Thought I would be the first to bring this up, but looks like Chris Isidore of CNNMoney beat me to it: Is Danica Patrick the next Anna Kournikova? Kournikova never won a tennis tournament, and Patrick has yet to win a race (although it is still early in her career.) Though, after she placed 8th in yesterday’s Indy 500, I can’t help but think that she might be the next athlete whose good looks and marketability exceeded her athletic talent.

Kournikova, it seemed, spent so much time living the “model” lifestyle–photo shoot, party, tv commercial, party, party, party–that she never even got close to developing her potential on the tennis court.

From Isidore’s column:

Patrick says she needs to start winning soon to maintain her appeal to advertisers.

“What I always kept in mind, and what I really believe, I just need to win,” she said when I asked her whether marketing considerations weighed in her considering a jump to NASCAR. “Wherever I’m at, it will be a big deal when I win, and a lot of other things will materialize and things will happen.”

Here’s an idea: Patrick should suspend all of the photo shoots, red carpet events, and everything else non-racing related for about six months and focus just on seeing that checkered flag.