'The Bet' is turning into a one-sided affair.
John Wes Townley extended his lead over Danica Patrick by finishing 17th on Saturday afternoon at Michigan, besting Danica's 27th-place finish to take a 4-0 lead in our friendly charity wager.
The "Chicken Man" remained undefeated against Danica in SB Nation's bet with fans to see which driver could finish ahead of the other more often during races in which they both participated.
Running against Danica for the first time since February, Townley managed a lead-lap finish at Michigan and had his second-best result in seven races this season.
Danica's result was her second-best of the season, too, but she ended the day four laps behind the leaders.
As you may imagine, our coverage of this bet has pleased those who think Danica is overrated but has angered her fans, some of whom are eager to defend her.
Some Danica fans with short memories of Townley's struggles have claimed that our bet is unfair, given that Townley has 36 races of stock-car experience and Danica has only six.
So just for argument's sake, let's compare Townley's first six career Nationwide races against Danica's:
John Wes Townley's first six career races: 30th, 27th, 38th, 21st, 22nd, 38th. Average finish: 29.3
Danica Patrick's first six career races: 35th, 31st, 36th, 30th, 24th, 27th. Average finish: 30.5
So even though Townley began his NASCAR career in inferior equipment compared to JR Motorsports' Patrick, he still had a better average finish during his first six races than she does.
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Townley Tops Danica In Return Of 'The Bet,' Takes 4-0 Lead
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Comments
Chicken Man all the way!
I am surprised that anyone even doubted the outcome of this.
Townley, at this point of his career, is not a great driver. But the mocking derision he faced was far overdone. Bowyer was wrecking the 21 just as often as Townley had. While Townley had been largely a road hazard last year, he was showing improvement this year. Why he was taken out of the 21 is puzzling. Certainly Richard Childress had to know that he was getting a development driver, not a veteran. Look at how Jack Roush stuck with his drivers through rough times, and is now reaping the rewards.
Townley will continue to develop, and will likely become at least a reasonable mid-level driver.
He will definitely win the ‘bet,’ even in inferior equipment. Jr. needs to put the Danica debacle to an end, soon. Maybe he could just pretend she’s one of his other drivers, who he goes through rapidly.
by goat10000 on Aug 14, 2010 5:27 PM EDT reply actions
Where did JWT start his racing career? In open wheel?
I hope JWT does improve and become a good racer. And shows RCR what a mistake they made.
Danica’s experience has been all open wheel. Big difference in the cars and how they work. Her learning curve is much steeper than his should be with his background.
Doesn’t mean I won’t pay off if it keeps going this way. ;-)
I still think Danica can do well; it will just take some time.
Carol Dahlberg
by RVnGrammy on Aug 14, 2010 5:31 PM EDT reply actions
17th is the best finish for the #09 since Riggs stepped out of the car. Not too shabby for Townley. Second best career finish for Townley, he had a 16th at Bristol in March of last year. He’s not too bad when he keeps the car out of the wall.
Danica needs experience, that’s what she needs. But she wasn’t helping herself. I think she came over expecting to be a top-10 driver and treated it as such. I think it has humbled her, but people aren’t letting her forget.
I hope Danica’s successful, but until she gets a couple years under her belt we won’t know for sure if stock cars are for her.
by Jon Doble on Aug 14, 2010 11:16 PM EDT reply actions
Remember your ABC's?
I love Danica in IRL. In Nascar though she hasn’t been someone i have rooted for. In fact, i have rooted against her. I think she needs a stiff lesson in Nascar and she is getting it. She needs to understand she cannot just jump into one of these cars and kick ass even if she has awesome equipment.
I say she should have stayed in ARCA for as many races and she possibly could and then move to NNS somewhere in the final 10 races. She took the wrong route to get into Nascar but then again I think they are trying to capitalize on her popularity
by RPMsandTKOs on Aug 15, 2010 6:35 PM EDT reply actions
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