Who is NASCAR's Danica? Erin Crocker and Sarah Fisher are the leading candidates, but talent alone won't get them to Nextel Cup

Don't think NASCAR didn't notice how Danica Patrick's fourth-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 turned her into a motorsports star. Now the question is: Where is NASCAR's Danica Patrick?

"There's nothing ... stopping it from happening; we just haven't had our Danica Patrick lately," says Mark Martin. "It's going to happen. I just don't know where or when."

The leading candidates are Erin Crocker and Sarah Fisher, both 24. Another to watch is Allison Duncan, 26.

Alter sponsorship dollars dried up for her IRL ride, Fisher took Richard Childress up on an offer to drive in RCR's developmental program and is competing in the NASCAR Grand National Division West Series. She says hooking up with a first-class organization is just one small step toward breaking into NASCAR.

"There isn't just one solution to making the big-time--it takes laps, practice and the right people," Fisher says. "Hopefully, I am doing what is right to get there."

Ryan Newman, who helped Fisher with setups during her midget racing stint, believes she is doing the right things. "I think she's a talented driver," he says. "I don't know 100 percent about her IRL career, but I've said before, whether a person is young or old or male or female, it doesn't matter to me. They are racers once they strap into that racecar."

Talent isn't the only requirement on a driver's path to success. Although it may seem shallow to say, part of Patrick's appeal is her appearance, which enhances her marketability. "A racecar driver isn't always just a driver," Newman says. "You've got to have marketability. You've got to be well-spoken. You have to be able to manage yourself around fans and everything else."

But getting from the feeder series to Nextel Cup is no different for women than it is for men in at least one way.

"It takes sponsorship," Childress says. "That's what we're lacking with Sarah Fisher to give her the opportunity. We wanted to look at her on the West Coast ... but we really haven't had the funding to do it right."

Duncan, also part of Childress' developmental program, drives in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series at Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway, where she became the first woman to win a late model feature event. She has a little farther to climb but shows talent.

Although NASCAR has helped foster development of female drivers, the sanctioning body has to put its money where its mouth is. NASCAR requires sponsors who seek "official status"--official office supplier, official home improvement center, etc.--to contribute funds to the Drive for Diversity, but NASCAR won't say how much money goes to the program.

Former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Janet Guthrie, a pioneer for women in racing, says her biggest regret was not having the financial support to maximize her teams' potential.

"Finding the money to get it done with is the biggest challenge," she says. "My advice to women wanting to break into the sport: Bring money. Bring lots of money.

"You also need concentration, good judgment, emotional detachment--not getting angry or excited on the racetrack--desire and concentration, again and again and again."

Dodge was at the forefront of diversity in racing long before NASCAR, investing its own money despite the increasing costs of developing drivers. As a result, Dodge's and Evernham Motorsports' commitment and Crocker's talent have made her the female frontrunner to make it to Nextel Cup.

"We're hoping with Erin we can kill two birds with one stone," owner Ray Evernham says. "She fits into the diversity side, but I think she's talented enough to eventually become one of our full-time drivers."

Evernham is using his resources--and drivers Jeremy Mayfield, Kasey Kahne and Bill Elliott--to solidify his Busch Series program before putting Crocker in the car because he wants to provide her the best possible opportunity to showcase her talent. All three drivers have been at Crocker's disposal for questions at the shop or the racetrack.

"There are definitely some different challenges here," she says. "The Cup series is probably as competitive as any series in the world right now as far as quality cars, quality teams. ... I think in stock cars the competition is really close. I'm not just talking about the Cup series--the Busch Series is the same way.

"It seems like there are a lot more opportunities for younger drivers, probably a little bit more pressure, a little bit more media. It's probably a bigger nut to crack."

Evernham crew chief Chris Andrews recently tested with Crocker and was in her pit for the ARCA race last week at Michigan. He says her future is wide-open; she just needs seat time.

"Erin has all the natural ability that you look for in an up-and-coming, developing driver," he says. "She has a great feel for what the car is doing. She's not afraid to go fast. She's receptive to whatever we want her to do. She flat-out outdrove the guys in the World of Outlaws race, and that's what you look for when choosing a driver.