Welcome to TimersSports
Danica Patrick enters 3rd season as a full-time driver with SHR and the 10 team. Recently she signed a extension with SHR and have locked up some sponsors for the 2016 season and beyond. Patrick is not a very talented driver nor a driver that will blow you away with her consistent finishes. But she have proven in the past she can get quality finishes at certain tracks and tend to luck into some real strong finishes at times. However most weekends a top 25 is a good finish for her though. Her biggest flaw is finishing out races on the lead lap. Often she tend to finish off the lead lap and usually finish poorly if she get frustrated with her fellow competitors.
Danica will be at her best on the intermediate racetracks and should have a car capable of finishing inside the top 20 on most race weekends. Typically if she keep her car out of trouble, she will finish in the 17th-22nd place range. Michigan is her best racetrack probably. It the one track where she really haven't had a really great race, but she also haven't had a bad one either. She been consistent there for her short cup career so far. She did finish 25th the last time we where there, but I think that was a fluke overall. 4 of her 5 other finishes have ended in 16th or better. I like those odds! I think she really likes racing at Michigan so that definitely helps her. I think Atlanta is another good racetrack for her. She only have raced there 3 times, but she have gotten some quality finishes so far in her career. Minus her debut in 2012 (29th place finish), she have finishes of 21st, 6th and 16th. Those are some strong finishes. What even better? Her past two finishes have ended inside the top 16. I think those are best two intermediate racetracks (based on numbers) by far and quite frankly it isn't very close either. I think there a lot of tracks she have been just decent at. Chicago would be one of them. When I look at her stats there, I am not blown away. However I am not disappointed either. In 3 career starts, she have never finished worse than 26th. But her best finished have resulted in 19th place. Homestead and Cali are the same way. She haven't been great, but she haven't been bad either. I think that is something you are looking for with Danica. She will never be great on most racetracks, but she doesn't have to be. All she have to do is not make a mistake and she will serve him purpose for your fantasy team. Not saying it always going to be top 15 finishes or anything, but a finish from 17th-22nd is more than respectable.
There are some intermediate racetracks that have me on the fences about Danica. Kansas comes to mind. Back in 2013 (spring), she finished a career high 7th at the 1.5 mile racetrack. She came back in the fall and finished 16th. Last season she had finishes of 22nd and 27th. So there really been mixed results on this type racetrack. Two really solid finishes and then two meh type finishes. It will be interesting how she performs at Kansas. I think she is pretty good on tracks like Kansas, so I think it a good idea to keep a eye on her.
I think she will struggle more on the flats in general than most tracks. I think this is a weak spot for her, especially the large flats track. Even though the shorter flats are directly behind. From a career point of view, she have historically terrible at the flat tracks of Pocono, Indy, New Hampshire and Phoenix. On the two large flats (Pocono and Indy), she have only 1 top 20 finish in 9 races. In fact that 16th place finish at Pocono remains her lone top 25 finish as well. Combined she have an 31.83 average finish on the two larger flat tracks.Yeah pretty ugly! On the shorter flats, she been slightly better but that not saying very much though. In 13 races on the shorter flats (Phoenix and New Hampshire), she only have managed 3 Top 20 finishes and 6 Top 25 finishes with 27.58 average finish. Overall flat tracks have been a real troublesome spot for her. 4 of her 6 worst tracks are either short flat or large flat racetracks. Based on that, I think we should avoid her in 2016 on the flats tracks in general. Until she proves otherwise, she will be a heavy risk for fantasy players.
Short tracks have been questionable for Danica, but she have got some decent finishes at times though. Martinsville stands out as one of them. She have a top 10 finishes and 3 top 20 finishes in 6 races, but she only have a few DNFs as well. At Martinsville, she have made 6 starts with 3 top 17 finishes and 2 DNFs. Over her past three races at Martinsvlle, she one top 10 finish (7th - March 2015) and 2 DNFs (34th and 40th - October 2014 and October 2015). Like I said she been very questionable on the short tracks. With that said, Martinsville been her best track probably. She been okay at Bristol, but I wouldn't call it great though. Her career best finish at this venue came earlier this season in that screwy wreck-filled race, where she came across the line in 9th. Otherwise her best career finish here is 18th back in 2014. Outside of 9th and 18th finishes, she have finished 26th-29th in every other start. Not exactly numbers I want to see as a fantasy option. Richmond been a very questionable track for Danica so far in career. With 4 of her 6 starts ending in 25th or worse. However she have 2 Top 20 finishes in her past 3 starts at the 0.75 mile short track. While she haven't done great here in her short career, she is starting to turn it around. Overall short tracks have been pretty iffy for Danica, but a top 25 finish is probably a good day. A top 20 finish is a great day at the office. Most times she will probably finish somewhere in the lower twenties though.
