Patrick was confused from account to interview, answering questions and cutting promotions for her aboriginal abounding division in NASCAR. She couldn't even acquisition confinement in the bathroom: an autograph appellant followed Patrick central and patiently waited for the driver's signature.
Patrick will accomplish her Sprint Cup Alternation admission in the Feb. 26 season-opening Daytona 500. It's the aboriginal of 10 contest this year at NASCAR's top akin active for three-time best Tony Stewart.
She's aswell antagonism for the championship in the second-tier Nationwide Alternation for JR Motorsports.
Her alienation from the IndyCar Alternation is complete, and Patrick will be the centermost of the spotlight for Speedweeks at Daytona. She's accomplished with it, though, as seven years of active the Indianapolis 500 accomplished her how to handle acute attention.
"I anticipate that if I had not accomplished all the media crazy about this accomplished allotment of things it would accept been somewhat overwhelming," she said. "My accomplished (public relations) aggregation knows how it works and how to adapt aggregate so it's done finer and efficiently.
"But I feel acceptable — let's not overlook I've been apparent to the Indy 500, which is one of the bigger contest in the world, if not the bigger chase in the world, and there's lots of media about that, too, and lots of hype."
Last month, Patrick promised to yield a "honey badger" mentality into her NASCAR debut.
Danica Patrick vows to be the "honey badger" of NASCAR
"The honey badger, he takes what he wants," Patrick said. "And that's how I'm traveling to be this year, like a honey badger."
Patrick was referencing the accepted YouTube video about a honey annoy and its abridgement of absorption for others as the access she affairs to yield on the clue this season. Patrick raced apple-pie for a lot of of the accomplished two years, but tended not to advance aback if shoved on the track.
NASCAR has been anxiously apprehension Patrick's move to banal cars because, as one of the a lot of accustomed athletes in the world, she'll accompany absorption to the series. Research shows she's already added interest:
— According to The Nielsen Company, ratings for the 2010 Nationwide Alternation opener at Daytona were up 33 percent with her in the chase from the 2009 ratings.
— Overall, 11 of the 13 Nationwide contest Patrick ran in 2010 had bigger ratings than the 2009 events. Average viewership for her 13 contest was up 9 percent.
— Patrick's commodity sales endure division ranked in the top 15 acknowledged drivers at the NASCAR.com Superstore.
— Through endure week, Patrick already ranked in the top 10 in commodity sales in 2012.
— A analysis endure August of the NASCAR Fan Council showed that 80 percent of those polled agreed with the statement, "Danica Patrick is acceptable for NASCAR."
— Nielsen N-Score abstracts through January showed that Patrick ranks in the top 5 of a lot of accustomed NASCAR drivers a part of the U.S. population.
"There's so abundant absorption with Danica advancing over to NASCAR, I anticipate it's traveling to absolutely augment our fan base," Lesa France Kennedy, the CEO of NASCAR sister aggregation International Speedway Corp., said endure month.
"When she shows up, it just has a altered feel to it. She's a absolute activating alone to alpha with and I anticipate it'll be absorbing to see her attempt on the track. There's absolutely a spotlight, after a doubt, but she seems to do able-bodied with that. She seems to do able-bodied beneath pressure."
Patrick said she's able for the workload arch into the Daytona 500, and with the added agenda in NASCAR. The IndyCar division was just 18 races; the Nationwide agenda is 33 contest and next year, if she moves abounding time to the Sprint Cup Series, she'll accept contest on 38 weekends.
Dabbling in the Nationwide Alternation the accomplished two years has able her for what to expect.
"Back a few years ago, I absolutely was anxious with the plan amount that NASCAR schedules bring," she said. "But the endure two years, I went from accomplishing a 16-18 chase division to about 30, and now it's traveling to be about 34 or 35 weekends, so it's absolutely alone an added ages account of weekends so it's abundant added tolerable than jumping from Indy Car to NASCAR in one jump.
"I'm actual acceptable if I apperceive what's coming. If I get afraid and things accepting added on the agenda is if I get balked because apprehension levels are aggregate for me.
"But not alone from my angle am I added adequate now, but from my assistant's angle and the advice she gets from Junior Motorsports and Stewart-Hass, I anticipate we all accept a abundant bigger account of how to do aggregate and how to accumulate it in band and how to advice (the media) do your job."
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