Welcome to Must Read, where we single out the best stories from around the automotive universe and beyond. Today we have reports from Sports on Earth, USA Today and The Truth About Cars.
Being Danica Patrick — Sports On Earth
Here's a great profile of one of NASCAR's most exciting drivers. It turns out she wasn't a fan of those GoDaddy ads, either.
With her first season as a Sprint Cup Series behind her, the clock is ticking on her attempt to prove that she belongs in the biggest racing circuit in the country. With a friend in Stewart-Haas Racing owner Tony Stewart and a steadfast ally in sponsor GoDaddy, Patrick will be given every opportunity to forge a lasting career. Whether she does so will be one of NASCAR's most closely watched stories in the next half decade.
NASCAR missed its most mischievous in 2013 — USA Today
Speaking of NASCAR, it was kind of boring this year, wasn't it?
But it was the presence of Tony Stewart at the championship celebration that reminded why much of 2013 lacked a certain panache and pizzazz.
"It gets pretty stale without me," Stewart joked after the Ford EcoBoost 400 in an interview on SiriusXM Satellite Radio's NASCAR channel.
Pride Before the Fall — TTAC
I've always wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle. Stuff like this is why I don't.
Free of its rider, the bike continued to follow its momentum over onto its far side while I was thrown, still in seated position with my legs beneath me, high into the air almost like a fighter pilot being ejected from his stricken aircraft. The odd thing was that, despite the amazing height I achieved, my forward momentum was not really that great and I had let go of the bars quickly enough that I hadn’t been thrown head over heels. I straightened my body and landed hard on my feet, breaking into a run as soon as I touched down. In a mere moment I was safe on the sidewalk looking back at my stricken bike as it attempted to disgorge the contents of its fuel tank into the street.