NASCAR's eyes on her

DAYTONA BEACH — When Danica Patrick walks through the garage areas at Daytona International Speedway, she is just “one of the guys.”

Ric Bush/Special to the Chronicle

Performance Racing Network producer Steve Richards talks with Danica Patrick prior to her taping during Media Day 2012 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 16.

Ric Bush/Special to the Chronicle

Danica Patrick will try to become the first woman ever to win the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

But when she strolls through the Fan Zone area or past the Media Center at the race track, she is bombarded with requests for autographs and interviews.

The 5-foot-2, 100-pound former open-wheel driver turned NASCAR driver has a lot of pressure on her to win races — and the fans, media, racing officials and other drivers are watching.

During a recent interview with Performance Racing Network, she said the added attention on her has not increased her stress level heading into her first Daytona 500.

“I feel good,” she told PRN. “Let’s not forget I have been exposed to the Indy 500, which is one the biggest races in the world if not the biggest race in the world.”

Although female drivers have come and gone in the series over the last few decades, Danica believers are betting on the fact her skills are on the same level as her male counterparts.

“I think she is a competent driver,” Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, said last week. “She has raced her whole life and earned her way into Indy and now she has earned her way into here.”

Gordon is among many drivers in the garage giving her the thumbs up and thinks she is a great marketing tool for the sport.

“Who doesn’t want to see a female come in and race with the males,” Gordon added.

While car owner and driver Michael Waltrip, a three-time winner at Daytona, believes she has tremendous talent, he is taking a “wait-and-see attitude.”

“It is not groundbreaking,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “We have had other women in the sport, here as well as Indy. We will have to see how she does.”

One of her biggest supporters is her new teammate, Tony Stewart, the 2011 Sprint Cup champion. He is quick to say she fits right in with the guys and is looking forward to racing with her.

Stewart said she has already grown in leaps and bounds during her limited schedule last year in the Nationwide Series and expects even greater performances from her this year.

“She learns so fast, more than any other rookie I have seen,” said Stewart, who drives the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobile 1 car. “You can’t teach it, it is a skill and there is no doubt in my mind she has skill.”

Chronicle managing editor Sandra Frederick can be reached at 352-564-2930 or sfrederick@chronicleonline.com