When Tony Stewart commented on Danica Patrick’s struggles after IndyCar to NASCAR transition

Switching racing series for anybody sometimes comes with its peculiarities and subtle difficulty, and Danica Patrick wasn’t an exception when she opted for a change to stock car racing. The 43-year-old, in the 2012 season, chose to switch to the NASCAR series—a move which attracted comments from her NASCAR team boss, Tony Stewart.

Patrick, who had largely experienced a trailblazing career racing in IndyCar, opted to further etch her name into the annals of American motorsports, aiming to replicate her feats in the world of NASCAR racing. However, things would not pan out all rosy for Danica Patrick, particularly in the 2013 campaign racing stock cars, as she would only finish 12 of her 36 races in her first season on the lead lap.

Tony Stewart, who was team boss of the Stewart-Haas Racing outfit, which Patrick raced for, in an interview in 2013 with Autoweek, detailed how impressed he had been with her performance through the course of the campaign. The 54-year-old, however, stressed there was room for improvement for the Wisconsin driver who had just transitioned into stock car racing.

"I see room for improvement, but I see a lot of potential," he said, praising her attention to detail.

"I think she realizes to a certain degree she took a big bite doing this as early as she did, and I think everybody's judging of her, grading of her—I think you have to look at how much time she's really had in a stock car. The time she's been in a stock car, she's done a pretty good job. I value it for what it is, not necessarily the result at the end of the day."

While it can be said to be a far-from-pleasing debut season for Danica Patrick with the Stewart-Haas Racing team, she still managed to etch her name into history when she became the first woman to claim pole position at the Daytona 500 event. Coincidentally, that NASCAR Sprint Cup race was the only one in which Patrick would finish in the top 10 that season.

What Danica Patrick said about her struggles in 2013

Danica Patrick herself had a reflection on her season and attributed it to factors that appeared certain to play a part in her switch to NASCAR. The former IndyCar driver alluded to her inexperience in stock car racing for her relatively underwhelming outing.

Patrick, who also appeared in the same interview in 2013 for Autoweek, detailed how challenging pushing the cars to the limit had proven to be for her throughout the campaign.

"When you need to get to the very limit of the car, especially when things are challenging, is when it shows up. Like first laps of practice, or qualifying, restarts, start of a green flag run — all the things when you are testing the limit and having to be confident and know the limits. I don't know them yet, and I'm not confident," she said.

"When the car is right, it's all good, I will gain spots. There is a big contrast in those moments."

Danica Patrick would indeed fall short of the expectations many had of her through the 2013 campaign, recording a season-best eighth-place finish, which coincidentally came at the season-opening race at the Daytona 500.

She would, however, enjoy more positive outings throughout her over five-year stint racing stock cars. The 43-year-old would clinch multiple top-10 finishes across several racing events on the NASCAR calendar up until her retirement after the 2017 season.