Nationwide Series - Drive4COPD 300

[DanicaFan]

Well, Danica makes her Nationwide Series debut this Saturday for the Drive4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway. The race will be televised on ESPN2 at 1pm Eastern on Saturday, Feb13th.

I cant wait. I feel that Danica will have a great race. I know she will crack the top 10, I can feel a top 5 possibly.

The Nationwide Series will practice today from 3-5pm Eastern. They practice on Thursday as well. Qualifications are this Friday at 3:10pm Eastern

[Mark in Oshawa]

DF...this is the Nationwide series. Be warned this isn't going to be easy, and if you think she is going to be in the top 5 on a regular basis, you are dreaming.....this is a tough sport for anyone to just walk into. Dario Franchitti struggled and only a really delusional fan would believe Danica would succeed where Dario failed...

[Easy Drifter]

Well at least DF is not predicting a win which is almost a first.
A top 20 would be a good result.
The Nationwide crowd will go all over the track and Danica like to play catfish (bottom feeder) so that will make a difference to her race.

[TURN3]

The only open wheel regular that I can think of that has been moderately successful in their first venture is PT. He ran Daytona in a Nationwide car for an absolute back of pack team a few years back and drafted up to about 12th before John Andretti spun him (out of jealousy). I think he still finished in the top 20 or so thanks to a crash fest. About all the other talented open wheelers have started out with tons of testing, halfway respectable Nationwide programs, or ARCA races and we all know the results. Little Princess says she just wants seat time so the expectations of her results aren't too high. She will draft in the 2nd pack and if she doesn't cause a pile up she'll be at the back of the back pack still running toward the end. Don't see the media glossing this over very easily so start expecting the storys to read more like "She gained valuable experience and should be a contender in Fontana...etc etc etc"

[71Fan]

Yup, expecting anything more than a quality lead lap finish is imo expecting way too much. But, with a two tire late race stop a top 10 or 15 would certainly not be out of the question depending on whether she restarts on the top or bottom.

[NickFalzone]

I would like to see Danica do well, but the likeliness of her crashing is far higher than getting a top 15 or top 20 finish this weekend. Although I was impressed with her run at Arca, the reality is that she was only a few feet from backing hard into the wall. At higher speeds with more aggressive and competitive drivers, it's hard for me to believe this weekend will end on a similar high note.

[slorydn1]

I do hope she does well, although I am not looking forward to all the hype that will surround her every move.

Just to keep everything about early results in Nascar in perspective, just remember that in this race in 2006, Burney Lamar finished P2 and almost pulled off the win driving a "class of the field" KHI car (the winner, Tony Stewart, was also driving a KHI car)......

Where is he now? mokin:

[dunes]

As rowdy said to cole in days of blunders.....
"Now go get your own can and lets see how you do in a crowd".
All the best to her and her crew, It won't be easy out there.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I do hope she does well, although I am not looking forward to all the hype that will surround her every move.

Just to keep everything about early results in Nascar in perspective, just remember that in this race in 2006, Burney Lamar finished P2 and almost pulled off the win driving a "class of the field" KHI car (the winner, Tony Stewart, was also driving a KHI car)......

Where is he now? mokin:

He did marry a Supermodel....so I think ole Burney don't care!!!!

[Mark in Oshawa]

The only open wheel regular that I can think of that has been moderately successful in their first venture is PT. He ran Daytona in a Nationwide car for an absolute back of pack team a few years back and drafted up to about 12th before John Andretti spun him (out of jealousy). I think he still finished in the top 20 or so thanks to a crash fest. About all the other talented open wheelers have started out with tons of testing, halfway respectable Nationwide programs, or ARCA races and we all know the results. Little Princess says she just wants seat time so the expectations of her results aren't too high. She will draft in the 2nd pack and if she doesn't cause a pile up she'll be at the back of the back pack still running toward the end. Don't see the media glossing this over very easily so start expecting the storys to read more like "She gained valuable experience and should be a contender in Fontana...etc etc etc"

I am sure Danica has more realistic projections than her fans. Danica has never said she was going to be a contender. DanicaFan is the one who isn't realistic.

Personally, doing well at Daytona is more of a crapshoot than running and doing well at the intermediates and short tracks. THERE is where we will really see what Danica is made of. Daytona is not as bad as Talladega for eliminating the role of the driver, but it is a superspeedway, and handling the draft here and at Dega is NOT a skill you see applied at places like Fontana, Texas, Charlotte et al...