This is the Statt Mann Baby!!  Time to Scatt a little bit.

A piece in Sunday’s New York Times questions if Danica Patrick will jump to NASCAR.

One of the glaring lines in the piece implies Danica’s future is quote: “often on the lips of American motor racing’s chattering classes…”

Let’s ignore the fact that I was in Long Beach among racing fans for five of the last eight days and I heard exactly no one question where Danica Patrick would be racing next year.

Stock car racing is a lifestyle that’s lived and breathed by anyone who expects success in that community.

From what I’ve seen, that’s not Danica Patrick.  Much better drivers than her have sampled stock cars and found it frustratingly difficult because it is.  It’s forty plus running on the same second difficult. 

Danica’s a pit bull but winning on purpose isn’t in her tool box yet.  Dario Franchitti, today’s winner in the Long Beach Grand Prix, has won open wheel championships but couldn’t find the top 10 of a Sprint Cup race with a GPS last year.

If it’s money she wants, go to NASCAR.  But there aren’t any professional pit bulls. A pit bull’s survival depends on winning and Danica doesn’t do that often enough yet.

In addition, there’s a reason why women don’t do well in NASCAR and that takes more than a pit bull’s attitude.

Peace.