels, if you can believe that—and we go as fast as 230 mph at the Indianapolis 500.

If you liked watching me in a stock car, you should really check me out in an Indycar. That’s where I do my best work. And, by the way, you won’t have any trouble spotting me—just look for the GoDaddy.com logo. I’m sponsored by them in the IndyCar Series, too.”

Alright, don’t let this, maybe, overly optimistic rant fool you—I tossed the rose-colored glasses out years ago. I can see the handwriting on the wall. I know that anything less than a series of disastrous forays in stock cars means DP will likely be heading to NASCAR full-time, sooner rather than later.

And for the record, if these words somehow, miraculously reach your ears, Danica, I truly hope you make a career out of IndyCar. I recognize NASCAR is a quantum leap in prominence and income for you, but there’s something to be said for sticking to your roots when all other signs say yank them up and plant them elsewhere. You can be the one high-profile driver that has plenty of options but recognizes the growth potential of IndyCar, sticks with it, and truly helps make it grow. Years from now, you can say I helped build that… satisfying. I digress.

In the meantime, while Danica tests her wings, I’m choosing (possibly, quite foolishly) to view all the attention she has gotten thus far and will get in fender-world to just be free advertising for the IZOD IndyCar Series.

What the future holds, I don’t think anyone knows—including Danica—but for now, let’s enjoy the ride.

See things a little differently? Cool. I embrace and encourage opposing views. Make a comment or send me a Tweet, if you’re so inclined… and thanks.

—JM