Jeff Gluck, of SB Nation, called her run in the New England 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway “ugly, embarrassing and even a bit shocking.”

He wrote:

Most observers didn’t expect Danica to run much better than she did (despite her stated goal of a top-15 finish), so that wasn’t the surprising part. What was stunning was listening to her radio chatter and beginning to understand just how little she knows about NASCAR.

Throughout the race, Danica was asking questions most every NASCAR fan already knows the answer to. She didn’t know to try different lines to gain speed. She didn’t know about the bump-and-run (she should have a meeting with Kurt Busch: see Lenox Industrial Tools 301). She didn’t know that there was more grip at the bottom of the track. Basic stuff.

Gluck observed:

Those types of comments are what a rookie driver would say in ARCA or maybe a Late Model series; they aren’t typical radio chatter in the second-highest level of stock-car racing in the world.

And while he is correct, that it was ugly and embarrassing, I don’t think it was all too shocking.

Given her open-wheel background, Danica is not used to contact. Contact is much more dangerous in IndyCar than NASCAR because of the lighter weight of the cars and the high speeds. In IndyCar, if the forward edge of your tire touches the rear edge of another driver’s tire, your car is flung upwards. (See the result here.) That is why it isn’t surprising that Danica had no idea that contact – when you haven’t done anything to piss off another driver – is the norm.

 Also, in IndyCar the wheels are exposed to cool air all the time. This allows the car’s brakes to perform better and allows the car to handle better. That, I suspect, explains why Patrick is not used to having to search for different lines to gain speed. She’s not used to the car slipping and sliding around. In IndyCar, the cars handle well enough that any line works (you drive where others aren’t driving). In NASCAR, the setup is much more sensitive to the line. So, drivers have to do a lot more searching.

In Danica’s defense, it’s unrealistic to expect her to climb into the seat of a stock car and know everything about the cars, the tracks, and NASCAR racing, which is considerably different from IndyCar. Granted, the Nationwide Series is probably not the series in which to learn this stuff.

One year ago, I wrote:

I think that if she decides to move into NASCAR, she should go through the ARCA series. There, she can cut her teeth in stock car racing, and get familiar with the skills and terminology it takes to be successful.  She needs to learn how to muscle one of these stock cars around a track.

I think that racing in the ARCA Re/Max Series would have allowed her the time to learn this stuff. But, in this day and age, sponsor patience won’t allow that. Danica has name recognition, and it’s that recognition that GoDaddy wants to capitalize on right now. As a result, we see her in the Nationwide Series, out of her league*.

* Before you Patrick supporters get bent out of shape, I don’t mean she is out of her league talent-wise; I am strictly speaking about experience.

More-deserving and/or more experienced drivers without name recognition do not attract a sponsor’s attention enough to earn high-quality rides. This is not always the case, but it is certainly more prevalent now. And ultimately, sponsors have virtually all of the power.

Knowing that GoDaddy wanted Danica in one of the top series sooner rather than later, I feel that JRM officials needed to do more to prepare her for the adjustment. It’s not really her fault she doesn’t know the basics. But, JRM should have checked that she did know and understand them before putting her in the car. NASCAR is not a place to throw someone to the wolves and see how they do, especially if they want her foray into NASCAR to appear legitimate, instead of appearing like a marketing gimmick.

But, I suspect that since no one at JRM has an open-wheel background, they didn’t anticipate how much different the cars are and how much of an adjustment it would be for her. Perhaps they should have, but it’s a moot point now.

If anything, the New England 200 should be a wake-up call for JRM. They should go back to the drawing board and make sure Danica understands all of the aspects of NASCAR racing. Otherwise, she will never succeed.

Patrick garnered a lot of press attention in her decision to move over to stock cars, and she garnered a lot of attention in the ARCA race coverage. At one point, I could have sworn it said the ARCA Danica Racing Series. Of course, I could be mistaken.

Patrick proved to be a quick study, staying in the lead draft and stayed out of trouble for the first half of the race. Around lap 50, she got loose, and out of the groove. She was quickly shuffled to the back. Three laps later, Nelson Piquet Jr, the former Formula One driver who was also making his stock car debut, made contact with Patrick, sending her spinning through the infield grass.

Patrick made an amazing save — at one point completely letting go of the wheel (she may have been praying) — and kept the car off the wall. (Conspiracy theorists might speculate that her car was radio controlled.)

She made two pit stops to stay on the lead lap and used a late caution to catch the lead draft. She battled back to a very respectable sixth place finish.

Patrick stayed calm and cool in the race car and was very patient, something she’s not really known for in Indy Car.

As we all know, one race does not a stock car career make, but she did exactly what she had to in her first outting. Good for her.

On Monday, the decision will be made as to whether or not she starts the Nationwide Series opener at Daytona.

GoDaddy.com will to be the sponsor, and the car number will be the No. 7, her current IndyCar number. Most of the races she will enter will run before or after the IndyCar season, as she would like to focus on that.

She will also enter the ARCA Series opener at Daytona International Speedway to get her approved for the Nationwide Series race.

Patrick said:

It has been a long time coming, but the stars finally aligned for me with GoDaddy and JRM. I have always said I love to drive, and if I could make it work to race in both IndyCar and NASCAR – with the right sponsor, like GoDaddy.com and the right team, like JRM – then I’d love to drive in NASCAR.

JRM General Manager Kelley Earnhardt said:

One of the things JRM has to offer is proven NASCAR experience. This is a team sport, and our team will help Danica get up to speed quickly. She’s slated to begin working with our crew starting with the upcoming ARCA tests.

Patrick will test in an ARCA car next week.

This is a good move for Patrick, I think, because she needs to gain more stock car experience before coming to NASCAR full time, and attempting to compete with the big boys in the Sprint Cup Series, as I said back in June.