TRADING PAINT!

Well, the little lady proved she can drive a stock car after all. And I mean that in the highest form of flattery, not the lowest form of derision.

Yes, Danica Patrick deserves a big round of applause for her very successful stock car racing debut – a debut that was most likely much more successful than many people thought she had in her. Many predicted she'd wreck out early, or be the linchpin of a massive, multi-car wreck, with her at fault, of course.

But Patrick showed in Saturday's Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway that she unquestionably has the mettle and ability to handle a stock car that weighs almost twice as much as the open-wheel Indy Racing League jets that she's used to piloting.

I mean, she finished SIXTH! That's not just good, that's nothing short of frickin' outstanding.

And to do so with limited practice and testing time, to keep her wits and emotions about her, not provoking or getting into any on-track conflict, Patrick earned a lot of respect in perhaps the hardest way possible Saturday. She not only proved she can drive a stock car quite nicely, thank you very much, she also proved she can hang with more experienced competitors, she could stay cool under pressure and she was both a dutiful student and conduit of information from behind the wheel to crew chief Tony Eury Jr.

She listened to Eury, while also giving great feedback. She didn't throw any of the temper tantrums that she's become famous for on the open-wheel side. She didn't overrule Eury, nor did she try to force her opinion upon him, unlike her primary team owner – who used to do that with Eury all the time.

What's more, Patrick graciously accepted constructive criticism, dutifully obeyed Eury's orders, came back from a couple of bouts of adversity that threatened to see her finish closer to 25th than the actual 6th-place finish that she wound up with, and potentially began laying a foundation that she very well may build a brand new career upon.

Sure, no race car driver's career is built upon or based upon just one start in a new series. And, quite frankly, most of Patrick's opponents in Saturday's race were a lot shorter on the talent pole than the drivers she'll soon meet in the Nationwide Series … and ultimately, if she continues in that direction, the Sprint Cup Series.

Although she said Friday that she likely would skip racing in next Saturday's Nationwide Series season opener at Daytona in favor of doing so the following week at Fontana, Calif., I have to wonder if Patrick, Eury, and team co-owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick may decide that she should go back to the original gameplan of racing her first Nationwide event at DIS. After all, she's had a great start – why not get more while the gettin's good?

I realize it's only one race, but with what she displayed, the future would seem to look very bright for Patrick after Saturday's accomplishment. Sure, she's probably going to face some struggles as she continues to climb the NASCAR ladder, but the Danica Patrick we saw Saturday could make us forget about the other Danica Patrick that has been the object of so much derision, criticism and abject hatred towards.

I remember how, nearly four years ago, I coined a phrase that caught extensive attention from many of my media peers, when I referred to Patrick as nothing more than "flash and flesh" and of very little substance otherwise.

Since then, she's proven me wrong, slowly but surely. Sure, she's still had immature blowups and confrontations, and has had some episodes of fieriness that may not have been called for. But frankly, I wouldn't respect her as a racer if she didn't display some of those traits. More than anything, it shows she cares about racing, cares about what she's doing and is one hell of a competitor.

What more could you ask for in a racer?

As far as I'm concerned, Patrick is no longer the exception to the rule – a female in a male-dominated sport. Her gender should matter no longer.

What should only matter from here on out is that she's proven she can flat out drive not just an open-wheeler, but now has proven she can drive a stock car with authority and aplomb. To come back from 24th place with 19 laps to go and ultimately finish sixth the way she did, I say this in the best spirit possible:

That was no lady out there any longer. That was a racer, and a damned good one at that. That she's a woman is no longer relevant in any debate after she did what she did Saturday afternoon. She should be proud to be called a bonafide stock car racer now -- and that's the highest compliment she so rightfully deserves.

She's gone from daddy's little girl to Go Daddy's pin-up girl.

Along the way, she's excelled in a variety of forms of racing, from go-karts to Formula Fords overseas to becoming the most visible driver on the Indy Racing League open-wheel circuit.

And now on Saturday, Danica Patrick takes what potentially will be the first step on the road to the next – and perhaps biggest – phase of her racing career, when she makes her stock car racing debut in the ARCA Series/Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway.

There's a lot riding on how well Patrick does. She's said that if she has a good showing, she still may compete in next Saturday's Nationwide Series opener at Daytona, rather than waiting until the following week at California.

There's also the comfort level and prowess Patrick will display. Has the limited testing she's had – particularly with the late commitment that she was even coming to the stock car world – be a distraction or factor in how well she does Saturday, or how she finishes? If so, when her debut is ultimately judged, what will ultimately be a good showing – if she even finishes the race at all?

