Will Danica pack 'em in at Chicagoland Speedway?
As ESPN fills its airwaves with promotional commercials featuring Danica Patrick's return to NASCAR's Nationwide series, one question lingers:
Will Patrick's presence equate to filled stadium seats?
Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet gets its turn to test drive Danica-Mania when auto racing's biggest celebrity continues her debut stock-car season in Friday's Dollar General 300.
Typically the Sprint Cup race - Saturday's LifeLock.com 400 - is the highly-anticipated event of NASCAR's race weekend in Joliet. This year, however, much of the focus rests on Patrick's appearance in the Nationwide event.
"Her name definitely brings a little added spice to the weekend," said Jeff Stur, Chicagoland Speedway's director of communications. "It's something that we're trying to play off of, but at the same time this is a place she's already been at. She's raced for a while in the IndyCar series, so people are kind of used to seeing her here."
This season Patrick is switching back and forth between the IndyCar and Nationwide series, the traditional training ground for Sprint Cup drivers. After running three NASCAR races in February, Patrick focused on the IndyCar series for the past four months. She returned to the Nationwide series on June 26 in New Hampshire, but has yet to finish higher than 30th in her four NASCAR events this season.
The learning curve is steep transitioning from open-wheel cars to stock cars, but it's a process Patrick is willing to accept as she decides which series to focus on in the future.
"I'm eager to learn the Nationwide car," Patrick said. "I think that the best thing I can do for myself on the NASCAR weekends is really come up with some realistic expectation levels instead of having them be like IndyCar expectation levels where I'm hoping to win and I'm hoping to finish on the podium, those kind of things."
Regardless of her poor finishes thus far, excitement continues to build with each week she climbs into a stock car. Between August and November, Patrick will race in eight Nationwide events.
Needless to say, Chicagoland Speedway officials were thrilled when Patrick, a native of Roscoe, Ill., included Joliet on her schedule of 13 Nationwide races this season. Based on the boost in ticket sales and television ratings for Patrick's previous NASCAR appearances, there is definite hope she'll have a similar effect this weekend.
Track President Craig Rust hesitates to quantify the impact Patrick will make, and not only because of her fan base's familiarity with Patrick's five IndyCar appearances at Chicagoland Speedway, where she boasts a pair of top-10 finishes.
The track also created a new system where fans no longer have to purchase tickets for the entire racing season. Instead, fans can purchase just a weekend package. Rust expects to see bigger crowds, although he doesn't anticipate a sellout for either race as the track continues to experience the economic struggles being seen throughout NASCAR.
Between Patrick's hyped appearance and the more fan-friendly ticket package, though, Rust believes things are looking up in Joliet.
"There is a buzz about her getting back into the Nationwide car, but I can't put a finger on whether it's responsible for a boost in ticket sales," Rust said. "She's another piece of the entire entertainment puzzle for the weekend."
When Patrick announced in December she'd be running in select Nationwide races this season for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports, the buzz immediately flew into high gear. Patrick, meanwhile, downplays the impact she's made.
"Really, that comes down to the sponsors doing a great job of publicizing that, and advertising and media outlets to let everyone know that I'm going to be there," Patrick said. "But, really, I am just really lucky as an athlete that people are curious how I'm doing and want to see."
In terms of press coverage, Stur is preparing for an onslaught Friday beginning with Patrick's appearance in Chicagoland Speedway's media center for a scheduled late-morning news conference. Combined with the interest surrounding the Nationwide race that night, Patrick's impact will be in full view.
"Obviously our media credential list is filling up nicely," Stur said. "When she takes the podium on Friday for the press conference, it's pretty clear all eyes are going to be on her."