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NASCAR! Danica Patrick and Tissot Watches are Giving it Away

by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

February 27, 2012 1:28 pm UTC 1 Comment

Hey NASCAR Nation what would happen if Danica Patrick won the 2012 Daytona 500?

I can think of a number of things. But one, for sure result would be that the value of Danica Patrick memorabilia would go through the roof.

You need some Danica gear before the price goes up, as a collector inflation hedge. We can help.

On Pit Row is offering a Danica Patrick Prize Pack, thanks to the folks at Tissot.

Swiss luxury wristwatch brand, Tissot has a long history of sponsorship in motorsports. Danica is one of the most marketed drivers in racing and Patrick’s latest timepiece for the brand, the Limited Edition Ladies White Quartz Classic Watch ($895), can be found here.

One lucky On Pit Row reader will win an autographed Danica Patrick Photo, a JR Motorsports Crew Shirt and a miniature diecast race car.

Here’s how to enter:

Send an email with your name and mailing address to TissotOnPitRow@gmail.com
For additional entries, follow OnPitRow – @OnPitRow on twitter or Like On Pit Row on Facebook.
A winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday March 13, live On Pit Row
*By entering this contest you will opt in to Tissot’s weekly newsletter

Filed under: Danica Patrick, Daytona 500, JR Motorsports, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio

Tagged with: NASCAR contests

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Hey NASCAR: Shaun White Wants to Drive!

by Charlie Turner

January 29, 2011 10:48 pm UTC No Comments

Unless your head has been buried in basketball this past week, you almost had to see the B F Goodrich Tires TV campaign featuring Winter X Games super star snow boarder Shaun White.

Shaun White wants to drive. Right now, it seems he’s considering giving rallying a go. And rally style racing seems a fit for White. All auto racing is extreme, but rallying and rally-cross have a place already in The X Games. And Shaun White has made more out of X Game fame than anyone.

According to Bloomberg Business Week’s Power 100, Shaun White is the 2nd most powerful figure in sports. Really.

And if Shaun White is going racing, NASCAR should try to get him. For the Nationwide Series.

NASCAR gets plenty of negative pub concerning the state of their game. There has been a dip in enthusiasm for the big show – The Sprint Cup Series. That is not the subject here though.

The bright and shining star of the France Family portfolio going forward could be the Nationwide Series. NASCAR has consistently claimed that the NNWS is a development series. They’ve even made a significant rule change to encourage driver development by forcing drivers to choose just one series to compete for a championship.

Fan Development More Important than Driver Development

NASCAR will never need a series to develop driver talent. Sprint Cup is North America’s number one auto racing series. Nothing is close. Everything else in racing feeds it. It’s where the money is and driver talent will always follow the money.

Fans are another story. The perception has been that fans only come out – in big numbers – to see the stars of Sprint Cup. There have been plenty of ideas floated for fixing the NNWS. The complaints that so-called Busch-wackers from the Sprint Cup ranks robbed NNWS of any shot at an identity led to the new single championship rule. For the first time since Martin Truex Jr won his Busch Series crown, a non-Cup driver will be NNWS Champ in 2011. But who?

And will anyone really care?

Dale Earnhardt Jr and Red Bull have the Right Idea

A few years ago, Earnhardt Jr started providing one of his JR Motorsports late models for motocross super star Ricky Carmichael. Carmichael is known as GOAT. GOAT as in Greatest Of All Time, in motocross. The GOAT has had limited success in NASCAR, but he brought new fans with him.

Then in 2009 Junior made big news by signing IndyCar star Danica Patrick to his NNWS team. Again, new fans and big pub show up whenever Danica races in her NNWS car.

Late in 2010, Red Bull Racing – a big sponsor in Extreme Sports - announced the signing of Extreme racer and daredevil Travis Pastrana to a NNWS contract for 2010. Pastrana has a huge fan base and brings a vibe to the NNWS that it needs in order to carve a niche.

So if Shaun White wants to drive, NASCAR should find a way to get him if they can. New blood. New fans. Growth.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Filed under: Danica Patrick, JR Motorsports, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Rumors, Nationwide Series, Red Bull Racing

Tagged with: B F Goodrich, Extreme sports, rally, Ricky Carmichael, Shaun White, Travis Pastrana, X Games

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Danica Does Daytona

by Charlie Turner

December 18, 2009 5:02 pm UTC No Comments

Danica Patrick took her first laps in anger on Daytona Internaional Speedway today during practice with the ARCA Racing Series. Here’s a bit from ARCA’s PR department…

Patrick, one of 26 drivers who posted a time during the 35-minute single car run session, was 12th quickest on the charts with a time of 51.095 seconds (176.142 mph) around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. A trio of three cars fielded by long-time ARCA Racing Series team Venturini Motorsports comprised the top three positions in Friday’s test session, led by fulltime series competitor Mikey Kile (49.804 seconds/180.708 mph).

