The Daytona 500 was postponed until Monday for the first time in the history of the race, guaranteeing that Danica Patrick remains in the spotlight for at least one more day.
If it wasn't enough that Patrick has stolen the show so far this weekend with her highly anticipated debut on NASCAR's grandest stage and her wreck in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, we now get another 24 hours of networks scrambling to fill the time before everyone reconvenes Monday at Daytona International Speedway for the noon start time.
With all the story lines already run leading up to the race, the focal point will be on the superstars to fill the void. We will get our fair share of Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch.
But, that also means we get an additional dosage of Danica Patrick.
Patrick is no stranger to the limelight, having carved out a commercially successful career in the male-dominated world of motorsports. But, will the imbalance between her results on the track and the attention she receives off it create even more of a wedge between her and her competitors?
Already garnering more interest than the other drivers, should Patrick go out of her way to become less of a story? Or, is that even possible given the circumstances?
This is a very unique situation in which NASCAR, too, must find that balance of capitalizing on the injection of such a celebrity while not jeopardizing the continuity of its 'good ol' boy' network.
It is quite possible that the shine begins to wear off after the checkered flag is waved tomorrow signaling the completion of the Daytona 500, but for one more day we must soak in all the glitz and glamour.
Whether we like it or not.
Contact Jeremy at jeremy@popflyboys.com, follow him on Twitter @KCPopFlyBoy, and read more of his takes on sports and pop culture at popflyboys.com
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1081884-daytona-500-delay-keeps-danica-patrick-in-the-spotlight
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