Danica Patrick shrugs off being replaced on GoDaddy homepage

Whether it was a groundswell of fan support or just clever marketing, IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe has replaced Danica Patrick on a key sponsor’s website.

Hinchcliffe is the 8athlete 8featured on the 8homepage of GoDaddy .com, the primary sponsor of both drivers.

Patrick has been with GoDaddy since joining Andretti Auto8sport in 2007. Hinchcliffe took Patrick’s place on the Indianapolis-based Izod IndyCar Series team during the offseason when Patrick moved to NASCAR. Patrick drives in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Patrick played along Tuesday when asked about GoDaddy’s 8decision during an appearance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of her Nationwide Series race July 28.

“Hey, if you like him up there, go ahead,” she said sarcastically of Hinchcliffe. “If you want me up there, you know, say so.”

If Patrick is the queen of auto racing. Hinchcliffe, 25, is the king of its social media. He and his marketing team have built a fan-friendly campaign tied to proclaiming the Toronto-area native “the Mayor of Hinchtown.” The push to get Hinchcliffe to take Patrick’s prominent spot on the website was known as “Hinch for 8Homepage.”

Hinchcliffe is having a breakout sophomore IndyCar season. He is fifth in the points standings through 10 of 15 races.

Patrick, 30, is ninth in the Nationwide standings, which counts only NASCAR drivers committed to that series. She has a pole and one top-10 finish in 16 races this season.

http://www.indystar.com/article/2012071 ... y-homepage

Hinch is GONE--Danicas back and will stay back now as it was all a PR stunt by idiots at Godaddy, which btw the newer CEO has left, meaning he was fired, probably for ignorance with their marketing campaign but doesnt matter. Godaddy is reporting loss of hits on its homepage--wonder why--really--put an unknown Indycar driver on the page for PR and thats what you get. The new In/Out anti sexy commercial airing the other night on NBC was a joke as well and isnt creating any hits. Hey godaddy --if it works dont fix it--dummys. Parsons, the founder who left being CEO last yr after selling the co. for Billions and stayed for a yr or so, then left, recently told espn when asked, he commented it doesnt matter how Danica finishes in Nascar, as anything she does creates revenue for Godaddy better then anyone else--just how it is. Indycar, Hinch, and Mario together probably couldnt sell water in the middle of the desert by themselves or move the needle for Godaddy obviously as their commercials other then this lame Hinch PR campaign have stopped long ago, and now He's done, so the future next yr with Godaddy may be questionable? http://domaingang.com/domain-news/danic ... -homepage/

NO iam not back with this board full of nasty hatefull posters just setting things right. BTW--anyone moderating this board or running it take the vote for Danica OFF as its irrelevant now. Have a good day.

Racer 1, we have missed you...

Thankyou for that--Iam not back but just peeked in to see the reaction to what I posted as iam sure its cringing all the naysayers. Please read this though--facts:
With the sponsor problems with Newman, the facts are Godaddy always overpays for Danica to make sure she has the best and that may be what helps keep Ryan here at SHR> Why you ask--anyone following Indycar all Danicas yrs with Andretti--they always had 4 cars, now they have 3 as thats all they can afford. Its a well known fact Danicas Godaddy money paid for over half of Andretti's team all her yrs there and why Michael is so angry at her for leaving as it cost him millions in sponsorship dollars as Hinch isnt getting maybe half what Godaddy paid for her--so Andretti only has 3 cars this yr--think about that.
IF Danica does join SHR for Cup they will be better off then without her dollar wise, but Cup sponsorship costs 3+ times more then Indycar so dont know for sure how it will pan out or if it might help keep Ryan here. However it should help as Jr Motorsports reported they are thriving with her this yr FT when they have always struggled for sponsorship $$$'s, like others. You Ryan fans should be more appreciative of that anyway? Have a good day.

BTW--do I think she should go Cup--NO way, but its not my decision. We just support her and wish her the best which is all fans can do> Also--cool music video racing up the charts--wonder why? Have at it>

hinch is having a awesome year in the godaddy car, in fact all his teams are doing better RHR #1 in points.

"hinch is having a awesome year in the godaddy car, in fact all his teams are doing better RHR #1 in points."

Ok --I was waiting for you to post. facts are--it doesnt matter how Hinch does as he is a nobody in the eyes of the mainstream GP & media just like all the other Indycar drivers and the low rated indycar series itself. He could win the championship like Dario did numerous times and it wouldnt move the needle for GoDaddy or help his popularity or Indycars simply because NO-ONE cares--certainly not enough? He isnt even the most popular driver in small Indycar circles let alone mainstream fans and the media despite Indycar PR trying to focus on him--to no avail. RHR is the one doing a great job this yr but it wont do anything for Indycar either, because--repeat after me--"NO One cares about indycar or its drivers"--thats all.

