Of course, the way Danica Patrick looks has opened some doors for her, doors that wouldn’t otherwise open for some other nameless, faceless, anonymous driver chasing the dream. Who cares?! Business is “business” and those same doors are going to slam shut if she can’t deliver. It doesn’t matter how novel she is or what she looks like if she’s not competitive. And at this point, I don’t know that she will be.

Sure, she made a nice statement in last week’s ARCA event. She did better than most expected, finishing sixth, avoiding a crash, and saving her car in the process. It was impressive and she earned the right to take the next step. But, ARCA isn’t NASCAR. And it really isn’t a Daytona nationwide event.

Now, she’s taking a big swing. She just got the call up from the lowest independent league to Triple-A. And she’ll be trading paint with a deep, tough field featuring some of the best drivers in the Sprint Cup. In other words, I wouldn’t be looking for another sixth place finish, because that’s just not going to happen. One thing to wear out some Single-A scrub who’s got nothing left and is putting it on a tee. Quite another to dig in against a hungry Triple-A’er, who’s willing to do anything to get to the show!

I’m not sure whether or not they’re moving to quickly with her, but we’re about to find out.