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Danica Patrick has all the tools needed to be competing for wins next year. She has had a couple years of NASCAR experience, she is on a team that is serious about winning, and she has momentum going into next year.
Entering into her third full season on the Sprint Cup circuit, Patrick has had the opportunity and time to learn to be competitive in NASCAR. She has gained track knowledge, car experience and evaluated racing styles enough to be successful. The series schedules most tracks twice, giving her a familiarity for unique aspects of certain speedways and the chance to learn the differences with each track.
With Patrick previously racing Indy cars, switching to a heavier NASCAR may have been more of learning curve than expected, but now having some experience, she has something to build on for next year. Drivers in the developmental series make claim that racing with Cup drivers helps learn their racing style, and Patrick has run with the front pack numerous times to know intricacies of her competition.
Now with Stewart-Haas Racing fielding three former champions, Patrick has many mentors to turn to for input. The team is very proactive on finding the right pit crew/driver combination. She is switching crews with Kurt Busch in 2015, and will have a fresh start with a new crew chief. If she has any struggles in 2015, they won’t come in the form of pit lane.
Patrick always has good showings in plate races, and the latter half of the year showed overall progress from the No. 10 car with running up front at times in races. With that momentum and all the tools at her disposal, Patrick needs to show that she can race with the top-tier NASCAR drivers in 2015.
Kevin Jacobs is a NASCAR writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @KevinJ816 “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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