Danica Patrick’s NASCAR education continued this past weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Let’s just say that class was rough. She had early race contact with 68-year old Morgan Shepherd and that wrecked the car and her attitude for the rest of the race. We feel bad for her crew chief Tony Eury Jr after reading some of the things she was throwing at him during the race.
It seems like Danica missed the part about contact in NASCAR racing. Eury’s comments after the race were interesting because he let on about a bunch of back and forth he had with Danica during the race. He was quoted in an ESPN.com story as saying, “She told me once, ‘The guy in front of me just hit the car in front of him.” Apparently Eury responded by saying, “Well, that’s one way you get by people.”
New Hampshire is a tough track because it’s short at only a mile in length, also it’s flat with virtually no banking. Patrick’s experience in a stock car to this point has been on longer tracks with more banking.
No one expected Danica to climb into a stock car and become a dominant force. The real test of her ability and commitment will come after a season of competition. If she’s invested in the program and committed to becoming successful in a stock car, it’ll be easy to chart her development. Needless to say, it’s still very early in that process.
Source — ESPN.com — A ho-hum return to NASCAR for Danica
