Danica Patrick would be ecstatic with another strong run at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.

After starting 11th last year at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park, Patrick worked her way up to fifth late in the race when the cars running second, third and fourth were involved in an incident with two laps to go. Patrick sped past the wreckage and held on for a second-place finish behind Andretti Green Racing teammate Tony Kanaan.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Patrick, fifth-fastest in practice on Friday with a lap at 100.100 mph (161 kph). “I’m very fortunate that I didn’t get caught up in it. It was great to stand next to Tony Kanaan on the podium, first and second. Hopefully we can do something similar again.”

Despite winning her first IndyCar race this season in Japan, nothing has come easy this year for Patrick. She has finished in the top 10 in nine of 15 races this year, but only three times in the top five, including a fifth-place showing last weekend in Sonoma, California.

“It’s been a year of ups and downs, and drama,” Patrick said. “It’s either been something on the track drawing attention or something off the track. It’s just been like that this year.

“(Winning) hasn’t lessened the pressure to win again. We’re shooting for No. 1 every week. It’s the other drivers who are making it hard on me. The competition is very deep out there, especially on the road courses. It’s tough every single weekend.”

The success has been accompanied by some distractions. The most notable one occurred during practice for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio when Patrick marched over to driver Milka Duno’s pit box to complain to her and Dreyer & Reinbold crew members that Duno was too slow on the course and blocking faster drivers. Duno responded by twice snapping a white towel at Patrick before telling her to leave.

Still, Patrick has been able to continue to focus on her driving. She’s sixth in the Indy Racing League driver standings, 45 points behind fifth-place Ryan Briscoe of Australia.

“Every year at the end you think if it wouldn’t have been for that one thing,” Patrick said. “That’s just the way it goes. But you can’t control it. Everybody has their bad races. Everybody has their throwaways. That’s what makes a season.

“Obviously Scott Dixon is kicking everybody’s butt and doing a good job this year.”

Patrick admitted that a repeat of her last performance at Detroit is going to be difficult on the 14-turn, 2-mile (3.3-kilometer) circuit.

“Passing is very difficult here,” she said. “It’s difficult to pass on any road course, really, but here it’s not like you drop a wheel off in the gravel and keep going or get pushed wide. You hit a wall.

“There’s just nowhere to go. I did a couple of them last year, but they weren’t pretty. A lot of crashes end up happening when you try. The only other spot you can make up spots outside of actually passing would be through strategy, through fuel saving, through pit stops. I think a lot of us tend to rely on strategy for the cleanest passing.”

Plus, Patrick noted that this year’s race field was expanded from 17 to 26 with IndyCar’s merger with the Champ Car World Series.

“We’ve got 10 or 11 new entries and that definitely gets into the mix. It fogs it up,” she said. “Last year there were a lot of top fives and running up front a lot. This year it’s just not been quite the same. There’s just too many drivers out there.”

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Post tags: Danica Patrick, Indy Racing League

On the day Danica Patrick claimed her historic victory at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan last month, Kristin Bumbera was half a world away. Bumbera was running at Thunder Hill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, just south of Austin. She finished 11th in the Allstate Texas Thunder 150 Race, part of the Camping World West series. She was the only woman running. She’s used to that.

Decades after Shirley Muldowney knocked down the gender barrier at the top levels of drag racing, success by women in motor sports is still largely hit or miss. But those who have followed the pioneers are now giving rise to more young drivers, and that next generation will one day be Patrick’s legacy and that of today’s other female racers.
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Read the rest of Female Pioneers Search for Equal Ground in Auto Racing

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Post tags: ashely force, Danica Patrick, kristin bumbera, Melanie Troxel, Milka Duno, Sarah Fisher

Michael Morisi

As the news continues to highlight the top female NASCAR drivers who are hoping to be the next one to make history, one in particular stands out from the rest. Tiffany Daniels has been racing for 8 years and has been a consistent top 5 finisher. She has several wins to her credit and was the 2003 Women’s National Legends Champion. Out of the car, she has accomplished a great deal as well. A 2007 magna cum laude graduate of UNC with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Motorsports Concentration and a minor in Public Relations, she works full time for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates as a Support Engineer on the #40 Sprint Cup car.

Tiffany started the 2008 season splitting time with her brother who is also an accomplished Late Model driver and a sophomore at UNC in the Mechanical Engineering program. She has posted two solid runs at Southern National Speedway and South Boston this season. Her next race at South Boston will be in the Eddie Sharp #22 Camping World East car for her debut in that series on May 31.

Tiffany has been very busy off the track as well this season. Earlier this year, Tiffany participated in and completed Phase Two of the Women in the Winners Circle Foundation’s 2007-2008 Driver Development Program and along the way was presented with a prestigious honor, the Kara Hendrick Memorial Award by former Indy Car racer Lyn St. James, known as the American Woman Racing Icon of the Century, who is the founder of the Women in the Winners Circle Foundation.

“The Kara Hendrick Memorial award is given out by Lyn St. James in memory of the late Kara Hendrick, a USAC driver who was killed the day she set a track record at one of her local tracks,” explained Daniels. “Lyn gives out the award when she sees someone that has similar spirit and talent to Kara Hendrick. It is not something she gives out every year, so it is a prestigious award and I am honored that someone like Lyn thinks highly enough of me to give this award. It means a lot to know she realizes how hard I have been working and how determined I am to make it in racing, which is a tough sport. To have Lyn St. James recognize me is really special.”

“All the drivers who attend our program really want to succeed in racing, but not every driver grasps the concept of just how hard they have to work,” explained St. James. “And when they do sometimes it’s just overwhelming and often they have to take a step back and go to work. Then on occasion I see a driver who not only has the talent and potential, but takes the information and knowledge we share and runs with it. It actually motivates and empowers them to move forward. And they are able to keep their smile and spirit intact as well. Tiffany demonstrated all of that in my opinion. She has the potential to go far and carry Kara’s spirit with her.”

Tiffany is a very dynamic, educated, professional woman who has the total package. As she continues her climb toward NASCAR history, she is certain to make a lot of headlines. For more information on Tiffany, check out her web site at www.tiffdaniels.com or contact Mike@hmiteam.com or 757-822-3017

Photos courtesy of 51 Sports Photos

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Post tags: Stock Car, tiffany daniels