Dear Danica,
I don’t normally write these kinds of letters to pretty girls — other than my wife, I mean.
I don’t typically reach out to hot, sexy women that attract attention and make a living by ... well, by being hot and sexy. My wife wouldn’t like that.
But after seeing some of those commercials you make and some of those online videos you star in — I won’t even mention the magazine spreads and that swimsuit issue a few years ago — and watching you race around the track in your pretty green car, well, I couldn’t resist.
But don’t take this the wrong way. Before you go running off to the courthouse to file a restraining order, understand that I’m not writing this letter for myself.
I’m writing on behalf of NASCAR, its fans and its sponsors.
They want you, Danica. And they need you. They need you now. Or soon.
They need you to give up those fast, dangerous Indy cars and make your home in NASCAR, where you can become a bigger star than you ever dreamed of.
NASCAR needs a new, fresh face that can attract a big following — a huge, national following that puts them on par with the biggest names in the NFL, the NBA and MLB.
NASCAR is off to a good start this season and is chock full of star drivers. But not all of them have a broad following. Most of them don’t even fully resonate with the majority of NASCAR fans.
In case you haven’t heard, NASCAR Nation isn’t exactly enamored with its five-time champion. Oh, he’s a nice, friendly guy, good-looking, charming, the type of guy you’d want living next door to you, but he’s a bit too good — on and off the track — for NASCAR fans. They like drivers with more personality, with some charm, charisma, spunk and pizzazz — all things that you’ve refined and wrapped in a nice, neat, attractive package.
NASCAR has a most popular driver — an ultra popular driver — but, well, you know the story there. You drive for him at JR Motorsports and probably know as well as anyone that Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t exactly giving Junior Nation a lot to cheer about these days.
Junior’s last top-five finish, in fact, came courtesy of, well, you. Nice run at Las Vegas, by the way.
NASCAR’s other top stars — Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick — all have a love-hate relationship with fans. Some love ’em, some hate ’em, and only one of them — the one they call Rowdy — really stirs the passion of fans.
That’s what NASCAR needs. A new star that excites and exhilarates fans the way larger-than-life legends like Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt once did.
A fresh face, someone different. And if it’s a fresh, pretty face, well, then that’s even better. Icing on the cake, as they say.
NASCAR has had female drivers before, but none with your looks, personality and charm. None that could capture the attention of male and female fans alike, not to mention a wide array of sponsors. And none that had your driving talent and potential behind the wheel.
NASCAR needs you, Danica.
And I’m pretty sure that you need NASCAR, too.
You’re already a star in the IndyCar Series. You’re the circuit’s most popular and recognizable driver despite modest results. You’ve brought more attention to that series than the rest of the drivers combined.
Now you’re approaching a career crossroads and a major decision.
IndyCar or NASCAR?
You can’t continue to do both. You’re only cheating yourself, depriving you and your sponsors of reaching your full potential.
Imagine the possibilities if you brought your good looks and marketing appeal to America’s most popular form of motorsports full time?
It would be a boon for the sport and your career.
You’ve already become a big draw in the Nationwide Series, helping attract more fans, more media and developing a nice fan base, one that flocks to your souvenir hauler every week.
Imagine how much greater the attraction if you brought that vast appeal to the Sprint Cup Series. You would become an instant star, not only in NASCAR but across the entire sports landscape, perhaps even giving NASCAR a star that can finally bridge the gap between sports and entertainment.
You’ve already got the backing of a loyal, clever sponsor in GoDaddy.com. Imagine the additional sponsors you could attract if you moved to NASCAR’s top series and committed to racing there full time.
The buzz you’ve already generated in NASCAR is not surprising, of course. What we didn’t know is whether you could actually drive a stock car.
But after a few early bumps in the road, you’ve proven this year that you can do that, too. Your run to the front at Daytona was exciting, your fourth-place finish at Las Vegas impressive.
In just 16 Nationwide races, you’ve probably done just enough to peak the interest of top team owners in the Sprint Cup Series.
Some of them — Roush Fenway Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing — just might have rides available next year. Some of them probably would jump at the chance to add another team for a driver who could attract the attention and sponsorship that you would bring.
It might be a struggle for a while. You would face a big learning curve and some tough challenges. But you’ve shown that, in time, you can be competitive.
But beyond all that, you could become an instant star, perhaps NASCAR’s biggest.
And with that will come all sorts of new opportunities to take your vast appeal and marketing machine to new heights.
So come on, Danica, make your move. The ball’s in your court and the time is now.
I know you have hopes of winning in IndyCar again and winning the Indy 500, but your future is here, your future is now.
So take the plunge. Show us what you’ve got.
And don’t take that the wrong way.
