As a female NASCAR fan, you would think that I would be all giddy about a female racer coming into the sport with great sponsorship, two great teams and recognition for something that she hasn’t even succeeded yet.

Yeah, I’m not all that excited.

In fact, I’m a bit annoyed about it and for several reasons.

There’s a part of me, as a huge supporter of Stewart-Haas Racing and its two drivers, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, that makes me wonder what do they have to gain with hiring Patrick part-time next season besides huge sponsorship money?

Stewart-Haas Racing started out strong in their first year together. Both Stewart and Newman made the Chase and were in contention for wins every week.

Last year, Stewart made the Chase and was in contention for the grand prize while Newman just barely made the cut.

This year, they are both on the brink of not making the Chase, even though Newman has a win under his belt that helps his chances. Stewart has publicly said that his car has sucked and they need to work on it.

How can the team expect to get better when next year they have another car to come in and worry about?

Stewart-Haas Racing is not ready to become a three-car team, no matter what Stewart says. I don’t care if Danica Patrick is coming over to their Kannapolis, N.C. office with baked cookies and the promise of leprechauns with pure gold, they are not ready.

I don’t care if they have the Hendrick horsepower backing them up, not even all of the Hendrick cars are running well and I can prove that in two names— Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin.

Then there’s the recent history of drivers jumping from Indy to NASCAR that hasn’t gone that well — drivers who are more talented than Danica have the awards and accolades to prove it.

Dario Franchitti (Mr. Ashley Judd), the 2007 Indy Car champion and 2007 winner of the Indianapolis 500 made the jump to NASCAR, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing (before merging with Dale Earnhardt Inc.).

The highest finishing position Franchitti got while in the No. 40 Dodge was 22nd at Martinsville. The rest of his 12 finishes were in the 30’s, 40’s or he did not qualify for the       race.  His average finish was 33.9 and his average finish was 30.7.

Sam Hornish Jr., a Indianapolis 500 winner and a three-time IndyCar Racing League Champion, made his move to NASCAR in late 2006, running several Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) races for Penske Racing. In his first two starts, he finished no better than 36th.

The next year, he competed in seven Busch Series races, with his best finish being a 15th place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 2008, Hornish moved up to the Sprint Cup Series and had a great first race, finishing 15th in the Daytona 500.

Hornish continued to race in the Sprint Cup Series throughout 2009 and 2010, but when his sponsor Mobile 1 left for Stewart-Haas Racing, he was left without a Cup ride. His less-than-stellar record did not open any doors for him for another Cup ride. He is, however, racing trucks sometimes in the Camping World Truck Series.

Hornish’s best finish in the Sprint Cup Series would come in 2009 at Richmond with a sixth place finish. Overall in his Sprint Cup Career, he had a 26.6 average finishing with a 24.0 average starting position. He never climbed higher than 28th in championship points.

If drivers like championship drivers like Franchitti and Hornish can’t make it in NASCAR, what makes anybody think that Patrick can?

In the seven years that she has been racing in the IndyCar Series, she has raced 110 races with two different teams. She’s only had one win and three poles. The highest she’s ranked in points is fifth in 2009.

Since she’s began racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, her average start is 23.05 (according to NASCAR.com) and her average finish is 23.7. Out of 19 starts, she’s had no wins, one top five and three Top 10’s.

While it does seem that she’s doing better this year since the highest she finished last year was 21st at the California fall race.

During a press conference Thursday, Patrick was asked about the IndyCar to Cup Series road kill phenomenon —Franchitti and Hornish — and she claimed she’s not worried about it.

“We take into consideration what other drivers have been able to do, but at the end of the day, I’m not them, I’m me and I have different opportunities and I’m working with different people and I think we all have the chances to create our own success in different ways and hopefully the way that we’re going about it works,” she said in the press conference.

What opportunities does she have that is different than what Franchitti and Hornish had? Both were driving for top teams when the two drivers joined them in NASCAR.

Is it because she has more money opportunities with Go Daddy following her every move and her marketing value (she’s notably the most popular race car driver in the world aside from Dale Earnhardt Jr.)?

Who knows, but for some reason, I see this as just another flash in the pan. I usually agree with Tony Stewart on a lot of things, but this time, I don’t think this is going to end well.