Danica Patrick prepares for a Nascar Nationwide practice on Friday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. Jason Smith / Getty Images
Danica Patrick prepares for a Nascar Nationwide practice on Friday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. Jason Smith / Getty Images
Danica Patrick prepares for a Nascar Nationwide practice on Friday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. Jason Smith / Getty Images
Danica Patrick prepares for a Nascar Nationwide practice on Friday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. Jason Smith / Getty Images

Danica Patrick's long and winding road pits in at Nascar


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Barely two years ago, Formula One was abuzz about a possible petite, long-haired addition to its driver ranks. Danica Patrick was considering moving from the United States-based IndyCar Series to the globetrotting F1.

It made some sense. Patrick is hardly a home bird: at 16, she left her family in America's heartland to race in the United Kingdom's Formula Ford circuit. Her career aspiration was to steer the sleek, high-tech, open-wheeled vehicles of Sir Jackie Stewart and Michael Schumacher.

After her stint in the UK, Patrick circled back and launched her grown-up career with IndyCar, earning the Rookie of the Year title in 2005. As a celebrity, she broke land-speed records over seven seasons, noted by her No 3 ranking among the nation's most popular women athletes in a recent Harris Poll.

In time, though, marketing potential became almost exhausted. She won slightly more than you or me (once, 2008 in Japan) and contended infrequently. Other racing venues were explored. So, any day now, Patrick is expected to announce a switch to ... Nascar?

The little lady is spurning the glitz and glamour of open-wheel racing for the relatively plodding, closed-wheeled cars whose ancestors ran illegal moonshine on the back roads of the Deep South.

What happened with F1?

For starters, she probably realised that it offers no sure formula for success. Most drivers consider it more taxing physically than other formats, which puts the 5ft 2ins (1.57m), 99 pound (45kg) Patrick at a disadvantage. No woman has stomped on the accelerator in a grand prix since Italy's Giovanna Amati in 1992.

Her statistics speak the harsh truth. On IndyCar road and street courses, which more closely resemble F1 layouts, Patrick has managed only four top-five finishes and an average placement of 16th. On other designs, there have been 16 top fives and an average of ninth in 71 outings.

Nobody is shooing Patrick away from IndyCar. But the series has replaced a few speedway races with road and street circuits, a trend that disfavours her. Her driving skills seem more suited to the ovals of Nascar.

Besides, what was once uncommon has become the norm. The Indianapolis 500 field in May featured four women, denying her the distinction of being gender-unique.

If more is better, Patrick's pending lane change at least should please her accountants and promoters.

Nascar offers more races, more spectators and television viewers, plenty more attention, and endorsement opportunities galore with a predominantly male audience for whom women competitors remain a novelty. Not one has ever run a complete Nascar series.

Danica Patrick Inc, according to Forbes, earned US$12 million (Dh44m) during the last fiscal year, the third-highest female athlete worldwide. Race winnings accounted for a small slice.

Putting money aside, it is a logical move because Patrick might be wearing out her welcome with some of her IndyCar peers. By most accounts, she is liked and respected for non-diva behaviour.

But, even with moderate success, media and fans flock to her at the expense of the more accomplished drivers. Resentment among teams that know the way to the winner's circle is unavoidable.

Wisely, she is not jumping immediately into Nascar's top-rung series, the Sprint Cup. An entire year on its B-level, known as Nationwide, awaits, with a big boys' event thrown in here and there.

The plan to graduate full-time to the Sprint Cup in 2013 is built on patience, a virtue that at times has been elusive with Patrick. Next year, she turns 30. Maybe the milestone will bless her with an understanding that this is a tough game, particularly for flyweights, and name/face recognition does not guarantee success.

She already has sampled Nationwide, with a half-dozen top-10 finishes in 20 races. This gradual transition is the proper course, especially to break the ice with a fresh set of drivers.

Reaction has been open-arms so far, from "it is really good for us" (Kevin Harvick) to "this is great" (Matt Kenseth).

Nascar officials would throw a ticker-tape parade for her. The sport, even though it is swamping IndyCar by most popularity gauges, is stuck in second gear, with attendance and interest flat. For now, her presence in Nationwide could catch the eyes of the curious, who might tune back in to Sprint Cup the following day.

How Patrick's swimsuit photographs and risque advertisements with her chief sponsor, GoDaddy.com, will play is uncertain. Though Indy racing car pioneer Janet Guthrie has denounced Patrick's marketing approach, most see someone who, at worst, has stepped up to the line of bad taste without crossing it.

