Danica still a work in progress in the IRL

By DAVID GREEN

Five years have flown past since Danica Patrick burst onto the scene by becoming the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500. "Danica Mania" has cooled a bit, but the 27-year-old is still one of American auto racing's hottest commodities.

For sure, there's anything but a consensus about Patrick's talents as a driver. She is without a doubt pretty good; you just don't go out and lead the Indy 500 and finish fourth as a rookie without having some idea of what the job entails.

Critics, though, have plenty to work with. She has only one career victory; she has moved from team to team, always seeming to have conflicts with one group and opting for greener pastures elsewhere; she is confrontational with competitors and even teammates and can be testy with the media.

All that aside, she is one of the top commodities in sport right now.

The IRL IndyCar Series is in NASCAR country at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway tonight, and Danica's visit comes at a time of great curiosity about her future. A NASCAR ride is one of the possibilities fans are pondering.

In Paul Woody's story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the writer concludes that Danica should take advantage of the chance to switch to NASCAR.

Here's hoping that she doesn't.

I hate it that big-time racing has evolved past the point at which drivers could try their hand in other series without turning their backs completely on others. But that's the world we live and race in nowadays. That makes decisions such as the one Patrick is facing so much more important.

Dario Franchitti was fortunate to come out of his NASCAR struggle with a top IRL ride. I'm convinced Franchitti is a better driver than his NASCAR resume suggests. The number of people who have excelled in multiple disciplines of motor sport is very small indeed. But his stock car racing endeavor was a flop.

The bottom line is that Danica does not have the kind of success in IndyCars that Franchitti and several others have achieved. Once she conquers the IRL -- by becoming a consistent winner and, if not champion, at least a contender -- then she can take a look at other challenges.

Until then, it's hard to defend charges that she's exploiting her celebrity because she doesn't really have the talent.

I'm one who believes she has talent. Moving to another series would be the worst way to attempt to prove that she does.