Ryan Newman....or Danica Patrick

      By now you have heard Ryan Newman won the NASCAR race at the Brickyard 400 this past Sunday. Newman, a native Indianian, had grown up dreaming of winning a race at the Indianapolis Speedway, so you can image how emotional it was for him and his family. The win also put him back in contention for the Chase for the Championship this season.
   Now here is the problem....Team owner Tony Stewart has already told Newman that his services will not be needed after this season. A driver with thirteen years experience at the top level of NASCAR, and two of the most prestigious victories (Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400) to his credit, now finds himself looking for employment in 2014.
    Stewart-Haas Racing has another driver joining the team next year as Kevin Harvick comes over after thirteen years with Richard Childress Racing. There is a third driver employed at Stewart-Haas, and that driver is Danica Patrick.

      Danica is a good looking woman, no doubt....but is she a good enough driver to cast aside someone of Newman's talent?  This season is the first for Danica as a full-time Sprint Cup driver, but she has experience at the Nationwide and Indy Car facilities. Lets make a little comparison to see just where we stand.
    Newman is thirty-five years of age, and Danica is thirty-one. He has 424 starts in thirteen years of Sprint Cup racing, Danica has started thirty races. She won the pole position for the Daytona 500 this past February..

     She also became the first woman to ever lead a lap at the Daytona 500, and she also has led at the Indianapolis 500, and finish fourth there among the Indy Cars. 
   Newman, on the other hand, has won the pole position on fifty occasions, including for the Sunday race at the Brickyard.

      If I was Tony Stewart (..and thank God I am not) I would be looking for a good return on my investment. Remember this is Danica's first year at the Sprint Cup level, but she has banked around eight hundred thousand dollars so far this season. Newman has raked in six million dollars over his career, with Sunday's win being his seventeenth at the Cup level. If you move the catagory to Top Ten finishes, Newman has 175 finishes among this top tier.  Danica has an average starting spot of 33rd among the forty-three starting cars each week, and her average finish is 27th.
   So if she has not shown an ability to compete with the big boys of the Sprint Cup level, what is it that makes her such a valuable commodity for Tony Stewart, and NASCAR in general?

      Being a red-blooded American male, I definitely can see the attraction of Ms Patrick. She is being used as a commercial attraction for the sport and sponsors. That is purrrr-fectly okay with me if she wants to compete with Kate, Cameron, and Angelique, but so far she has shown no talent worthy of a NASCAR driver. If Stewart-Haas wants someone to start the races and survive with a finish somewhere in the back of the pack, so be it.
   Ryan Newman raised some eyebrows with his win at the Brickyard on Sunday. He will have no trouble finding a ride for the 2014 season, but I fear it will not be with a car capable of running in the lead pack.

     Newman could have used the forum to sound off about losing his ride at Stewart-Haas, but he was cool and professional as he thanked his sponsors and fans for their support. I can only imagine how Tony Stewart felt as he made his way to Victory Lane to congratulation Newman on the win. Stewart made some lame comments to the TV cameras about how they are still friends but you could see on his face how awkward he felt about the duplicitous moment.
   While the TV cameras scampered back in the garage to get Danica's comments on her thirtieth-place finish, Newman and his family gathered at the finish line to continue the tradition of the race winner 'kissing the bricks.'

      Newman, his wife Krissie, and daughters Brooklyn and Ashley, were dominately displayed for the cameras to show Newman as the perfect family man. It will be hard for him to find a quality job next year, but with Harvick leaving RCR, this will definitely give Richard Childress something to think about.