Danica has a guaranteed spot for the Daytona 500?

Smokeshow14, thank you!! I am sorry you had to go through that, but you have walked in those shoes, and it is not fun!!

Your welcome and yeah it isn't fun, but that is a part of racing that racers go through from time to time. But in the cup series when sponsors are paying millions, and your dealing with a rookie driver it isn't worth the risk. The pressure must be crazy to get into a cup race. I race for myself on dirt. In cup your getting paid by your car owner, got millions of fans (In Danica's case) and have a company like Go Daddy shelling out million s so you can race. It is just as sickening for these sponsors. Which is why we see less rookies, no top 35 spots left, companies want to make sure they get a return on their investment espically in this economy.

Another take on this merger showing both sides and the history of this rule. http://motorsportsunplugged.com/?p=5920

BTW a comment made that TBR will benefit by SHR with technical help and EFI engines etc is NOT actually true if you watched Race Hub yesterday and the Baldwin interview and the Speed comments as well during the show. Baldwin was asked if he would get all the help with Hendricks (SHR) engines and parts and technical support all yr long and he said NO. He will still use the RCR engines for his drivers and teams etc. However i believe or hope they did say that while Balwin called this 10 car now HIS car, that when Danica is driving it, she would have all the SHR (Hendricks) engines, parts, tech support etc that her contract with them allowed as she is still a SHR driver. I hope so and that makes me feel a little better and not trying to knock TBR but still, she signed with SHR to get the best and thats what Godaddy is paying SHR for, not to be farmed out with lessor team/equip.

The proof will be in the actual races on how it goes and one thing for sure this will bring attention to TBR as he said he was happy about so good for him if it helps him, as I just hope it helps Danica as well?

You should read before you write bud it helps...

Yes I watched the race hub yesterday and as I stated in my post, they use ECR engines so SHR can only do so much when they help TBR. But one can say that the fact that SHR is giving them pit crew members and Zippy fr the whole season is technical support. Either way this is great for TBR.

I dont think TBR will get the 10's points in '13
Blaney will be in the top 35 because he isnt racing the 10 car. Rooty will be the one, that wont be in the top 35, which would have been that way anyways. TBR didnt run every race with their 2nd team last year either. So this is a win win for TBR. They wont have to put out as much money per race for their 2nd team all year, at the risk of the 1st 5 races qualifying for Blaneys team. So next year, if all goes well for TBR, they may be able to go full time with 2 teams.
As far as ECR engines, I think that is the best GM engine in cup right now.

As far as Danica being pawned off to a ex start & park team. Zippy is her CC. Who is helping to run SHR, & answers to Borland, who I am sure will have his hands in the 10 team as much as the other two teams. The pit crews will be from SHR. Danicas Sponsors are dealt with through SHR. Pretty much when she is racing everything is through SHR. Tommy Baldwin is involved with the team, because it is ran as his team the other 26 races. trust me, SHR is gonna put a lot of time & effort into the 10 team this year, to try & set up for next year. As far as Tony thinking of Tony. Danica is Tony's Cash cow, him worrying about her is tony thinking of tony.
All of this does make me curious though. Will she run ECR or HMS engines when she is driving the car? I would imagine it would be HMS, since SHR is contracted with HMS, but I dont know how it is structured. So that is an interesting question to me.

(now that I think about it, if I were a Danica fan, not sure I would want an SHR pit crew LOL) Neveer paid attention to TBR pit crews so I dont know if they were any good or not, but maybe this will help SHR pit crews as a whole, if Tommy yells at them for a while

well i can think of a couple members who will be frustrated if danica's crew turns out btter than ryan's

I think there are a couple of reasons Tony didn't just transfer his points to the 10 Car for Danica...

1) Transferring the points only gets the 10 in the Daytona 500 and the next 4 races but since Danica isn't scheduled to run again until Darlington they would be throwing away the points for the next 4 races after Daytona. This deal with TBR is done more with an eye towards having her locked in for her other 9 races.

2) Since Tony won the Championship, his points are eligible for a different earnings level for the 2012 season...if he transferred his points to a part-time car he would lose the additional earnings associated with his points.

I look at this deal as simply SHR placing their driver (Danica) and her sponsorship in a car at TBR for her 10 races. Since she is a SHR driver her program will use SHR equipment (under TBR branding) and will be overseen by SHR personnel (Zippy, etc.).

To me this is not really point buying situation because TBR is keeping the points from the 10 Car (per his interview on the Hub). This is simply a way for two part-time teams to make one full-time schedule. Listening to Tommy Baldwin he seemed to be pretty short of sponsorship as he said he only has sold 8-9 races for Blaney and I think they were hoping for 15-18 races for Reutiman before this deal although no sponsor has been announced...so I'm not sure how this is anything but a win for Tommy Baldwin Racing.

