"Fastest Girl in Town" video.

Yes...it is hot!

Danica to star in Miranda Lambert's "Fastest Girl In Town" video?

Photo tweeted by Miranda Lambert.

Photo tweeted by Danica.

Seriously, this is gonna be hot! I most certainly can't wait to see this music video.

Danica featured on Makers.com.

Danica is featured at Makers.com, a tribute site dedicated to trailblazing women. Very cool!

Makers.com Profile of Danica Patrick

Danica takes Katie Couric for a spin at Indy.

Danica should have won at Daytona.

It was quite the showing for Danica at Daytona tonight. She most certainly had the fastest car on the track and was poised to get her first NASCAR win, if only she had some "back up" to push her along. The whole race came down to the final 18 laps where she survived the "big one" during lap 20, which took out pretty much any semblance of "allies" that she could tandem with. After the restart, she was left "high and dry" by pretty much the top 15 drivers and ended up in the middle of the pack searching for a partner. By the time she found someone, it was all for nothing as she was caught up in an accident she really couldn't avoid. She finishes 31st despite leading most of the laps in the race.

All I can say is Danica truly understands how to draft cars ahead of her. Slipping and sliding in between tandem packs, she was strong all by herself riding the drafts being created by the leaders. It was quite impressive. It was also quite phenomenal how she handled getting pushed along and how easy it was for her to navigate back to the front with "pusher" in tow. The only issue I saw tonight was that she still needs to learn how to be "the pusher". She kept insisting on being the lead car in the tandem, and I truly believe it didn't help her cause at the end. Especially during that last restart, there were cars purposely avoiding being her "pusher" even though I truly believe it probably would have benefited both Danica and that trail car if it were to happen. Again, Tony Jr. has hinted on the possibility of why and I most definitely saw it in that particular instance. Quite a shame. She should have won that race.

A bit behind on the blog, but most definitely been keeping my eye on her.

Yeah, it seems I've been kinda "slack" on updating this blog. But it most certainly doesn't mean I haven't been watching what Danica has been doing on and off the track for the last few months. One thing I'm most certainly proud of her accomplishing is how her restarts have gotten a whole lot better! After watching the Darlington and Charlotte races, I've been quite impressed on how well she has improved with her restarts. I guess it has been helping her a lot to learn from one of the best at it in Tony Stewart.

Also, her great run at Road America was absolutely phenomenal! Especially considering road courses were never her strongest skill, she really showed how it should be done despite falling victim to French-Canadian stupidity at the end. I'm most definitely looking forward to her repeating her road course success at his daddy's circuit at Montreal in August.

As for Tony Jr.'s remarks about how unfairly Danica has been treated all season, I most certainly agree with him. What's unfortunate is that I have witnessed this on so many levels first hand at races I have attended. And despite whatever NASCAR may be doing to diversify both its audience and driver rosters, it still has a long way to go from getting away from being exclusively "a good 'ole southern boy's playground".

Overall, it's good to see Danica is still within the consciousness when NASCAR is mentioned in the media. And despite the sense of negativity that tends to be brought from the so-called "NASCAR faithful", it's a very positive thing for the sport. It's due to the fact that the media has come to the understanding that every time Danica climbs into that car, the potential of a historical event always presents itself. And those who truly "get it" know very well it's just a question of when.

Danica Patrick Discusses Short Track Learning Curve

JR Motorsports posted a video of Danica discussing the learning curve for short track racing and racing on flat tracks.

Jillian Michaels Interviews Danica.

Fellow GoDaddy Girl, Jillian Michaels has a fun interview with Danica on Michael's radio show Daily Dose with Jillian Michaels.

Jillian Michaels: Getting Intimate With NASCAR Star Danica Patrick 

Danica's Best Finish of the Year at Texas - 8th.

After starting 17th for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, Danica makes a late charge to finish 8th. During a caution late in the race, crew chief Tony, Jr. made a great call to get her fresh tires and on the restart, worked her way up from 13th to finish 8th. So far, it's her best finish of the 2012 season.

During the last 4 laps, Danica was looking great slicing, dicing and splitting in-between slower cars. I was quite proud to see her go three-wide into turn 1 in the middle and push the #7 GoDaddy Chevy Impala to its limits. It was also good to see how much better her restarts have become watching this race. Apparently, the two week break was a very good chance for Danica to regroup and get aggressive.

