DAYTONA BEACH, FL. - You may have heard a little something about Danica Patrick coming over to NASCAR this year. You also may have heard that she'll be running for the reigning Sprint Cup champion, fella by the name of Tony Stewart. Guy knows a thing or two about racing, so when he speaks, it's worth listening.
Thursday on Media Day, Stewart held forth on the usual array of topics - winning a championship is nice, he wants another, and so on - and Patrick's status as a new driver was high on the list of matters under discussion.
First off, Stewart noted that she absolutely could win the Daytona 500, if for no other reason than pretty much anyone could win it: "Did anybody think Trevor Bayne could win the race last year on this day?" Stewart said. "She did a really good job in July last year in the Nationwide race when I ran with her ... There is no doubt in my mind she has the talent to do it."
The key, of course, is the two-car draft that dominates at Daytona; you can see Stewart and Patrick practicing the draft earlier this year. Quite simply, two cars paired up together run faster than one car alone. Despite NASCAR's attempts at modifications, every single driver expects that the end of the race will come down to the drivers best able to pull off the two-car draft.
Therein lies opportunity ... but also peril. Stewart could find himself in the position of pushing Patrick to the win, which would give her the very prize that he lists as high on his own personal bucket list. Still, if the opportunity arose, he'd do it.
"It's hard to say what the scenario is going to be coming to the white flag," he said. "You analyze it at the end, but if its close and the pack is right next to you, you do what you have to do to get the best finish. You have to make a calculated decision to get the best result you can. There is nobody out here going to say, I'm not going to try to win the race, but you have to try and analyze what is going on around you. You may not even have the option of pulling out to try to win it; you may get freight-trained if you do."
Still, Stewart has faith in Patrick's ability to learn the nuances of NASCAR tracks and cars. And he notes that her personality jives well with his, too: "She is feistier than I was when I came into the sport," he said "Driving to eat dinner when we were here at the test, she was going to beat me to the edge of the parking lot, so I just let her go. We have a long season; I just let her win the first time. I know some of the short cuts to get to the restaurants at some of these other tracks that she doesn't know yet, so I'll win my share."
Oh, and for the record, Stewart would let Patrick run the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 if the opportunity presented itself. "It would be hard for me to tell her no, considering I did it twice," he said. "I never told Ryan Newman he can't drive anything, and I won't tell Danica she can't drive anything. You only get to live life once ... I support her 100 percent."