Regarding i should read before i write, you should understand what you are seeing/hearing if you watched the Race Hub Interview with Baldwin. Regarding your statement below:

"the fact that SHR is giving them pit crew members and Zippy fr the whole season is technical support. ---------------------------------------"

Zippy will NOT be there all yr at TBR, ONLY when Danica is racing the car as her CC for the 10 races only, as that was asked & answered a couple different times. Zippy has his own job to do with SHR as director and just PT with Danica ONLY when she is racing. I never heard anything about who the crews would be so wont even guess on that? Like i posted also--Baldwin WAS asked if he would benefit from this deal and receive engines, parts, tech support or anything else from SHR or Hendricks with this deal all yr long for his team as i posted earlier, and he basically said NO. He just said he's using the RCR engines he always uses, but basically would get nothing from SHR/Hendricks like parts or tech support. He said this deal is mainly to keep the 10 car in points for Danica and for Chevy's benefit (whatever that means) and to give his team a FT season and recognition from Danica being there, as we know that will happen, and thats all.

Edited to put this Speed interview Link here with Balwin. Listen carefully about 3/4 way through when he is asked if His team will benefit from Hendricks as SHR does with their engines, parts and tech as Danica will of course, and he says simply "Not Really" end of debate. http://www.nascar.com/video/speed/race- ... index.html

Ok Edited as found this article today which explains the negative side for Danica & Nascar with this deal, and why I dont like it as i said, even though I know why he did it but I dont think it was necessary. http://aol.sportingnews.com/nascar/stor ... d%3D131866

Danica Patrick should have had 2 qualify. all she's been recieving is perks & benefits while having done nothing since she came 2 NASCAR. i think this type of sweet deal, guarentee sucks. she's a mid-pack mediocre driver who gets nothing but perks, benefits, & excuses.

"Danica Patrick should have had 2 qualify. all she's been recieving is perks & benefits while having done nothing since she came 2 NASCAR. i think this type of sweet deal, guarentee sucks. she's a mid-pack mediocre driver who gets nothing but perks, benefits, & excuses. "

First off--I totally agree with the first part that she should qualify as she would have NO trouble doing that. This deal, while I understand its purpose, still sucks in my opinion, but too late now. Here's a "what if". what if TBR cant get enough sponsors for the 10 car to run EVERY race and it doesnt maintain the top 35 at some point and she has to qualify on time anyway--then this deal really would be just a waste and an insult to her talent not giving her a shot on her own. Baldwin said in the interview he didnt yet have all his sponsors for the 10 car for those who dont understood what he said, that was it.

As for the scond part about her being a mid packer etc, that is an ignorant comment givin the fact she has NO experience in Cup racing and very little in stock car racing--period. Therefore her level hasnt been established yet, as 25 PT NNS races show she has improved drastically from her first yr but still she doesnt even have but 3/4 of a season in Nascar yet. Lots more learning is required given she never drove a stock car before this, unlike other young drivers who grew up on the dirt tracks when old enough to drive, Danica was overseas at 16 yrs old for 2 yrs driving open wheel cars. Like I've told others--get your facts straight before you post crap that has no merit or facts to back it up..

As for the perks and benefits, thats all Tony and SHR doing the swapping and buying. Other then that her high profile and brand is who she is and draws all the rest of the stuff, whether she wants it or not. This is about learning Cup and Nascar racing first and foremost and nothing has been proven yet regarding how she will do. We wont know anything for some time, as maybe doing well in one race means nothing as surely she will have races where she sucks while she is learning, and thats how it is.

Racer1 is in need of reading glasses... That's all I am going to say.

Ok, this whole deal with Tommy Baldwin racing has me even more confused after reading this article this morning.

http://www.nascar.com/news/120219/nasca ... index.html

Danica's car sucked today in qualifying. Ryan commented all a driver does is hold his foot down and go for qualifying at daytona and Danica did that, however the car was slower today then it was a month ago at testing and many are wondering --why?? Tonys car wasnt bad and Ryan improved alot from practice, but Danica not hardly. If she had to qualify on time to get the 3 garanteed spots, she wouldnt have done it, which proved how bad the car was. Remember her 2 times last season at Daytona in NNS she out qualified Edwards in both of them and got a 4th and a 7th. so she knows how to drive this race track, as its all about the car being fast--or apparently NOT. So much for Hendrick power, although Jr had a great run getting 3rd with his chevy but many were reporting overheating as well. Heck-- even some low funded S&P teams did better then Danica today and thats just sad and puts a slam on how great or NOT SHR is, as old Zippy looked lost?

