Maybe Danica Can Open Doors For Racers Like Chrissy Wallace

By Buzz Cutler
Rowdy.com

If the reports have it right, then after months of speculation and rumor-mongering, the Danica deal looks like it’s about to be done. Yesterday, the four-letter broke the story that Danica Patrick is set to sign a two-year deal with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports to run Nationwide cars.

Great for the Nationwide Series—its ratings should soar, at least initially. Great for Danica—unlike her series brethren, e.g. Dario Franchitti, she’s giving herself a chance to learn the way of stock cars before jumping into a Sprint Cup ride. Great for NASCAR—I can only surmise that this will lead to a full-time Cup ride in 2012. Amid all of this greatness, however, the one person I keep thinking about is Chrissy Wallace.

Chrissy won the Wallace Bowl at Talladega Superspeedway on Halloween finishing 13th in the Camping World Truck Series race compared to her father Mike’s 28th-place showing. She is also the first female to win a race at the famed Hickory Speedway.

Yes, I realize that a Late Model victory and a handful of Truck starts can’t be compared to Patrick’s IndyCar tenure, which includes one victory. I am also well aware that Danica Patrick is a marketing juggernaut along the lines of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The reality of professional sports is that marketing dollars might matter more than performance and definitely count for more than potential.

Chrissy is trying to climb the sport’s stepladder the old-fashioned way. She is working her way up from Saturday night racing to regional series to a national touring series, improving her skills along the way. I’m not trying to suggest that Chrissy’s path is any nobler than Danica’s. I say get there any way you can, and, admittedly, Chrissy’s last name and family connections are certainly easing her path.

That being said, I can’t help but wish that some of Danica’s spotlight would spill over and cast some of its glare on Chrissy. As a matter of fact, I’m sure where Chrissy is, there are countless more young women trying to find their way into this boys’ club. Perhaps, the best thing that can come out of Danica’s notoriety is that her presence opens some future doors for them, much like Shirley Muldowney’s might have done for Danica.

Buzz Cutler is a co-host of Rowdy.com. For the best NASCAR community on the internet go to Rowdy.com. 

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