Fun at Fontana..DanicaStalk 2012

Besides being unindated with work as of late, it was difficult to write this entry. There were a few disappointments with the weekend, and I argued with myself if I should "whine" within this entry. I felt it would be detremental, so I won't get into those. Instead, I'm going to concentrate on the very cool things that happened that weekend.

First of all, I was quite entertained by Leslie and her sister, Kristin, from Biola University. I bought my beers from Leslie behind the pit area because proceeds would go to their softball team and we talked about all kind of cool sports stuff. It was a fun Friday and, of course, I got to meet Danica again. Austin Dillon had to point out I got a "hug and kiss" from Danica. I told him, she and I kind of go back.

Yes...Danica gave me "a hug and a kiss".

Saturday was quite the frustrating day. During the Nationwide race, Danica was having trouble finding speed. During a restart, it looked as if the #7 GoDaddy.com Chevy Impala was fast until the car failed. The official explaination was a hole in the radiator made the engine seize. Danica officially finished 35th. I have my own opinions about that, but I won't get into them. Let's just say I had to leave the track early because I was so pissed. Thank goodness for the "cold beverage girls", Leslie and Kristin.

Kristin and Leslie Larson, Biola University Softball. Go Eagles!

Sunday was fun...until it rained. I was all done with my frustration of the day before, and was looking forward to seeing Dale Jr. win. Of course, everybody was talking about the rain coming and they should have started the race just 1 hour earlier, but bills apparently had to be paid and we only watched half of the race. Atleast I was happy to see Tony Stewart win and Dale Jr. take 3rd. Still, thank the "cold beverage girls" for making that weekend special. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing them play versus Azusa Pacific next week.

Danica finished 19th at Bristol.

I've been so busy with work as of late that I missed out on Danica racing at Bristol this past St. Patrick's Day weekend. D'oh! But ESPN has a good article about the race and how she did:

Danica Finishes Frustration-Free 19th

I guess I'll make up for it by seeing her at Fontana, CA this weekend. Woohoo!! DanicaStalk 2012 is in full swing!

Danica finishes 12th for the Sam's Town 300 in Vegas.

After starting 12th, Danica finishes 12th for the Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway yesterday. I was there to watch, listen and root her on. Early in the race, Danica was complaining the car was loose and bumpy going through turn 1 and into turn 2. She dropped back to the mid-pack through the first 50 laps into the race. Then she turned it on after the first round of pit stops. Halfway through the race, Danica loses a mirror that covered the left side of the car and had to rely on her spotter. It is known that Danica always had issues with restarts, even during her time driving in Indycar. But the broken mirror didn't help that situation, especially on restarts where she had to start on the outside lane. Still, halfway through the race, she was one of the fastest cars out there and got up to the 6th position.

After a caution came out with about 35 laps to go, the decision was made to have her pit to cover fuel mileage in case of a green-white checker finish. She was 10th. Due to a bad restart and the broken mirror, she fell back a few spots to 15th, but at the end started to get real fast and pass cars. There weren't enough laps left to catch the the top ten and finished 12th.

At the end of the race, Danica said over the radio she was "kinda pissed off" she didn't finish in the top 10 and that she thanked the team for great pit stops. She also promised crew chief, Tony Eury, Jr., she would work on her restarts and learn to communicate better on what the car's technical needs should be. It was a very good effort by all this weekend and a positive move forward for the team since the tough start this season.

As for my experience this weekend, it was a bit interesting. Yeah, I got to meet Danica...again. And yeah, I enjoyed the Neon Garage, made new friends, drank a lot of beer, and ate really crappy food. Heck, I even got heckled a bit for being a fan of Danica (since I was wearing the #7 GoDaddy team pit crew shirt). But one observation had me really vexed. For a sport / series that is NASCAR to boast on how loyal their fans are (and they most certainly are), it surprises me how little of the actual race these same fans seem to watch when they are at the track. I was glued to my spot with beer in hand the entire race, listening to both the stadium speakers and the rented headset to listen to Danica's race communications. A lot of people asked me how did Danica do. Some even had to ask me who won. Really?! Weren't you there, too?!

I know there are stereotypes when it comes to NASCAR fans. And it is unfortunate, some of these stereotypes are true. But it's good to see NASCAR is making strides to not only evolve as a sport, but help their fan base try and evolve with them and create all new fans. It took a while for the "good ol' boys" of the South to accept drivers from other regions of the country as equals. It's going to take a while for old fans to accept a Danica Patrick, a Juan Pablo Montoya, or a Marcos Ambrose until they start winning races and championships like Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who at the start of their careers, were hated for being California boys. With all this said, I leave you with a joke a supposed "hardcore NASCAR fan" told me yesterday: "How many Mexicans does it take to blow up a jet dryer? Juan." Really?!

