Beyond the Flag
Fansided

NASCAR: 10 small-team drivers who deserve Danica Patrick’s ride

By Asher Fair

LOUDON, NH - JULY 14: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Aspen Dental Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton's 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, 2017 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
LOUDON, NH - JULY 14: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Aspen Dental Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton's 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, 2017 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
12 of 12
Next
BROOKLYN, MI – AUGUST 12: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Code 3 Associates Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 12, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, MI – AUGUST 12: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Code 3 Associates Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 12, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Closing Thoughts

Sure, a few drivers on this list have career statistics that aren’t as good as Danica Patrick’s. But when you compare the roads that their careers have taken to the one hers as taken, there is really no comparison.

Patrick has never had to drive full-time for some of the small, underfunded and, most importantly, slow teams that pretty much all 10 of these other drivers have. In each of her five full-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, she has driven for Stewart-Haas Racing, a team far superior to any of the teams that these other drivers have driven for. Yet she has still been unable to perform at a high level.

Must Read: Why Darrell Wallace Jr. should drive Danica Patrick’s car in 2018

Also, given the fact that all of these drivers except for AJ Allmendinger are younger than Patrick is, it is pretty clear that most if not all of them are better options for Stewart-Haas Racing to put behind the wheel of the #10 Ford than Danica Patrick is.

More from NASCAR

Even if it’s not somebody like Matt Kenseth or Kasey Kahne taking her seat, the team would be making a wise choice by picking one of these 10 under-the-radar drivers who currently drive for small and underfunded teams that don’t have the speed that Stewart-Haas Racing does.

The fact that some of these drivers have still outperformed Patrick over the course of their Cup Series careers with a few others being close to her level illustrates why the #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford should be in the hands of someone other than Patrick, and there are plenty of drivers to choose from who deserve that ride more so than she does. And the fact that some of the other drivers who haven’t outperformed her are even close to her from a performance standpoint adds evidence to that claim.

Next: NASCAR: Top 10 active drivers from an all-time perspective

Which driver of a smaller team do you think would perform the best if they had the chance to drive the #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Also, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions, and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.

Home/NASCAR