Danica Patrick will take to the track in a select number of NASCAR events this season for JR Motorsports -- unofficially a Hendrick Motorsports satellite team. Patrick isn't the first woman to join the elite ranks of NASCAR,and she's unlikely to be the last. However, no female driver has had the top-flight equipment that Patrick will find herself in during NASCAR events. As such, Patrick can't be a 20th place driver. She has to produce solid finishes to prove she deserves the ride and the respect of her peers on the track.

Patrick can't bank on the fact she's the first female driver in NASCAR with a legitimate chance to win a race. She simply has to go out there and do it, while keeping her nose clean in the process. On a larger scale, her rookie season will garner more mainstream media attention that Jimmie Johnson's quest for a fifth consecutive Cup title. Don't get me wrong - as a female, I'm thrilled she's out there. But I'm just not sold on her driving abilities.... yet.

I didnt know much about Patrick before the press conference at JR Motorsports, complete with the Speed Channel cutting into regular daytime programming. Patrick was an open wheel racer and the fact of the matter is those cars just don't do much for me as a fan. Although I enjoy the spectacle and appreciate the history of the Indianapolis 500, I'm more attuned with the standard NASCAR race. I like the concept of a driver having a rough day in the car, the team working on it all day, and then somehow pulling a top-10 finish out of the day. In NASCAR, the struggle for 14th place is often more entertaining than watching the leader pull away from the pack in the closing stages. In open wheel racing where Patrick cut her teeth, any kind of sheet metal damage would likely end a driver's day. In NASCAR, you'd be hard pressed to find a race where the winning driver didn't have some kind of sheet metal damage. Suffice to say, Patrick is entering a different kind of motorsports arena.

Patrick participated in an ARCA test session at Daytona International Speedway in December 2009. Nearly every article from the session talked more about her entry into the car rather than her lap times. There is no denying her open wheel ability, having scored the victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300. She was the 2005 Rookie of the Year and also finished in the top-5 at the 2005 Indianapolis 500.

Her on-track success is muddled by the Danica Patrick marketing brand. I went to her website www.danicaracing.com and was surprised by what I saw. The entry picture does not show the typical race car driver. Unless you knew she was a race car driver, you might have thought you pulled up the wrong site. If you look closely at the opening picture, you can see her holding a racing helmet -- but only if you look very closely. An Internet search for Danica Patrick images could get a visit from the IT department at work once the pictures of her bikini-clad body on the hood of a car show up on your screen. Female athletes often complain they are held to a different standard than their male counterparts. In an effort to get noticed, the shorts seemingly get shorter, the skirts get a little skimpier, and the talent that got them to the dance becomes an afterthought.

Patrick has an uphill climb as she embarks on her inaugural NASCAR season. Richard Petty has been vocal with his thoughts on women in racing. "I just don't think it's a sport for women," Petty said in 2006. "And so far, it's proven out. It's really not. It's good for them to come in. It gives us a lot of publicity, it gives them publicity. But as far as being a real true racer, making a living out of it, it's kind of tough." In Petty's view, women are welcome to spend money at the racetrack, pose for pictures with the drivers, and be event cheerleaders. In his view, the idea of a female driver is simply a publicity stunt.

I'll chalk this up to "The King" espousing the values that came from growing up where he did. Since legions of female fans make up a large chunk of NASCAR's fan base, if a female driver is indeed a publicity stunt, at least they chose one that can give the boys a run for their money on the track, and then hang with Jay-Z off of it. Regardless of efforts to broaden its appeal, NASCAR remains culturally conservative and resistant to change. There will be just as many drivers and fans pulling for her success as there will be those pulling for her downfall.

Danica Patrick has the opportunity to be the first successful female driver in NASCAR history. She will be held to a higher standard than some of her male counterparts. Is that fair? Of course not. But life is not fair. Kelly Earnhardt, general manager of JR Motorsports, said she expects Patrick to be eaten up by the wolves. Earnhardt was only joking, but the proverbial wolves are on the prowl.