In the middle of her first full season as a Sprint Cup driver, Danica Patrick as made a believer of many of the drivers on the circuit. While she sits at an unimpressive 27th, she had shown signs of potential during races this season. While Nascar fans love her, some are not so sold on Patrick as a real driver. Former driver Kyle Petty is not seeing Patrick in the future of Nascar.
"She's not a race car driver. There's a difference. The King always had that stupid saying but it's true, 'Lots of drivers car drive fast, very few drivers can race,'" Petty said. "Danica has been the perfect example of somebody who can qualify better than what she runs. She can go fast but she can't race. I think she's come a long way, but she's still not a race car driver."
Patrick has just one top 10 finish in 16 races so far this season. Petty believes she is more of a Nascar marketing machine rather than a driver out on the track to compete. At 30-years-old, Petty does not see her ever being competitive because "it's too late."
Not everyone agrees with Petty's assessment of Patrick. Her former boss Dale Earnhardt Jr. is coming to her defense, claiming she is outrunning several guys on the circuit.
"I think she's a tough competitor," Earnhardt Jr. said. "She works really hard at what she does. She has run some really good races. On every occasion she's outrunning several guys out on the circuit. If she was not able to compete and not able to run minimum speed or finishing in last place every week, I think you might be able to say Kyle has an argument. But she's out there running competitively, running strong on several accounts."
Patrick ran the Nationwide schedule under Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports team. She then switched to Stewart-Haas Racing when she made the full-time switch from IndyCar to Nascar. Patrick became the first female to start on the pole in a Sprint Cup Series earlier this year after she qualified at the top in the Daytona 500. She eventually finished the race in eighth place. Earnhardt Jr. believes that the more Patrick races, the more she will improve and shock people like Petty.