Danica Patrick’s Sprint Cup Debut is Huge One: Fan Take

Danica Patrick makes the move up from NASCAR's Nationwide Series to the faster Sprint Cup circuit Feb. 12, 2012, at Daytona. On NASCAR's biggest stage, the most prominent female driver in the sport will make her debut in the fastest stock car race in America.
The move by Stewart-Haas Racing was inevitable and premiering the newest member of the team at the Daytona 500 is the perfect way to usher in a new era. Daytona will be the first of 10 races on the senior circuit for Patrick. A majority of her appearances in the Spint Cup will be during the Chase for the Sprint Cup when points will matter less and less.

Every time Patrick gets behind the wheel of a Sprint Cup car, it will be a media event. Every lap she leads will be dissected to help determine her future in 2013. If she races well and gets loads of experience in 2012, a full-time racing schedule for the Sprint Cup is a foregone conclusion.

Patrick will also run a full-time schedule on the Nationwide Series. However, the biggest race of her career will happen very early in the season. The Daytona 500 has the largest payout, biggest spectacle and is the most special race of the year for NASCAR.

Patrick's success won't just hinge on her time at Daytona. Trevor Bayne won the 2011 version of the event and just now won his second race of the year, Bayne's first on the Nationwide Series, Nov. 5 at Texas. USA Today reports it was Bayne's first win in 76 tries on the Nationwide circuit.

For Patrick to have a successful season, she needs to build on each race. Getting intense on-the-job training at Daytona will be her first test. If she can use that experience and turn it into several victories on the Nationwide Series, Patrick's year in 2012 will certainly be deemed worthy of more time in NASCAR.

In her first race since giving up IndyCar, Patrick finished 11th at Texas . Before that race, she had one top five and three top 10 finishes on the 2011 season.

The 2012 NASCAR season may be the most notable in history depending upon how Patrick does. I can't wait to see how she does.

William Browning has been a NASCAR fan since the days of Cale Yarborough in the late 1970s and early 1980s on the Winston Cup circuit. He currently lives in Branson, Mo.

From:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AhBX6qyePJq5jSVfJd94K93ov7YF?slug=ycn-10371811