Danica Patrick to fit right in at NASCAR

In professional sports the biggest stars are the best athletes. For example, you are not going to start at quarterback for the NY Giants because you have a pretty face, or pitch for the NY Yankees if you posed half nude for a magazine, or play basketball for Chicago just because you are Michael Jordan's son.

But in American motorsports you can be a 'star' if you fit one of those categories. Take Dale Earnhardt Jr. for example. He's a star not because he is the best driver, far from it, he's the son of Dale Earnhardt. Sr.

Danica Patrick, 29, has been something of an underachiever since arriving in 2005. Consider, for a moment, that she is one of a small group of drivers who have started 100 or more IndyCar races since that rookie season of hers.

Scott Dixon has started 112 races since then and won 22. Helio Castroneves has started 111 and won 13. Tony Kanaan has started 112 and won 10, and Dan Wheldon has started an even 100 and won 13.

Patrick has 111 starts and has won one, but she is the sport's biggest star because she has posed half nude for magazines and is a pretty woman. And when she goes to NASCAR she will instantly be as popular or more popular than Dale Jr. so she will fit instantly.

And you wonder why sports fans mock motorsports in America and say it's not a sport? There you have it.