DanicaStalk 2012 is on!

Was a long and interesting day today that started at 7AM at the Palms Hotel and Casino where I needed to get a wristband to guarantee a meeting / autograph with Danica. Good thing I decided to get there fairly early, and not due to anticipating long lines for the wristbands, because there weren't any lines! Nope...got to meet The GoDaddy #7 team having a quick breakfast in the casino! They were gracious enough to let me take a photo of them before they headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the day's practice sessions. Speaking of, Danica had an "OK" day where they had to find speed during practice. She finished with the 7th fastest time.

JR Motorsports #7 GoDaddy Team: Tony Eury, Jr. and company.

Most of the day, I spent up in the Neon Garage area getting sunburned, watching hot girls rollerblade in circles, Vegas showgirls taking photos with NASCAR fans, watching some really good cover bands, and drinking a whole lot of beer. One of the "rollerblade girls" stepped up to me and we had some really fascinating conversation. Seriously...no joke! We exchanged numbers and hopefully we'll continue having more constructive talks tomorrow.

Anywho, it finally came to "mission time" and meet up with Danica at the Palms Casino. Fortunately, I was one of the lucky 250 people guaranteed to meet her and JR Motorsports teammate, Cole Whitt. I have enough photos and autographed stuff of hers (again, seriously, no joke!) but there was one thing I had that I always wanted to have her sign: a little girl's jersey of her first Indycar team, Rahal Letterman. When I presented it to her, she recognized the "old school" nature of it and smiled. Then I asked her to address it to "DanicaFanboy". She asked, "That's you?!". I laughed and said, "Yup, DanicaFanboy.com, that's me." She asked me what message I wanted on it as everybody behind me was wondering why she was taking so long to autograph my little jersey. I said, "How about: 'See you tomorrow'?" She said no, and wrote this:

Yes, Danica, you'll be seeing me many more times! 

Yup, she knows...

Danica finishes 21st at Phoenix.

After starting 30th for the Bashas' Supermarket 300 at Phoenix International Raceway, Danica finishes 21st. Not a bad showing but everybody knows PIR is not one of Danica's favorite tracks even though she is an Arizona resident. Danica fell 3 laps down due to Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin setting a blistering pace. It was a good race to watch especially toward the last 30 laps due to all of the pit strategies to get passed Kevin Harvick and his very fast car. It worked perfectly for Elliot Sadler's team taking the win.

Gotta love Fox News!

An idiot sports anchor from a San Diego Fox News station got suspended for insinuating that Danica is a "b-word". In a commentary about how Danica seems to be described throughout her racing and advertising career, apparently Ross Shimabuku interpreted Danica as being arrogant, when actually, Danica was trying to convey a valid point. I'd like to ask Mr. Shimabuku, how would it feel if every time he was mentioned, it was always as "Asian sports anchor, Ross Shimabuku...". Tell me, Mr. Shimabuku, is it relevant as a sports reporter that your Asian? Nope. Then why do you media idiots keep bringing up what Danica has to do for her main sponsor. Does that have any relevance to what she does on the track? Nope. But yes, she does sexy commercials for Super Bowl Sunday. Why? So she can race every weekend. It's not your fault, or mine, that we're of Asian descent, Mr. Shimabuku...as it's not Danica's fault that she is very attractive and is using it as a means to an end. But it is most certainly the fault of the general media's ignorance to describe Danica as only "the sexy girl who races cars on the weekends". 

Ross Shimabuku's "brilliant" commentary

Danica makes her Sprint Cup debut, and it's finally over.

After being postponed twice, the Daytona 500 had finally started under the lights at 7pm EST. Unbelievably, after just the first lap, Jimmie Johnson gets pushed into the wall and collects 6-7 cars. One of those cars happened to be Danica's...dammit. Not her fault, or even Jimmie Johnson's. After watching the replay, I blame Elliot Sadler on that one.

Danica trying to dodge Jimmie Johnson's wrecked car to no avail.

Danica then goes back out during lap 70 of the race. The Baldwin Racing and Stewart-Hass Racing teams worked feverishly in the garage to get Danica's #10 Chevy Impala back in the race. I know Danica is one "pissed-off chick" if she refused to get out of the car while the teams were working on it. It was definitely over an hour sitting in that car while everybody was scrambling around trying to fix the complete rear end of that race car. After hearing her thank the team for getting her back out there despite being down 62 laps, you can hear the disappointment in her voice since she was quite confident she would do well for this Daytona 500. It's been a pretty rough weekend for her, and even rougher "debut" in Sprint Cup. Danica eventually finished 38th overall down 64 laps.