Of course, millions of eyeballs will be following her on TV, across the internet, on newspaper pages and across any other form of medium there is, including things like Twitter, Facebook and the like. She's not just part of Saturday's show, she IS the show.

Suffice to say that Patrick's debut will be among the most-watched of any driver in motorsports history. There has been nearly three years of Patrick's dancing with the NASCAR stars: would she, could she and ultimately, when would she?

Now we see not only the final product out on the dance floor, but the start of what could be a great beginning for an individual who has the potential and wherewithal to become one of the sport's most popular personalities – perhaps even rivaling Dale Earnhardt Jr., for whom she's driving in both the ARCA and Nationwide series.

Of course, Patrick could flop, as well. But having criticized her for her attitude in the past, I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt now. She's earned newfound respect because she's finally doing what she said she's wanted to do. There's no more posturing or speculating: Saturday, Danica Patrick in NASCAR is the real deal.

How will she fare? She has a very difficult task ahead of her, there's no question. It's a task that is further compounded by the fact that Patrick has chosen to make her stock car racing debut in a series that is known as much for its frequency of wrecks as it is for its racing. Let's face it, sure, there are some good drivers in ARCA, but just as many – if not more – believe they have talent levels much higher than what they've actually been graced with. Many of those same drivers run out of talent far too often, as the saying goes, drive over their heads and, usually, drive over or into a lot of other drivers on the racetrack.

There's no question Patrick has talent. She wouldn't be where she is in the racing world today if she didn't. But she's a neophyte in stock cars and for all the talent she has in other series, she may be lumped in with those same drivers that can be accused of being short on talent in the ARCA circuit – until (or if) she proves critics wrong.

I'm actually pulling for her to do well Saturday. And if she does, hopefully she'll agree to race next Saturday in the Nationwide Series opener. Patrick is good for the sport and the sport should prove to be good for her, hopefully. The last thing I, and I'm sure millions of other fans want to see is for her to do a few ARCA and Nationwide series dances, and then permanently exit stage left, much like other open-wheel stars such as Jacques Villeneuve, Dario Franchitti and Patrick Carpentier did a few years back.

Yes, it's going to be difficult for Patrick to adapt to a whole new style of racing and a much different racing community. It's a transformation that is going to be all that much harder because no sooner will she make her ARCA debut and then her first Nationwide Series start (either in Daytona or Fontana), she'll be gone as quick as she came: she'll then segue back to her regular day job with the IRL and won't see a stock car track or race from a competitive level again until June.

The last thing I want to see, or hear, is after Saturday and either next Saturday or the following Saturday after that, for someone to say, "Danica, we hardly knew 'ya."

That being said, let's just hope she has a great race on Saturday. I can easily see her finishing top-20, maybe even closing in on the top-10 (a lot of wrecks – as long as she's not part of them – might help that quest).

I guess what I'm saying, even if you don't like her, give Patrick a chance. That's all she's wanted – and now she's going to have it.

Hey everyone, the design template that we were hoping to use on this page proved to be a bit more difficult to master than we thought.

As a result, we're going back to our tried-and-true original design -- with a few new tweaks added -- while we'll continue working on the other template as time allows. I'll let you all know when we're going to switch over to that new template. To me, it was more important to get a writing presence back to these pages on a daily basis; the new design can wait until we have all our ducks in a row.

As always, your thoughts, ideas and suggestions are welcome. Drop me a line at JerryBonkowski@gmail.com.

Thanks,

JB

Okay, we're less than two weeks from the Great American Race, otherwise known as the Daytona 500. And with the start to Speedweeks each year, prognosticating kicks into high gear. Who's going to do what in NASCAR's Super Bowl, even though the year's biggest race starts the season, not the end.

This year, perhaps more than the last 10 years, the field of potential winners is probably larger than it ever has been. Sure, there's the old saying that anyone can win any race on any given day. But the best drivers always seem to do the best -- that's why they are the best, right?

So, who's your pick to win this year's race? Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Tony Stewart? Jeff Gordon? Will Jimmie Johnson begin his quest for a fifth consecutive Sprint Cup championship with yet another win on the high banks of the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway?

I'm obviously still learning some of the nuances of this new software program I'm using, so we're not able to add the old-style polls we ran quite often last year. So, until I get the hang of this deal, shoot me an e-mail with your pick and maybe a sentence or two on why you're picking him to win it all.

I'll post some of the best responses as each day clicks down. To send me your thoughts, email me at JerryBonkowski@gmail.com.

Now, let's get ready for an exciting Speedweeks, culminated by the biggest race in NASCAR!