ACROSS America, little girls dream of growing up to be Danica Patrick, 25, the Indy-car driver who in 2005 became only the fourth woman ever to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

Ms. Patrick, however, has fantasies of her own.

“I’m not tall enough to be a model, but I wish I was 6-foot, because I love it,” explained the 5-foot-2 Ms. Patrick over a recent dinner in TriBeCa, adding: “It’s kind of artsy, and I’m artsy. And I love clothes.”

On a recent Monday in New York, Ms. Patrick got to live her dreams, at least for one evening. She had flown in from her home in Arizona with her husband, Paul Hospenthal, a physical therapist, for a party celebrating the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Alongside pictorials of models like Ana Beatriz Barros, Ms. Patrick is featured in a four-page spread of her own, cavorting in the South Florida surf wearing a skimpy bikini.

For a woman who spends most days with the boys in the oil-stained pits, Ms. Patrick said she enjoyed rare opportunities like this one to slip into a slinky Herve Leger dress, drape herself in diamonds, and just act like a girl for a change. She has made peace with her dual image — tomboy and siren.

“I was very against pink and purple when I was young, because they were girls’ colors,” she explained over dinner at the moodily lit Devin Tavern in TriBeCa, where the couple started the evening. “But that was only because I didn’t want people to write me off for what I can do. When I got into my 20s, I decided that was stupid. God gave me gifts. Some of them have to do with beauty, some of them have to do with talent.”

Those gifts hardly went unnoticed at the Sports Illustrated party, held high atop 7 World Trade Center, where Ms. Patrick received the treatment of a star at a Hollywood premiere. Cameras flashed from all directions. Cheerleaders from professional football teams, also featured in the issue, crowded in on Ms. Patrick, who teetered on four-inch Christian Louboutin heels. Looking on proudly, Diane Smith, the editor for the swimsuit issue, called Ms. Patrick “a natural — as good as any model I’ve ever worked with.”

As Champagne flowed and dance beats pounded, Ms. Patrick seemed a bit awed by the flashy scene. “The vibe is so glamorous here,” she said. “At the after-party of the Indy 500, I’m usually wearing jeans and a tank top.”

Apparently, people who drive automobiles 220 miles an hour for a living have a special sense of what is scary. Peering out the 52nd-story window, Ms. Patrick confessed that heights give her the jitters. And don’t get her started on dentists: “I had my wisdom teeth pulled a few weeks ago, and it was petrifying.”

But experiences that might terrify other women — say, showing off her contours against a backdrop of swimsuit models — seem manageable.

“I never do anything out of my comfort zone,” she explained.

At that, Mr. Hospenthal laughed. “She’s just very comfortable driving ludicrous speeds, one-inch from someone’s bumper,” he said.

“Well,” she responded, “that’s my comfort zone.”

[Source]