Yes, I am Danica's biggest fan. And, yes, I was a NASCAR fan way before Danica even showed interest in stock cars. But as a longtime fan of racing, this Daytona 500 was one of the most bizarre I've ever watched. There were stretches of monotony as drivers were trying to keep their cars from overheating for the end. Then it started to get interesting halfway through since there was a $200,000 prize for the leader after lap 100. And again, monotony for 30 laps. Then word got to drivers that a storm was coming and they started getting racy again. Then the unthinkable happened...during a caution with 40 laps to go, Juan Pablo Montoya was getting back on track after pitting and all of a sudden his car loses control and slams into one of the jet dryer vehicles. A huge fire breaks out at turn 3 due to all of the jet fuel the dryer vehicle was carrying. The race was then red flagged. Fortunately, JPM and the driver of the jet dryer truck walked away.

Jet dryer vehicle on fire at lap 3.

This Daytona 500 was all about "WAITING". We had to WAIT for the rain to pass to start the race. Danica had to WAIT for over an hour for her car to be repaired after only 1.5 laps. We had to WAIT for almost 2 hours for fire damage to the track to be fixed with 40 laps to go. There is even footage of Danica taking what looks to be a bathroom break, Carl Edwards greeting fans, and Brad Keselowski tweeting during this WAIT. They went back to green with 34 laps to go and Matt Kenseth held back a charging Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to finally win the 54th Daytona 500. It took a 31 hour delay and 6 hours after the start to complete this race.

BTW -- I am quite impressed with Clint Bowyer's karaoke skills.

Daytona 500 postponed.

The Daytona 500 has been postponed for the first time in its 54-year history. It's scheduled for tomorrow at Noon (EST) / 9am (PST). Should be an interesting work day...

Danica finishes 38th for the Drive4COPD 300 at Daytona.

After starting at Pole and having a really decent showing for the first 1/4 of the race, Danica gets wrecked by her own teammate, Cole Whitt, going into turn 3 around lap 52. What can you say...rookie mistake. Danica looked real strong during the beginning of the race with team owner, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pushing her around the track at the beginning. Then she started falling back toward the middle of the pack during laps 30-40. Then during laps 50-52, Danica gets pushed by Whitt way too early in turn 3 and she loses control of the car and slams into the wall. JR Motorsports manages to get her back on the track being down 48 laps. Danica finished 38th, Dale Jr. finshed 15th, and Cole Whitt finished 7th to round out all of the JR Motorsports drivers. Just want to say, "Thanks, Cole!" and James Buescher still sucks.

Danica gets pushed out of control by Cole Whitt

ESPN Feature: Danica's New Attitude

People always ask me, "Why Danica?". Watch this video and you will understand why.

Danica's New Attitude

Hell of a Speedweek for Danica, huh?

Danica was all over the news last night for what looked like one of the most scary crashes ever at Daytona during the first Gatorade Duel race's final lap. Below is video footage of the final laps of the Duel, and her answering questions about the crash during a press conference this morning.

Gatorade Duel 1 Final Laps
Danica sounding off about the crash.

The irony of it is that as relieved as I was to see Danica was OK, I told my friend crashes like this tend to become omens of having a great race after. Apparently, it wasn't too far from the truth. This morning/afternoon, Danica becomes the second woman in NASCAR history to get Pole Position for a Nationwide Series Race. The first being Shawna Robinson at Atlanta on March 12, 1994. I am most certainly proud of her, and would like to send a congrats out to Tony Eury Jr. and JR Motorsports for some incredible work during the off-season.

Danica wins Pole Position for the inaugural NNS race at Daytona.

And thus, it begins.

Danica getting interviewed at the 13th Annual Media Dey at Daytona.

The 2012 NASCAR season has officially begun this past weekend and with it, DanicaMania is on full throttle!  Danica will be running 10 Sprint Cup races for Stewart-Haas Racing and the full Nationwide Series schedule this year for JR Motorsports. Which despite the past two years running in a handful of NASCAR races, it's still very "different" for me as DanicaFanBoy to not see her in an Indycar. Danica is guaranteed a spot in this year's Daytona 500 due to some crazy NASCAR math and ran her first qualifying laps this morning. Below is video of the qualifying run.

2012 Daytona 500 Qualifying Video