Danica Patrick finished in 22nd place this week. She finished just 17 laps off the lead.

During her first year in NASCAR Patrick has finished in 30th place or worse in six of her ten starts. Although she has one win on the IndyCar circuit she has come nowhere close to a win on the Nationwide circuit.

Harsh critics are now saying that if she can not hold her own in NASCAR she runs the risk of becoming like former tennis pro Anna Kournikova, better known for her good looks than her sporting skills.

In the other camp those who are rooting for Patrick believe that if she succeeds in NASCAR she could pave the way for a new generation of female racecar drivers in a male dominated sport.

Patrick has always managed to finish her races running. In IndyCar she actually set a record by finishing 33 straight races. However this isn’t going to cut it in NASCAR. She needs to finish in the top half of the field to be taken seriously.

She has finished in the top 10 in Indy 500 five time so there’s no doubt that she has that competitive edge and she can cut it on the IndyCar circuit but it just remains to be seen if she can make it in NASCAR.