Patrick only had four laps at full speed Friday, due to rain delays. But she said she got a feel for stock cars…

“It’s still a car once you get in it, “Patrick said during a post test media center press conference on Friday. “I feel most comfortable once I’m at speed actually.

Everything from getting into the car to getting the car started–that part feels quite different to me. It’s not normal to me. The car gets pulled out to pit lane and you get in the car when its in its pit stall in an IndyCar and the getting strapped in part is something that I’ve been familiar with for a long time now so everything is a little bit different but once I get out there I feel good. I feel comfortable.

These cars can run more lanes on the track. You’re all the way to the wall and the car is good to go there. It’s easier to drive there and in an IndyCar you can’t use quite as many lanes usually. That’s just one of the first things I noticed. The gear shifter has more travel. You have to pull something and no more paddle anymore. The clutch is long. It’s just different stuff. But I wouldn’t say that there is any instinctual stuff that is different which is the best part, right? Because I just get to be a driver and I get to do what I’m used to. I feel comfortable once I get going. “

Photo credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Danica Patrick, Daytona International Speedway, JR Motorsports, NASCAR & the Media, Nationwide Series, Testing news

Tagged with: ARCA testing, GoDaddy.com

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ARCA Racing Series President Ron Drager Welcomes Danica Patrick to Stock Cars

by Charlie Turner

December 11, 2009 1:57 pm UTC No Comments

Danica Patrick – NASCAR driver.

Not so fast bubba. First, Danica will do ARCA. As in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/Max and Menards.

Danica Patrick’s long waited for announcement that she will drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr’s J R Motorsports in selected 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series races was Tuesday.

But before she turns a NASCAR lap in anger, D-Pat will test and race at Daytona in the ARCA Racing series.

[media id=29]

ARCA president Ron Drager joined us On Pit Row Tuesday night for a far ranging interview. He talked about Patrick, and other high profile racers who have gotten their stock car chops honed in ARCA and the state of the ARCA Racing Series as it enters 2010. Here is part one of Ron Drager, On Pit Row.

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Danica Patrick, Daytona International Speedway, JR Motorsports, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Rumors, Nationwide Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio

Tagged with: ARCA 200, ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/Max and Menards, ARCA testing, Go Daddy Racing, Ron Drager

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Over My Dead Camel!

by Charlie Turner

October 17, 2009 7:48 am UTC No Comments

[media id=18]

Mindy Monday is back and better than ever. The Monday Morning Crew Chief is looking forward to in-car radio chat between Tony Eury Sr and a certain future NASCAR rookie. And she doesn’t miss an opening when she gets a chance to tell it like it is about certain teams. Watch it now.

Filed under: Danica Patrick, JR Motorsports, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR, NASCAR Rumors, NASCAR video, Nationwide Series, Richard Childress Racing

Tagged with: Mindy Monday, Tony Eury Sr

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Talk of Danica in NASCAR Won’t Go Away

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Over ten years on the air and three on the net; see what can happen when I don't let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

October 6, 2009 8:05 am UTC No Comments

Danica Patrick signed a three year contract with Andretti-Green Racing to continue running in the IRL and the talk of her moving to NASCAR stopped….for a few weeks.

Now new information is coming from Hendrick Motorsports and it’s Nationwide satellite team JR Motorsports that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Danica Patrick may be working together in 2010. Patrick and Earnhardt are looking at their connection with sponsor GoDaddy.com as a way to make the IRL darling a part of NASCAR.

Patrick could run Chevys out of the Hendrick/Earnhardt stable in selected events in 2010 when not running in the IRL. Selected ARCA events could also be on the slate to move her along the fast track into stock cars full time when her IRL contract is concluded.

A lot has been written about Patrick’s purported move to NASCAR and each time the “leverage” angle pops up. Many believe her talking with NASCAR owners is nothing more than a tactic to increase her paycheck from her IRL suitors.

Danica is a force to be reckoned with regardless of which series she runs. Wins are not the total factor in determining her value to a series. You only have to look at her perspective car owner to see that. While Earnhardt has struggled at the track for two years, his fan base has never wavered.

Bring Danica into the fold and let her learn the right way. Put her in good equipment in the Nationwide and ARCA series and let her fans swarm the race tracks.

This week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW is:

Now that Danica has an IRL contract; can her entry into NASCAR be considered legitimate?

Let us know what you think and we could use your answer on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show. Listen live every Tuesday at 5pm ET. Your call could win you a Kevin Harvick bobblehead if you are the Shell-Fuel my Passion call of the day. Call the show live at 1-800-645-2946 or send a tweet to @onpitrow.

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, Hendrick Motorsports, JR Motorsports, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio

Tagged with: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, Hendrick Motorsports, IRL, NASCAR

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