Heres a fact--Dale Jr is hugely popular because of his Dad and his famous last name family and has been for many yrs in Nascar despite some critics wondering why? Danica is popular on her own and has been for many yrs for simply being who she is and many wonder why? She just IS and it wont end anytime soon as she has something that draws the mainstream fans and media (and yes haters) to her but she sells whatever product she is representing because people are attracted to her and it cant be explained to the naysayers but she has "IT" and sponsors are lined up around the block--proof enough. Yes--someday it will end as nothing lasts forever but for yrs now she's "IT". Iam done--have a good day.

"hinch is having a awesome year in the godaddy car, in fact all his teams are doing better RHR #1 in points."

Ok --I was waiting for you to post. facts are--it doesnt matter how Hinch does as he is a nobody in the eyes of the mainstream GP & media just like all the other Indycar drivers and the low rated indycar series itself. He could win the championship like Dario did numerous times and it wouldnt move the needle for GoDaddy or help his popularity or Indycars simply because NO-ONE cares--certainly not enough? He isnt even the most popular driver in small Indycar circles let alone mainstream fans and the media despite Indycar PR trying to focus on him--to no avail. RHR is the one doing a great job this yr but it wont do anything for Indycar either, because--repeat after me--"NO One cares about indycar or its drivers"--thats all.

Heres a fact--Dale Jr is hugely popular because of his Dad and has been for many yrs in Nascar despite some critics wondering why? Danica is popular and has been for many yrs for simply being who she is and many wonder why? She just IS and it wont end anytime soon as she has something that draws the mainstream fans and media (and yes haters) to her but she sells whatever product she is representing because people are attracted to her and it cant be explained to the naysayers but she has "IT" and sponsors are lined up around the block--proof enough. Iam done--have a good day.

Well there might be a couple open wheel fans on here that might disagree with you about no one caring about Indy cars or their drivers, but I am just proud of you for acknowledging Danica's Strengths are being pimped out for merchandise & not for her driving abilities.

Well said Racer!

i think it is wrong to call someone a nobody, cuz that isnt true, im not going to get into a whole deal about someones popularity, you mentioned all this negativity about andretti racing and all i was doing was pointing out that as a team they were doing good, i wasnt trying to disrespect your girl, she is the furthest thing from my mind, to me she is "nobody" in the nascar world, but she pushes merch, just like dale jr, so for that fact, she isnt going anywhere.

Indy popularity cycles, like all sports. If the business model for Indy is like any other business model, GoDaddy didn't pay for anything other than Danica. They're independent contractors, so unless Andretti did some "creative accounting", their dollars only went to Danica's ride. Say what you want, aside from her being a decent looking woman, she didn't bring anything else to the table. She doesn't and didn't have any more talent than anyone else. She used her looks and sexuality to further her career and sorry, but in my eyes, that makes her a ho. If she doesn't mind how she got where she is, why should I? Fact is, I don't. Couldn't care less whether she drives or not but I do mind her having a ride over Ryan. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but that's out the window. She's now gone from being crashed to crashing others. When she gets out of the middle of the pack and can run close to the front, out of trouble, I'll reconsider. Until then, she's just another driver whose commercials write checks her driving can't cash.

hinch is having a awesome year in the godaddy car, in fact all his teams are doing better RHR #1 in points.

Hinchcliffe is struggling last races.. I think he didnt finish in top10 in 4 from 6 last races.. Marco has only 1 top10.. That is his worst season.. RHR shows improvement, but still he won race, when Penske and Ganassi have troubles..

i think it is wrong to call someone a nobody, cuz that isnt true, im not going to get into a whole deal about someones popularity, you mentioned all this negativity about andretti racing and all i was doing was pointing out that as a team they were doing good, i wasnt trying to disrespect your girl, she is the furthest thing from my mind, to me she is "nobody" in the nascar world, but she pushes merch, just like dale jr, so for that fact, she isnt going anywhere.

Dale jr is top dog of Hendricks this year. Last year he nearly beats Johnson and he beats Jeff.. That shows how important is crew chief.. Dale jr. with Letarte is great, with Eury jr. and McGrew was horrible.. Imho Johnson has 5 titles because he has best crew chief, not because he is best driver.. he isnt..

Planio said it best about JJ. Best crew chief not best driver.

As for Indycar the split is the reason "nobody cares". The sport is still coming back from that and they are making great strides to gain popularity. Hinchcliffe is doing geat for his second year. His season has lost momentum though but ge is still new at this.