Patrick aiming for Detroit GP repeat

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.”

All Eyes On Danica Patrick For Indianapolis 500

Danica Patrick is sure to revisit the cover of Sports Illustrated, only this time as a champion driver and not a swimsuit model. The stunning 26-year-old has been voted the most popular driver for three years running and now she has proved that she can hold her own against the men.
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Danica Patrick interested in F1 test run

IndyCar race winner Danica Patrick has set her sights on a Formula One test, with Honda Racing confirming they would be interested in running the Andretti-Green Racing driver.

Patrick’s maiden victory at Motegi has prompted fresh speculation about her future, with Honda being an obvious candidate to consider her because the Japanese manufacturer supply her engines.
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Patrick not ruling out eventual jump to NASCAR

 

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Danica Patrick’s visit to the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway two weeks ago was more about seeing friends than putting out feelers.

But aside from renewing ties with former Indy Racing League peers Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr., Patrick’s Phoenix appearance as a guest of Roush Fenway Racing also could mark a step toward establishing new relationships in stock-car racing — perhaps with Jack Roush, who admitted officials from his powerhouse Cup team spoke to Patrick at Phoenix.

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History is Made: Danica Patrick Wins Indy 300 of Japan

MOTEGI, Japan - Since exploding into the consciousness of an international audience at the 2005 Indianapolis 500, Danica Patrick has answered incessant questions of when she would win an IndyCar Series race.

Next question, please.

Patrick, competing in her 50th IndyCar Series race, became the first female to win a major auto racing event on a closed-course circuit. The designation is because Jutta Kleinschmidt of Germany won the Paris to Dakar Rally in 2001.
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MILKA DUNO’S STRONG PERFORMANCE CUT SHORT DUE TO INCIDENT AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

Miami (March 30, 2008) - Milka Duno, IndyCar Series driver with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, finished early in the lap 125 of 200 at the IndyCar Series season kickoff GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, March 29.

She was forced to exit as a result of an incident caused by the car #34 driven by Franck Perera of Conquest Racing. [Read more]

Danica Patrick Criticizes new IRL Weight Rule

An Indy Racing League rule change has Danica Patrick feeling as if she’ll be penalized for being petite — which the popular driver said wouldn’t happen in other sports.

Starting this season, the minimum weight for IRL cars will include the driver, and Patrick is the series’ lightest at 100 pounds according to the 2007 media guide (which lists other female drivers Milka Duno and Sarah Fisher at 120 pounds apiece; Ed Carpenter is the heaviest at 165).

“If someone’s going to take the hit it’s going to be me,” Patrick said Thursday. “It’s disappointing the league decided to do that. In so many other sports, athletes don’t get penalized for being too strong, or too tall or too fast.

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A Night Out With Danica Patrick

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.” [Read more]