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Okay, maybe that's overstated, or just premature. But after the article in USA Today referring to Queen Danica as a "falling star", questions are being asked and she's doing her best to field them with vague answers. Earlier in the year when reporters asked the same questions about her absence in Go Daddy ads, she reportedly "blew them off", but now she can dodge them no longer.
She's yet to even run her first full year at the top level of NASCAR and already there are whispers that she may be about done racing. As another reporter said, "Beauty only lasts so long. When it's gone, you'd better have done something else to prove yourself. She hasn't."
At the core of the recent questions is the change in advertising agency for Go Daddy, and the very conspicuous absence of Danica in the ad campaign. If the company had opted to go a whole different direction, it may be understandable that she wasn't in the commercials. But since the message is virtually unchanged ("Look! We have half-dressed sexy women for you to look at!") and she is left out, it seems more that she's been replaced than merely the victim of a change in direction for the company.
And this is where the story of Danica Patrick takes a turn. She's ridden the wave of superstar all the way into NASCAR even with a lackluster performance in IndyCar racing, and virtually no results at all in stock cars. Go Daddy has been her free pass as she had her choice of teams from the many who courted her (and her big-money sponsor). But did that help or hinder her? Could Danica have been a better driver if she'd had to post real results in order to keep her sponsor? Think about how many drivers, under threat of losing their ride or sponsor, suddenly found themselves with a string of solid top-fives and a victory thrown in for good measure. Did their equipment suddenly improve, or did they tweak their attitude and dig a little deeper with a sense of urgency?
Could it be that Danica has simply never had to be good? From the beginning, she's had a sponsor who cared only that she was pretty, not that she could win races. I wonder how that shaped (or handicapped) her racing success. Now, at 30 years old, she may be soon be facing life as an unsponsored driver having to find another company willing to throw money at her race team in the absence of any real success
She's yet to even run her first full year at the top level of NASCAR and already there are whispers that she may be about done racing. As another reporter said, "Beauty only lasts so long. When it's gone, you'd better have done something else to prove yourself. She hasn't."
At the core of the recent questions is the change in advertising agency for Go Daddy, and the very conspicuous absence of Danica in the ad campaign. If the company had opted to go a whole different direction, it may be understandable that she wasn't in the commercials. But since the message is virtually unchanged ("Look! We have half-dressed sexy women for you to look at!") and she is left out, it seems more that she's been replaced than merely the victim of a change in direction for the company.
And this is where the story of Danica Patrick takes a turn. She's ridden the wave of superstar all the way into NASCAR even with a lackluster performance in IndyCar racing, and virtually no results at all in stock cars. Go Daddy has been her free pass as she had her choice of teams from the many who courted her (and her big-money sponsor). But did that help or hinder her? Could Danica have been a better driver if she'd had to post real results in order to keep her sponsor? Think about how many drivers, under threat of losing their ride or sponsor, suddenly found themselves with a string of solid top-fives and a victory thrown in for good measure. Did their equipment suddenly improve, or did they tweak their attitude and dig a little deeper with a sense of urgency?
Could it be that Danica has simply never had to be good? From the beginning, she's had a sponsor who cared only that she was pretty, not that she could win races. I wonder how that shaped (or handicapped) her racing success. Now, at 30 years old, she may be soon be facing life as an unsponsored driver having to find another company willing to throw money at her race team in the absence of any real success
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