credit where credit is due

[smokieonefour]

Wow MJ.... I love it!

Somebody who gives positive credit, where it's due ... especially after bashing her for so long! I do believe, you have grown a little inside & upstairs. ( Just messin' w/ya )

I also think Smoke14TS has made the most sense, in trying to capture what we're all so excited about. Basically, neither she nor the car fuc...er...um... messed up .... and she made history, once again ... and under the SHR banner.

And HT ... not meaning to sound snarky to ya, but she did do, what some 30+ other drivers could not do - and a lot of them "seasoned" veterans.

[HTower]

*raises hand*

I see your skepticism but honestly, everyone was pretty tentative. Hardly anyone made moves, her included, so it's hard to really judge her based off that. Basically a lot of people had her pegged to fall out of the front group and finished way back and she stayed up there all race so I think that's where all the kudos come from. She was in the picture all day long.

Fair enough.

Can we say that her goal was to finish in the top 10? Her goal did not include winning? Or is that still too controversial?

[HTower]

And now can someone give me a non emotional reaction?

in typical hater fashion, you invent something to complain about.

I think you're mistaking me for someone with blind hatred. That just simply isn't true. I watched the race, saw her not make any mistakes on the race track, but didn't feel she tried to win.

If her only goal in the race, (and every other race this year) is to finish on the lead lap, I will take that into account from here on out, and adjust my expectations accordingly.

[allan_jr5185]

it just show that females can do just as good as male drivers. i'm a big fan of tony, ryan and danica stewart and hass has made it even more excited to watch the races every week. lets go stewart - hass team

[smoke14rulez]

ill give her more credit when it comes to the tracks where skill comes into play, not saying she doesnt have skill, but tracks like vegas, phoenix, cali, michigan and all mile and a half tracks that many of the stars struggle at, that is the true test.

The "cookie cutters" aren't as much skill as car set up...and we KNOW she stands with that...

[funblvble]

If you want a specific examples of where she performed well in the race here are a couple I can remember:

1) Lap 89 restart where she started on the inside line and passed Michael Waltrip on the outside line and slid up in front of him to take the lead and lead her first Sprint Cup lap. Same move Jeff Gordon made on her on lap 1.

2) Not sure of the specific lap but on another restart she was again on the inside a few rows back and Paul Menard moved her to the 'sucker hole' and she muscled her way back down in front of him regaining her position and pushing him out of the way.

Also...

ESPN Stats & Info ‏@ESPNStatsInfo
Danica Patrick's average track position yesterday was 5.2, 2nd-best in the field, trailing winner Jimmie Johnson (5.0)

It is easy to see why she was frustrated and not satisfied after the race. Going into the race her goal was a Top 10 but then she knew with a bit more experience she had a real shot to win it...so she was ticked off afterwards.

[michaeljohn]

well i guess there are a ton of morons working cars or everyone would be successful on cookie cutters.

[Jellikit]

Just a great week for her and all of SHR racing.
As far as the pits, that clearly wasn't her fault. It was pointed out that it was actually a bad pit spot under green flag. Her times were fine coming on and off pit road, it was the rolling start the others had that gave her a disadvantage. One of the early stops, her crew even took about 2 seconds longer than the norm. So in the pits, I thought she did well.
Considering that no one was going low for the pass and making it work during the race, there's no reason to fault her for staying in line. Remember, she is a rookie.
The one time I thought she should have tried to go low was in fact when JJ took the lead. When Dale came low, he had too big of a run to cut him off, but JJ's progress was much slower and would have accommodated her. So, what do you do when JJ is coming? Again, it hasn't worked all day, and if it doesn't in this spot, you could easily be out of the top 10.
Great point someone made on her muscling out of the sucker hole late..that really was impressive driving...almost Smoke-like.
First female to win a pole, first to lead a lap at Daytona (and she did have to drive there to get it), and highest finish by a female....I'd say the rookie had an awesome week. If Tony doesn't get wrecked, we're probably celebrating 3 SHR racers in the top 10.
The future's so bright..I gotta wear .

[onerockindoc]

I got a little tickled this morning listening to the guys on the Sirius morning show. They were giggling that Jr came on his radio during the last part of the race and said that if she blocks him once he was good with it. But if she blocked him twice he would punt her.

[futura64]

She reaffirmed what I already knew. She has the courage and will to be a winner. As with any rookie, right now she lacks the knowledge and skill to make the proper moves at the appropriate times in these cars. She admitted that and her frustration with herself over that in her post race interview. She's always been a quick learner. It will come. Right now she just needs to exercise patience (not her greatest virtue), get more seat time and try to avoid the dnf's of last season as much as possible.

There will be good days and bad days this season, but it looks to be a fun ride to watch. I know I'm looking forward to it.

[wolfgang]

Am I the only one not impressed with her performance today?

She stayed in line all day, I can't recall a single time she made a move to pass, and was slow leaving her pit box all day. She kept her nose (and car) clean all day but she never struck me as being able to make a move to put herself in a position to win. When did she lead a 2 car tandem push? She had excellent equipment, that's for sure, but that's not the same as doing a great job driving it.

Can someone point out how she did a great job driving today?

I don't know what to think of her just yet as a driver. She looked tentative today. Congrats on the 8th place finish though.

See comment by wolfgang,Mcdowell and Yelley!

[wolfgang]

She reaffirmed what I already knew. She has the courage and will to be a winner. As with any rookie, right now she lacks the knowledge and skill to make the proper moves at the appropriate times in these cars. She admitted that and her frustration with herself over that in her post race interview. She's always been a quick learner. It will come. Right now she just needs to exercise patience (not her greatest virtue), get more seat time and try to avoid the dnf's of last season as much as possible.

There will be good days and bad days this season, but it looks to be a fun ride to watch. I know I'm looking forward to it.

This i can honestly say i agree with you on,still not a fan,but these are the facts.
Think if she tried to make a move w/o the experiance,it could have been bad and i also believe she did what Tony wanted her too.Tony and or Kevin had been there in the end,the possability could be there,but i don't believe anyone else would go with a rookie or least someone she trusts on her end.

[smoke14rulez]

well i guess there are a ton of morons working cars or everyone would be successful on cookie cutters.

...well, one is, according to the consensus of Newman fans anyway...

Consistency...the majority of CC are inconsistent, what seperates the GREAT ones from the pack.

[HTower]

If you want a specific examples of where she performed well in the race here are a couple I can remember:

1) Lap 89 restart where she started on the inside line and passed Michael Waltrip on the outside line and slid up in front of him to take the lead and lead her first Sprint Cup lap. Same move Jeff Gordon made on her on lap 1.

2) Not sure of the specific lap but on another restart she was again on the inside a few rows back and Paul Menard moved her to the 'sucker hole' and she muscled her way back down in front of him regaining her position and pushing him out of the way.

Also...

ESPN Stats & Info ‏@ESPNStatsInfo
Danica Patrick's average track position yesterday was 5.2, 2nd-best in the field, trailing winner Jimmie Johnson (5.0)

It is easy to see why she was frustrated and not satisfied after the race. Going into the race her goal was a Top 10 but then she knew with a bit more experience she had a real shot to win it...so she was ticked off afterwards.

Thanks, I like those examples, tells me she did something right instead of just getting lucky. I hope you stick around and continue to post.

[lauriepooh]

Danica did Awesome !!! She broke allot of records that day !! Lets she if she can improve on you best finish at Phoenix of 17th !! Keep the momentum & the montra of moving forward going !!!