“Danica Patrick is marketing”

“I always said she had exceptional talent,” reassures Petty to begin his speech at Sound and Speed, an event which launches the new season. “Will her arrival be significant for her and the Nascar ? Yes, it will. In single-seaters, they took it and the marketing machine that it is because the discipline was floundering. »

In 2010, Danica Patrick will participate in a selection of Nationwide and Arca events at the wheel of a car from Dale Earnhardt Jr.?s team: “If she doesn't win a race, it won't be her fault of the car, the engine or the team because there is only one element that has changed in the package: the driver,” continues the former driver who won eight races in twenty Sprint Cup seasons. “It will have a huge impact on the sport but if it doesn't succeed, it will have deprived a good driver of a top car. »

Petty also recalls the difficulties of all pilots of car to get used to Nascar: “Dario Franchitti, Tony Stewart in his early days, Juan Pablo Montoya? They all had a hard time. Juan Pablo is certainly one of the most talented drivers on this planet and it took him three years to make his mark? And she is not Juan Pablo! She may have won races in the Indy Racing League but was never above the rest. Danica Patrick is marketing! »