Road courses will be a place where Danica is a good but rarely run anything better than top 20 and for her that a pretty good day. She been at her best Watkins Glenn. In 3 career starts, she have never finish worse than 21st. However her best finish is 17th. So she been really consistent at the Glenn. Even though she haven't really performed all too well during the race.Her best race was last summer (2015) and she only held 64.7 driver rating. That would only be good enough for 25th best for the event. She been decent at Sonoma, but her best race came in 2014 where she finished 18th. Honestly that probably her best race on the road course. She had career best driver rating (69.1) and career-best starting position (11.0). I think her starting position really benefited her and padded her performance stats though. She was about 22nd or 23rd place car for that event. So not like she is blowing away her competition on the road courses or anything. Personally I would expect a top 25 finish from her on the road courses and hope for a finish in the top 20 range.
Restrictor Plate tracks have been either hit or miss for Danica in her young career. Her best race came back in her debut at Daytona in 2013 during her rookie season! She started first, led 5 laps, finished 8th, held 113.2 driver rating and 5.0 average running position. She was 2nd to Jimmie Johnson in both categorizes. That been by far her best performance at Daytona. She also finished 8th in 2014 summer race at Daytona. But there were only like maybe 12 cars left on the lead lap. That was a wacky race with all the rain and wreck though. Actually it was called after 112 laps. Otherwise most of her finishes been in the 30s and 40s finish wise. Talladega been much harder on Danica than Daytona though. She only have one top 20 finish in 6 races. She finished 19th in 2014 October race where she led 7 laps and held 79.9 driver rating. Danica will be a hit or miss like I said on the Restrictor Plate tracks!
Danica will be a top 25 driver with possible top 20 upside on certain weekends, but typically she doesn't live up to what expected of her. She have a habit of being caught up in wrecks or incidents that ruin her day. Truthfully I would only use her at the intermediate racetracks and try to avoid her at the flat tracks at all cost. She will have some value on the road courses and restrictor plates tracks, but I could live without using Danica there though. Overall I expect Danica to struggle to be consistent and don't really look for her to be anything beyond top 17 or top 18 finisher. And that probably on a good weekend too. An average Danica perform will be running somewhere between 22nd-25th and finishing around 20th. Even though she will probably knock off some top 10 and top 15 finishes on her very best days.
Twitter - @CrazyKateNascar
Danica Patrick enters 3rd season as a full-time driver with SHR and the 10 team. Recently she signed a extension with SHR and have locked up some sponsors for the 2016 season and beyond. Patrick is not a very talented driver nor a driver that will blow you away with her consistent finishes. But she have proven in the past she can get quality finishes at certain tracks and tend to luck into some real strong finishes at times. However most weekends a top 25 is a good finish for her though. Her biggest flaw is finishing out races on the lead lap. Often she tend to finish off the lead lap and usually finish poorly if she get frustrated with her fellow competitors.
Danica will be at her best on the intermediate racetracks and should have a car capable of finishing inside the top 20 on most race weekends. Typically if she keep her car out of trouble, she will finish in the 17th-22nd place range. Michigan is her best racetrack probably. It the one track where she really haven't had a really great race, but she also haven't had a bad one either. She been consistent there for her short cup career so far. She did finish 25th the last time we where there, but I think that was a fluke overall. 4 of her 5 other finishes have ended in 16th or better. I like those odds! I think she really likes racing at Michigan so that definitely helps her. I think Atlanta is another good racetrack for her. She only have raced there 3 times, but she have gotten some quality finishes so far in her career. Minus her debut in 2012 (29th place finish), she have finishes of 21st, 6th and 16th. Those are some strong finishes. What even better? Her past two finishes have ended inside the top 16. I think those are best two intermediate racetracks (based on numbers) by far and quite frankly it isn't very close either. I think there a lot of tracks she have been just decent at. Chicago would be one of them. When I look at her stats there, I am not blown away. However I am not disappointed either. In 3 career starts, she have never finished worse than 26th. But her best finished have resulted in 19th place. Homestead and Cali are the same way. She haven't been great, but she haven't been bad either. I think that is something you are looking for with Danica. She will never be great on most racetracks, but she doesn't have to be. All she have to do is not make a mistake and she will serve him purpose for your fantasy team. Not saying it always going to be top 15 finishes or anything, but a finish from 17th-22nd is more than respectable.
There are some intermediate racetracks that have me on the fences about Danica. Kansas comes to mind. Back in 2013 (spring), she finished a career high 7th at the 1.5 mile racetrack. She came back in the fall and finished 16th. Last season she had finishes of 22nd and 27th. So there really been mixed results on this type racetrack. Two really solid finishes and then two meh type finishes. It will be interesting how she performs at Kansas. I think she is pretty good on tracks like Kansas, so I think it a good idea to keep a eye on her.
