Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue is out this week and IndyCar driver Danica Patrick is among the women included.

A four-page spread featuring photos of Patrick was shot at Singer Island, Fla., by photographer Ben Watts last fall. She also is the subject of a question-and-answer story by former ESPN anchor Dan Patrick, who recently made his debut in the weekly magazine as a senior writer and weekly columnist.

“It was a lot of fun actually,’’ Patrick said of the photo shoot.

“I expected it to be nerve-wracking. I’ve posed (for many photos) in clothes but I’d never posed in a swimming suit. I didn’t know if I’d know exactly what to do, but amazingly it all translated over. I was comfortable and we all had fun.”

This year’s cover supermodel is Marisa Miller. The annual edition also features photos of four athlete wives, 12 NFL cheerleaders, Will Ferrell and Heidi Klum.

More than 69 million people are expected to read the swimsuit issue while more than 250 million people are expected to view photo galleries on the magazine’s Web site. The magazine will be distributed in 10 foreign countries, including China and the Czech Republic.

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