After finishing eighth at Daytona, Danica Patrick is being considered a “longshot” to win at Phoenix this weekend.
Right now Patrick is doing something in NASCAR that not many women have been able to do. She is breaking stereotypes and proving racing is not just a boys sport.
Until she wins more though, race fans and oddsmakers just won’t believe it.
Danica Patrick has been given 300/1 odds to win her next race at Phoenix. According to USA Today , those are the second worst odds given for the race this year.
The first woman to win pole position at Daytona, and then lead a lap for the first time ever, has been given the second worst odds in her very next race. Does that seem odd to you? USA Today claims it comes down to skills:
“Daytona requires a completely different skill set than every other track in NASCAR except for Talladega. Where drivers run in a big pack and draft at Daytona and Talladega because their speeds are restricted, success at the other tracks depend much more on driver skill.”
In other words; Danica Patrick still needs to prove herself. Until she has finished more than 11 Sprint Cup Races, she will continue to have doubters. In those 11 races her highest finish was Daytona.
Before Daytona, Danica Patrick had never placed higher than 17. A strong finish at Phoenix this weekend could help prove Daytona might not have been a fluke.
James Franco’s unfortunate comments at Daytona show exactly the kind of hill Patrick is still climbing for respect.
Do you think it’s fair Danica Patrick is a “longshot” to win at Phoenix this weekend?
[image via Action Sports Photography / Shutterstock.com ]
