Why The Media Gives Danica So Much Attention

If you’re a regular visitor to this page, you probably don’t want to read too much about Danica Patrick.

People who stop by to read SB Nation’s NASCAR coverage are devoted fans who know all the ins and outs of their favorite sport.

And many don’t love Danica. They think she’s overhyped, isn’t committed to NASCAR and don’t understand why the media keeps pushing her on fans who aren’t interested.

Yet every time she’s at the track, I’ll be blogging about her. And the rest of the media will be writing story after story about her.

That seems to make some NASCAR fans angry and confused: Why are you covering her? We don’t care! Treat her like every other driver.

With apologies to that point of view, the Danica coverage will continue. Below are some reasons why.

• Danica is one of the most famous athletes in the country – and maybe the world. Like it or not, that’s a true statement. Yeah, she’s gotten there by posing in bikinis and making commercial after commercial instead of through her on-track success (one career IndyCar victory on fuel mileage). But to every reporter in the NASCAR media center, a major name participating in NASCAR is news.

Personally, I believe many media members are wayyy over the Danica hype and don’t really enjoy the whole thing. But I also believe every one of those reporters has a boss who is telling them, “Hey, we need a Danica story today.”

And if you want the real truth, some of those bosses are also saying, “Look, we don’t have room for any other Nationwide Series coverage. Don’t worry about the rest of the race or who wins. Just get a Danica story.”

Race fans won’t like to hear that, but that’s what editors believe is newsworthy given the amount of worldwide attention Danica attracts.

• Even if the core fans don’t care about her, she draws in new fans. At least that’s the idea that many fans relayed to me when I asked about her on my Facebook page the other day (click here to read their comments on the subject). People who can’t name a single NASCAR driver – and trust me, those people actually do exist – have still heard of Danica Patrick. In fact, many people outside of the motorsports world don’t even understand that IndyCar and NASCAR are two different forms of racing.

Danica helps bring in that mainstream fan, and so the media responds. Again, it’s not great for the fans who already tune in and watch NASCAR, but she brings new eyes to the sport just out of curiosity. So if even a small percentage of those people give racing a shot and decide they like it and will watch more often or attend races, you’d have to argue Danica is a major positive for the sport.

• She has tons of money behind her. Companies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to promote Danica, between her sponsors and TV networks and various tracks and racing organizations. That kind of publicity makes her a relevant story, no matter how poorly she finishes or if she is ultimately successful or not.

The best comparison is Anna Kournikova. While perhaps the most famous women’s tennis player at the time, Kournikova was popular for her looks and marketability. She wasn’t a winner, but it didn’t matter; she attracted attention, so she got coverage.

So the next time you wonder why the media doesn’t just back off and treat Danica like any other driver – or even give the same treatment to another female racer – just remember why there are so many stories about her in the first place: She’s a world-famous celebrity who also drives cars.

No matter how you feel about her personally, it’s news every time she shows up.