NASCAR is a Bumpy Ride for Danica Patrick

Courtesy of freep.com

Danica Patrick could get lapped — several times — by the good old boys at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn next weekend.

If she notches a top-15 or even a top-20 finish in Saturday’s Carfax 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race, well, she’ll have saved some face.

Patrick, who became the first female driver to win a race in a major closed-circuit event at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan in 2008, made a part-time move to stock cars this season. She is driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports and finding the going rough.

The GoDaddy.com girl hasn’t exactly turned heads in NASCAR with her finishes, with a best result of 24th in five Nationwide starts. But she hasn’t hit the panic button, either.

“With limited track time, you just can’t keep up with the greats in the sport,” said Patrick, who drives in the IndyCar Series full-time for Andretti Autosport and placed third in the 2009 Indianapolis 500. “You also don’t want to get in their way.”

Patrick is paying her dues, and she’s not complaining.

Transition To Stock-Car Racing Is A Work In Progress For Patrick

She has led laps at Michigan International Speedway before, at more than 220 miles per hour, but that won’t count for much next weekend.

If Patrick gets her No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet up front in Saturday’s Carfax 250 Nationwide Series race in the Irish Hills, they might check the car later for steroids.

Patrick, the darling of the IndyCar Sries, has struggled to make the transition from open-wheel star to stock-car racer in 2010.

In five races for JR Motorsports, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., she has finishes of 35th, 31st, 36th, 30th and 24th, and has been involved in a couple of wrecks — not to mention she did not qualify on speed in one race, taking a provisional.

But if you think Patrick, one of motor sports’ most popular and photographed figures, is down in the dumps, you’re wrong. The 28-year-old from Roscoe, Ill., is a fighter, not just a pretty face, and she’s prepared to take her lumps and learn.