I think she will struggle more on the flats in general than most tracks. I think this is a weak spot for her, especially the large flats track. Even though the shorter flats are directly behind. From a career point of view, she have historically terrible at the flat tracks of Pocono, Indy, New Hampshire and Phoenix. On the two large flats (Pocono and Indy), she have only 1 top 20 finish in 9 races. In fact that 16th place finish at Pocono remains her lone top 25 finish as well. Combined she have an 31.83 average finish on the two larger flat tracks.Yeah pretty ugly! On the shorter flats, she been slightly better but that not saying very much though. In 13 races on the shorter flats (Phoenix and New Hampshire), she only have managed 3 Top 20 finishes and 6 Top 25 finishes with 27.58 average finish. Overall flat tracks have been a real troublesome spot for her. 4 of her 6 worst tracks are either short flat or large flat racetracks. Based on that, I think we should avoid her in 2016 on the flats tracks in general. Until she proves otherwise, she will be a heavy risk for fantasy players.
Short tracks have been questionable for Danica, but she have got some decent finishes at times though. Martinsville stands out as one of them. She have a top 10 finishes and 3 top 20 finishes in 6 races, but she only have a few DNFs as well. At Martinsville, she have made 6 starts with 3 top 17 finishes and 2 DNFs. Over her past three races at Martinsvlle, she one top 10 finish (7th - March 2015) and 2 DNFs (34th and 40th - October 2014 and October 2015). Like I said she been very questionable on the short tracks. With that said, Martinsville been her best track probably. She been okay at Bristol, but I wouldn't call it great though. Her career best finish at this venue came earlier this season in that screwy wreck-filled race, where she came across the line in 9th. Otherwise her best career finish here is 18th back in 2014. Outside of 9th and 18th finishes, she have finished 26th-29th in every other start. Not exactly numbers I want to see as a fantasy option. Richmond been a very questionable track for Danica so far in career. With 4 of her 6 starts ending in 25th or worse. However she have 2 Top 20 finishes in her past 3 starts at the 0.75 mile short track. While she haven't done great here in her short career, she is starting to turn it around. Overall short tracks have been pretty iffy for Danica, but a top 25 finish is probably a good day. A top 20 finish is a great day at the office. Most times she will probably finish somewhere in the lower twenties though.
Road courses will be a place where Danica is a good but rarely run anything better than top 20 and for her that a pretty good day. She been at her best Watkins Glenn. In 3 career starts, she have never finish worse than 21st. However her best finish is 17th. So she been really consistent at the Glenn. Even though she haven't really performed all too well during the race.Her best race was last summer (2015) and she only held 64.7 driver rating. That would only be good enough for 25th best for the event. She been decent at Sonoma, but her best race came in 2014 where she finished 18th. Honestly that probably her best race on the road course. She had career best driver rating (69.1) and career-best starting position (11.0). I think her starting position really benefited her and padded her performance stats though. She was about 22nd or 23rd place car for that event. So not like she is blowing away her competition on the road courses or anything. Personally I would expect a top 25 finish from her on the road courses and hope for a finish in the top 20 range.
Restrictor Plate tracks have been either hit or miss for Danica in her young career. Her best race came back in her debut at Daytona in 2013 during her rookie season! She started first, led 5 laps, finished 8th, held 113.2 driver rating and 5.0 average running position. She was 2nd to Jimmie Johnson in both categorizes. That been by far her best performance at Daytona. She also finished 8th in 2014 summer race at Daytona. But there were only like maybe 12 cars left on the lead lap. That was a wacky race with all the rain and wreck though. Actually it was called after 112 laps. Otherwise most of her finishes been in the 30s and 40s finish wise. Talladega been much harder on Danica than Daytona though. She only have one top 20 finish in 6 races. She finished 19th in 2014 October race where she led 7 laps and held 79.9 driver rating. Danica will be a hit or miss like I said on the Restrictor Plate tracks!
Danica will be a top 25 driver with possible top 20 upside on certain weekends, but typically she doesn't live up to what expected of her. She have a habit of being caught up in wrecks or incidents that ruin her day. Truthfully I would only use her at the intermediate racetracks and try to avoid her at the flat tracks at all cost. She will have some value on the road courses and restrictor plates tracks, but I could live without using Danica there though. Overall I expect Danica to struggle to be consistent and don't really look for her to be anything beyond top 17 or top 18 finisher. And that probably on a good weekend too. An average Danica perform will be running somewhere between 22nd-25th and finishing around 20th. Even though she will probably knock off some top 10 and top 15 finishes on her very best days.
Twitter - @CrazyKateNascar