Equally uncertain is how she will fare in those 400 and 500-mile spins. Nascar drivers might not carry the cachet of the F1s, but converts are not assured a smooth ride.

Juan Pablo Montoya ranks a modest 22nd in Sprint Cup standings. Scott Speed might be jealous: dropped by his team, he has been limited to three starts this year.

For Patrick, it is time for a move, and not an overseas one. As they say in America: you go, girl.

The biog

Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren

Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies

Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan

Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India 

 

Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy

Brief scores:

Day 1

Toss: South Africa, field first

Pakistan (1st innings) 177: Sarfraz 56, Masood 44; Olivier 4-48

South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4

ANALYSTS’ TOP PICKS OF SAUDI BANKS IN 2019

Analyst: Aqib Mehboob of Saudi Fransi Capital

Top pick: National Commercial Bank

Reason: It will be at the forefront of project financing for government-led projects

 

Analyst: Shabbir Malik of EFG-Hermes

Top pick: Al Rajhi Bank

Reason: Defensive balance sheet, well positioned in retail segment and positively geared for rising rates

 

Analyst: Chiradeep Ghosh of Sico Bank

Top pick: Arab National Bank

Reason: Attractive valuation and good growth potential in terms of both balance sheet and dividends

Crops that could be introduced to the UAE

1: Quinoa 

2. Bathua 

3. Amaranth 

4. Pearl and finger millet 

5. Sorghum

Brief scores:

Manchester City 3

Aguero 1', 44', 61'

Arsenal ​​​​​1

Koscielny 11'

Man of the match: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

About Seez

Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017  

Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer

Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon 

Sector:  Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing

Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed

Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A 

Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds 

On the menu

First course

▶ Emirati sea bass tartare Yuzu and labneh mayo, avocado, green herbs, fermented tomato water  

▶ The Tale of the Oyster Oyster tartare, Bahraini gum berry pickle

Second course

▶ Local mackerel Sourdough crouton, baharat oil, red radish, zaatar mayo

▶ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Quail, smoked freekeh, cinnamon cocoa

Third course

▶ Bahraini bouillabaisse Venus clams, local prawns, fishfarm seabream, farro

▶ Lamb 2 ways Braised lamb, crispy lamb chop, bulgur, physalis

Dessert

▶ Lumi Black lemon ice cream, pistachio, pomegranate

▶ Black chocolate bar Dark chocolate, dates, caramel, camel milk ice cream
 

Company profile: buybackbazaar.com

Name: buybackbazaar.com

Started: January 2018

Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini

Based: Dubai

Sector: FinTech, micro finance

Initial investment: $1 million

The essentials

What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

When: Friday until March 9

Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City

Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.

Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.

Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
 

Neil Thomson – THE BIO

Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.

Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.

Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.

Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.

Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.

Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.

UAE v United States, T20 International Series

Both matches at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free.

1st match: Friday, 2pm

2nd match: Saturday, 2pm

UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Amjad Gul, CP Rizwan, Mohammed Boota, Abdul Shakoor, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat

USA squad: Saurabh Netravalkar (captain), Jaskaran Malhotra, Elmore Hutchinson, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Jannisar Khan, Xavier Marshall, Monank Patel, Timil Patel, Roy Silva, Jessy Singh, Steven Taylor, Hayden Walsh

The Breadwinner

Director: Nora Twomey

Starring: Saara Chaudry,  Soma Chhaya,  Laara Sadiq 

Three stars

Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle

Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

A Dog's Journey 

Directed by: Gail Mancuso

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott

3 out of 5 stars

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key developments in maritime dispute

2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier. 

2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus

2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.

2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.

2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Company%20Profile
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The details

Heard It in a Past Life

Maggie Rogers

(Capital Records)

3/5

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:

Juventus 1 Ajax 2

Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Results

Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent

Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent

Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

WITHIN%20SAND
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Moe%20Alatawi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Ra%E2%80%99ed%20Alshammari%2C%20Adwa%20Fahd%2C%20Muhand%20Alsaleh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tomb%20Raider%20I%E2%80%93III%20Remastered
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIO

Bio Box

Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3EElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%0D%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%0D%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%0D%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%0D%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%0D%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%0D%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%0D%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%E2%80%AF%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%0D%3Cbr%3ENaomi%20Osaka%20(Japan)%20-%20wildcard%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20-%20wildcard%3Cbr%3EAlexandra%20Eala%20(Philippines)%20-%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)