Kanaan: IRL would be fine without Danica

If Danica Patrick goes to NASCAR maybe IndyCar won't be known as the DaniCar Series anymore and other drivers will become the heroes of the sport

If prevalent reports are true, and Danica Patrick becomes a full-time Nationwide Series driver next year, NASCAR's gain will be IndyCar's loss.

Nevertheless, Patrick's former teammate, IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan, believes the open-wheel series can flourish without the GoDaddy girl.

"I think we have a lot more personalities in IndyCar than just her," Kanaan told Sporting News on Wednesday at Eldora, where he was competing in Tony Stewart's Prelude charity race for the second time. "If we're going to think that IndyCar is depending only on her, I think people have the wrong idea. She's a big asset to the sport, but if she makes that decision—as far as girls, we have a couple of them, including Simona (De Silvestro), who have shown they have a lot of potential.

"And as far as the guys, I think we have plenty of talent there. I think we have plenty of people—as far as talent goes—to replace anybody that we lose. The series right now is on a climb, and it's more competitive now than I've ever seen." Sporting News

[Editor's Note: In fact IndyCar may prosper without Danica. How? As with any sport that's popular, there are great athletes that do great things, and the best athletes are the heroes. IndyCar racing used to be that way. Now IndyCar's biggest hero is the prettiest one, not the best one. So while Danica has gained in popularity personally, the hidden effect has been a diminished sport – so easy that even a tiny 100 pound 'girl' can do it. While the media focused on Danica, Danica, Danica, the rest of the drivers became nothing more than field fillers for the Danica show. So instead of the winners and champions becoming stars, they remained in the shadow of Danica. With but one star, and without that star (Danica) winning on a consistent basis, i.e. becoming a hero for driving skill rather than sexiness, IndyCar as a sport has become diminished.]