NASCAR Cup Series

Patrick will flourish with full-time effort

Published Aug. 18, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

Jeff Hammond

So all the buzz now is about the anticipated announcement next week from Danica Patrick that she is moving to NASCAR full time and will race in the Nationwide Series.

I think it is great for her and great for our sport.

The part that excites me about her is the improvement we have seen from her, even as she has been running on a limited basis from year to year. As we always stress, it is all about seat time. There was a marked improvement on how she raced this year from a year ago. I think you also saw an increase in confidence on her part because she realizes she can do this and really wants to do this.

I think she now understands the commitment and what it will take to be successful in NASCAR.

Obviously. with the expected announcement next week, she is ready for this new challenge. All the Danica fans and fans that want to see more females in racing should be thrilled. This should be music to their ears.

Now sure, she is going to make mistakes. Every driver does as they go through the learning curve. There are tracks on the schedule she’s never been to. Any driver will tell you that until you have raced on a track multiple times, you won’t have a good grasp of what it will take to adjust on the car to make it better. So that will be one of the challenges she is facing.

That said, if you take her to Daytona International Speedway or Talladega Superspeedway today, I think she will be a force to reckon with.

Danica has the talent and the other really positive thing is she will have the resources at her fingertips to succeed. One of her goals initially will be to try and fit in. She wants to earn the respect of the other drivers. We’ve seen her competitive fire. It is not all about the dollars and cents to her. She wants to compete and succeed. She gets frustrated when she can’t be competitive. Trust me, that is a good thing.

In talking to the folks that work with her, well they believe in her. To me that is always a great testament to any driver. When you see a crew that genuinely wants to work with a driver that is a clear signal of their belief in that driver.

A good example of that was last year with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. over at Roush Fenway Racing. Just when it looked like he was going to be ridden out of town on a rail, the crew chief and the team went to his defense. So team co-owner Jack Roush agreed to give him another shot.

The group sat Ricky down, gave him coaching and advice. The best part was Ricky took it all in with the right attitude and now look at all the success that team has enjoyed this year. He has two wins and is leading the points standings.

There is no reason to believe the same won’t happen for Danica. They’ve got the right people around her. She will have the best cars and resources to work with. I mean this really is an incredible opportunity for her and really the best scenario for her to make the transition into NASCAR racing.

Are there naysayers out there? Sure there are. I simply say give her a chance.

This isn’t a publicity stunt. I’ll be the first to tell you that when she first started coming around our sport that I was skeptical of her intentions and commitment. After the racing she has done so far in NASCAR, she has convinced me she is a serious competitor. That’s all I’ve ever asked from any driver.

In talking to Tony Eury Jr., who Danica has been working with, obviously he knows all the ins and outs and ups and downs of a driver/crew chief relationship. He is genuinely excited about this opportunity.

It’s obvious in talking to him that he sees there is something there.

That's good enough for me.