Catching Up On Racing News as I Heal   April 24, 2008 Lisa Fowler - SCR   Since I have been under the weather for what seems like an eternity, I wanted to just share my thoughts on some of the recent racing news.     First of all, I want to congratulate Danica Patrick on her win in Japan. I hope she will go on to win at Indy and at some point; I would love to see her come to NASCAR. I have always hoped to see a female succeed in the Sprint Cup Series; maybe she will be the one.  I had high hopes for Erin Crocker. I think she is a talented driver that made some bad decisions. She should have pursued her racing career, not the team owner.     In Danica, I see a beautiful woman that takes pride in being a woman but also loves to tear the guys apart on the race track, a female version of Jeff Gordon. She is as comfortable on the cover of Vogue as she is on the cover of Sports Illustrated.   Photo: James S. Langley Danica Patrick Has now Won in the IRL, Could NASCAR be Next? Next thing I want to comment on is the Nationwide Series race in Mexico City. I watched this race through a somewhat drug induced haze from the pain medications that I was taking but I think I remember the high points. The most surprising thing to me about this race was Boris Said. We always expect Boris to do well on the road courses but this was just not his day. I suppose he will always blame Marcos Ambrose for the way his race ended but I think his problems started much earlier. He should have thanked Marcos for putting him out of his misery.  I hope he will get over it and apologize, not only to Marcos but to the fans. We do not like this side of him and it will not help his cause as he continues to try to run more races.     Then there is Kyle Busch, will someone please turn this kid off. It is nothing personal against Kyle, just the fact that he is one of those people that I can not make myself like. He is talented, he is a fierce competitor, he is worth his weight in gold, and I am sure. I just think he needs to go to etiquette school. I hope that in a few years, with Joe and J.D. Gibbs' guidance, he will become more polished and more likable. I sometimes think he came in to young.  Had he been more mature in the beginning, maybe he would have been more accepted. Since I love to see him race, I want to see him succeed and have a long career. I just want to be able to enjoy it.     I have been trying to keep up with some of the talk about sponsors coming and going. The most recent news seems to be that UPS is waiting to see if Office Depot will re-sign with Carl Edwards. I guess the days of life long associations between drivers and sponsors are long gone. I still hate to see some of these associations come to an end. It had seemed like the Petty’s would always be STP, Dale Earnhardt Sr. would always be Goodwrench and Dale Earnhardt Jr. would always be the Bud Guy. Now the money has to follow the successful drivers and success had better come quickly.   SCR is looking for writers in all the series we cover, if interested email us at scr@stockcarreview.com to receive further information.       When UPS took over sponsorship for Dale Jarrett after Ford Motor Credit's departure, I was very unsure of the match. I hated the colors, hated the car, and never expected them to succeed. Now UPS is a part of the sport and I hope to see them remain involved for many years to come. I also hope Office Depot will continue their association. They are one of the companies that I support because of their involvement with the sport and I do not want to have to change where I shop for office supplies.   Times are changing and the economic picture is not pretty. I just want to say thank you to all of those corporations that place their confidence and give their money to support the sport of auto racing. In today's world, it must be difficult to write those huge checks, we appreciate it and pledge to continue buying your products and using your services as long as you remain loyal to our passion for racing.    Lastly, I want to mention a young man that may be worth keeping an eye on. Sheflon Clay is racing Limited Late Model Stocks out of Asheville, NC. Sheflon came home with a 5th place finish in his second start at Newport Speedway in Newport Tennessee on April 12th. At only 15, I plan to enjoy watching him race for many years to come. Congratulations Sheflon.   Questions, Comments: Email Lisa    The views and opinions in this article are that of the writer(s) and not necessarily that of SCR     Advertise on StockCar Review, SCR has advertising rates starting as low as $12.00 per month. Email us at