Tony Stewart made feelings clear on Danica – Sports News
Tony Stewart knew the dangers and the rewards when he signed Danica Patrick to drive part-time for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2012. While some noticed the transfer as a advertising and marketing play to raise the profile of his motorsports crew, the three-time Cup Series champion stated his resolution to deliver Danica on board was primarily based on his perception in her as a driver.
“She’s great at the marketing side,” Stewart stated during an interview in 2012. “But she’s got talent behind the steering wheel. We wouldn’t have hired her if we didn’t think she could do a good job driving the race cars. Having a partner like GoDaddy that came with her is a luxury.”
Stewart acknowledged that the media protection, together with headlines, TV advertisements, and Super Bowl commercials, was simply a bonus for the crew. But, statistics show that GoDaddy’s partnership with Patrick delivered Stewart-Haas Racing a vital financial enhance of over $20 million yearly.
The partnership raised model awareness for the area group to 81 p.c nationwide, reported by ESPN. While Patrick grew to become a advertising and marketing powerhouse, her on-track outcomes advised a separate story.
Patrick by no means received in 191 NASCAR Cup Series begins, scoring simply seven top-10 finishes and one pole place, although that pole was historic. At the 2013 Daytona 500, she grew to become the primary lady to win a Cup Series pole, ending a record-setting eighth within the race.
Patrick went full-time with SHR that very same 12 months, driving the No. 10 car from 2013 to 2017. Her best Cup Series season end was twenty fourth place, achieved twice, and she or he by no means cracked the highest 10 in season factors.
In the Xfinity Series, she ran 61 races with out a win, touchdown seven top-10s. Her solely profession win in main American motorsport got here in 2008, when she claimed victory on the Indy Japan 300, changing into the primary lady to win an IndyAutomotive race.
At her peak, Patrick’s merchandise outsold each Nationwide Series driver besides Dale Earnhardt Jr., and ranked ninth in gross sales on Fanatics in 2012. She was the face of GoDaddy, showing in 14 Super Bowl commercials, and helped normalize ladies main sponsorship offers in American motorsports.
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Her last stint with SHR led to 2017 attributable to sponsorship shortages, which left her with out a trip for the next season.
In 2018, she made two last appearances, the place she crashed out within the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500, earlier than retiring from racing. The two finishes during her last season have been infamously known as “The Danica Double.”
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