As for this merger deal ESPn is reporting Baldwin will be her crew chief and they have to use a number of his employees on (his) her car--what a load of garbage this deal is with Godaddy paying millions to SHR to send her to a S&P team anyway> This Cup deal may greatly affect her career in Nascar if this is an example of how lousy her cars will be. Oh well--Iam done caring anymore as ive lost respect for Tony and SHR over all this for sure and Iam not thrilled with Danica for going along with this crap slow car telling the press its ok. I remember when she told everyone her Indycar sucked as it was slow and she was mad--I loved that fiery honesty and it let the team know she wasnt happy. Its time she took charge of her own career instead of allowing herself to be bought and sold like a piece of merchandise and acting like its fine when deep down knowing her, she certainly isnt happy about it. Good Grief. This Daytona 500 may end up being her worst nightmare.

No need for all the anguish Racer1. Just be patient. They knew 2 things at the start of the day. 1. She is going to be in the 500, and 2. They knew she wasn't going to be on the front row. Zippy will have her in a competitive car come race day. There is a huge difference between qualifying set up and race set up. Remember, this year is just to get her feet wet in Cup, much like 2 years ago in Nationwide. The place to really watch her this year is in the Nationwide Series anyway.

Wow! The irony here is astounding!
Racer you you complain because some of us that have studied our teams for 3 years werent liking something that was going on. Then you have a melt down after one qualifying attempt LOL.
1st off it is her very 1st attempt to qualify in a cup car. Lets just remind you that a cup car & an nationwide car, are not the same thing. Comapring how good she is or isnt in a nationwide car, doesnt mean she will have the same feel in a cup car. Now to let you in on a little secret. At Daytona a car that handles is more important than top speed. (Daytona & dega are completely different) So if the car feels good to her. That is more important (way more) than a car that has a couple tenths faster. Funny you expected Danica to go out with a brand new team (their 1st race together) Danica's 1st try at qualfifyin a cup car. Yet after lecturing us about say bad things about Tony or SHR, it is all you do with your unrealistic thoughts of Danica. SHR is always a threat at the plate tracks (until someone takes them out in a wreck) Yet somehow, now that Danica didnt qualify as well as your unrealistic point of view. It is all SHR's fault & who knows if Danica was with a team that knew what they were doing would win 10 out of ten races with ten poles. Now it is Zippy's turn to be thrown under the bus after his 1st race. Wait they havent even had a race yet!!! LOL
Now you see what I call the Circus we call Danica. Not Danica's fault, but it is here.
Really thought you would have lasted atleast to the green flag before having your everything is everyone elses fault, Danica shouldnt be struggling BS.
BTW Kevin Harvick, one of the guys I think is one of the best plate racers out there, often times dont qualify well for the race. Because he is happy with how his car feels.
If you want a little advice from someone that looks at the little things with teams. You should probably tone down your expectations a little (ok a lot)
Oh & now go yell at yourself, for saying something negative about SHR on an SHR board, like you do us. LOL.
Dont think you are racer. You are the Bus driver. Because you will run over anyone with that bus, when it doesnt go the way you think.

Never seen a poster contradict themselves as often as you do. Glad your a Danica fan. Keep your chin up. (tons of practice to go, before the race)

great psychotic reading early in the morning............

Danica's car sucked today in qualifying. Ryan commented all a driver does is hold his foot down and go for qualifying at daytona and Danica did that, however the car was slower today then it was a month ago at testing and many are wondering --why?? Tonys car wasnt bad and Ryan improved alot from practice, but Danica not hardly. If she had to qualify on time to get the 3 garanteed spots, she wouldnt have done it, which proved how bad the car was. Remember her 2 times last season at Daytona in NNS she out qualified Edwards in both of them and got a 4th and a 7th. so she knows how to drive this race track, as its all about the car being fast--or apparently NOT. So much for Hendrick power, although Jr had a great run getting 3rd with his chevy but many were reporting overheating as well. Heck-- even some low funded S&P teams did better then Danica today and thats just sad and puts a slam on how great or NOT SHR is, as old Zippy looked lost?

As for this merger deal ESPn is reporting Baldwin will be her crew chief and they have to use a number of his employees on (his) her car--what a load of garbage this deal is with Godaddy paying millions to SHR to send her to a S&P team anyway> This Cup deal may greatly affect her career in Nascar if this is an example of how lousy her cars will be. Oh well--Iam done caring anymore as ive lost respect for Tony and SHR over all this for sure and Iam not thrilled with Danica for going along with this crap slow car telling the press its ok. I remember when she told everyone her Indycar sucked as it was slow and she was mad--I loved that fiery honesty and it let the team know she wasnt happy. Its time she took charge of her own career instead of allowing herself to be bought and sold like a piece of merchandise and acting like its fine when deep down knowing her, she certainly isnt happy about it. Good Grief. This Daytona 500 may end up being her worst nightmare.

I am also Danica fan, but I think you are fool.. Danica is newbie and she is learning. And If she had problem with car Zippy finds problem. Zippy is great person, great teacher and great crew chief.