Danica needs NASCAR, and vice versa

So as you may have heard or read, there are multiple reports saying that Danica Patrick will announce her plans to run full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and part time in the Sprint Cup Series in 2012.

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I have to tell you, folks, I like what I’m hearing. I think Danica truly wants to be in NASCAR. And you know what? NASCAR needs Danica Patrick. The sport needs a female or minority driver that will be in good equipment — no matter whether it is in Nationwide, Trucks or in Sprint Cup. I certainly am not knocking the efforts of any current or former female or minority racers; they are all doing what they can with the equipment given to them. I think for the first time a minority or female driver will be in really good equipment — JR Motorsports’ equipment — as she has been while testing out the waters in NASCAR the past few years.

I truly believe Danica would be making the right decision. If she is going to make the move from IndyCar to NASCAR, now’s the time to do it. The opportunity is there in both Nationwide and Sprint Cup with two very competitive organizations. If she wants to make the switch, why waste time? There’s no time like the present to do it. Her IndyCar contract is up, and there are great opportunities in NASCAR for her. It’s not going to be any easier if she waits a few years to make the transition, so I don’t see any reason why right now isn’t the right time.

That said, I truly don’t know that we’ll be able to figure out where she stacks up versus the competition until we get into the full Nationwide Series schedule next year. Honestly, what she has been trying to do the last few years by running IndyCar full time and Nationwide part time has been extremely difficult. And she was really in a box; she had a contract with her IndyCar team that she had to fulfill, but she wanted to try out NASCAR. That type of schedule would’ve been tough for anybody — even the very best in our sport like Jimmie Johnson or Kyle Busch.

The biggest thing I’m relieved about is that whether it was her decision, her management group, or even her sponsor, that she reportedly is not walking into the deep end by going straight into the Sprint Cup Series full time next year. That would’ve been a bad idea all around. Instead, according to reports, by running a full-time Nationwide and a part-time Sprint Cup schedule with two competitive operations in JR Motorsports (Nationwide) and Stewart-Haas Racing (Sprint Cup), it would seem to be the perfect format.

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Now am I going to start looking further ahead and start talking about her in Sprint Cup in 2013? Absolutely not. Danica needs to put absolute focus on her efforts for 2012 first and foremost. The task at hand in 2012 would be to get as competitive as possible. That doesn’t mean she must win a whole bunch of races and the championship to consider her season successful. She would have to see how she handles racing full time in the Nationwide Series along with the select number of Sprint Cup starts.

That brings us to the question on everybody’s mind: Does she have what it takes to succeed in NASCAR? I have definitely seen it this year. She is a quick learner. She is like a sponge absorbing what she is learning. After her NASCAR races last year, I was like, “Oh, I don’t know about this.” But this year has been very different.

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I know she has talent — that is not the question. But the ability to adapt to these heavier stock cars that have a lot less power than she’s used to, a lot less downforce, a lot less everything. But I’ve got to be honest, with what I’ve seen this year, I have been 100 percent more impressed with what she’s done on her limited schedule. If she keeps the attitude she’s got right now — which appears to be more humble than even her rookie year last year — she’ll do great.

But she better hang on to that attitude, because this sport will make you humble before you even know what happened . . . no matter what series you're racing in.