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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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.
Formula Atlantic driver Mishael Abbott of Indianapolis returned to Virginia International Raceway (VIR) for the Oak Tree Double National, a two-race weekend hosted by the North Carolina Region Sports Car Club of America (SCCA).
Mishael finished Race 1 on Saturday in fifth place and Race 2 on Sunday in second place at the picturesque 17-turn, 3.27-mile road course.
The long weekend was one of progress and enjoyment for Mishael and her K-Hill Motorsports team. It started on Thursday with general practice but on Friday’s first round of qualifying her clutch went out and she had a problem with her transponder resulting in not recording an official lap time. Mishael had to rely on Saturday morning’s qualifying session which secured her fourth on the grid among Formula Atlantics for Race 1.
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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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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
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.
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
March 6, 2008 — You got to love a chick that drives a car at 220 mph. And Milka Duno does that and more. The foxy race-car driver is the first woman in history to win a major international sports-car race in North America by capturing the overall win at the Grand Prix of Miami in 2004.
And she has the highest finish for a female driver in the 46-year history of the 24 Hours of Dayton race. Her Indy 500 average is a whopping 220 mph. But cars are not he only toy this Venezuelan export loves.
She almost hesitantly admits to owning “something like 200″ sunglasses, “many, many, many, many” belts and “a lot” of jeans.
“But why is that important?” asks a buff Duno.
“I have many other accomplishments. Fashion is just part of my Latin culture. All Latin women like to look their best. That’s only normal for us. There are a lot of other more important things about me than fashion.”
This accessory aficionada is a naval engineer by trade who earned four master’s degrees (organizational development, naval architecture, aquaculture and maritime business) by the age of 25 before her life unexpectedly took a sharp turn.
“I went with some friends to race, you know, just for fun,” she explains. “I was the only girl in the group.” And after just a few more tries, she says, “I was winning.”
This year, she is ventureing beyond the race-car circuit.
She plays driver Kellie Gearbox in the upcoming “Speed Racer” flick. And her bilingual kids book, “Go, Milka, Go!” hits stores this month.
“My book is meant to inspire kids to study and earn an education,” Duno says.
MÜNTER HEADED FOR CAPITOL HILL:
SPEAKING TO CONGRESS ON BEHALF OF CLIMATE SECURITY ACT
(February 29, 2008) WASHINGTON, DC – On Monday March 3 Leilani Münter will be headed for Washington DC to speak with members of Congress about the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. Leilani will be working with the National Wildlife Federation and training with members of their educational staff on the latest in the legislative fight against global warming.
“I am really excited about my trip to Washington,” said Münter, “My background is in science and I feel strongly about the need for us to make changes to the way we are living on this planet. Small personal changes are important as well, but to make a big impact we need the laws to change. We need big businesses to change their ways. I would like to do whatever I can to make those types of changes happen. The time is now.”
About the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act
America’s Climate Security Act (S.2191), introduced by Senator Lieberman (I-CT) and Senator Warner (R-VA), recognizes that climate change is damaging America’s natural resources and will cause substantial additional damage in the future. If passed, the legislation will reduce global warming pollution through a cap-and-trade system. The bill includes a low carbon fuels standard, resources for renewable energy and development of energy efficient technologies, creation of new “Green Collar” jobs, and funding to help wildlife adapt to changes in habitat caused by global warming. The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act requires large emitters such as power plants and oil refineries to collectively cut their greenhouse gas emissions every year, starting in 2012, at a pace scientists say is needed to avoid catastrophic climate changes. Global warming is one of the biggest challenges we will face in the next century and the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act is an important new approach to combating global warming that works for our economy and our environment.
About National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the United States’ largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over 4 million members and supporters in 48 state-affiliated organizations. NWF has over 4 million members and a record of achievement that spans seven decades. Their message is simple: we have a moral responsibility to protect wildlife for our children’s future. We do this by aggressively confronting global warming, protecting and restoring wildlife and habitats, and connecting people and nature. NWF seeks balanced, common-sense solutions to environmental problems that work for wildlife and people
About Leilani Münter
Leilani Münter is the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series, the developmental league of IndyCar. She has been racing stock cars since in 2001 and had been working her way up the NASCAR ladder when she made the switch to open wheel cars in 2007. Sports Illustrated named her in the top 10 female race car drivers in the world and her racing accomplishments have landed her in the pages of Italian Vogue, ESPN, Men’s Journal, and Esquire Magazine. Leilani graduated from the University of California San Diego with a Bachelors degree in Biology specialzing in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution and is well known for being active in environmental and conservation causes. She hosts an Earth Watch section and blog on her website leilanimunter.com.
Race Car Driver, Sarah Fisher, Shares Her Day at Work in New Book, “Water Cooler Diaries”
A new book of tell-all “day diaries”reveals what a day on the job is really like for women with glam careers to underlings with bosses from hell
Indianapolis, IN (February 28, 2008) – Sarah Fisher, IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 race car driver, is featured as a “day diarist,” in the acclaimed new book, Water Cooler Diaries: Women across America Share Their Day at Work (Da Capo Lifelong Press, pub. date: March 1, 2008). Fisher’s day diary is showcased along with 35 other entries from both regular and notable contributors, including model and actress Angie Everhart, celebrity chef Sara Moulton, blogger Heather Cocks and SnakeBabe, a.k.a. Maria Gara, billed the world’s sexiest magician.
Sarah’s day diary offers a great first-person perspective into the realities of being a world-class athlete and competitor in what is perceived as a man’s sport, says series creator and editor Joni B. Cole, who selected Fisher’s entry to feature in the book, and interviewed her as part of the project. Sarah is an inspiration, Cole adds. She’s not one to rest on her laurels. She makes opportunities happen through hard work and perseverance, as well as talent. And she’s just plain likeable, Cole offers with a laugh. You can see just from this intimate glimpse into one day in her life why her fans love her, and why women and girls see her as a role model.
Water Cooler Diaries evolved from a national pitch for 500 women across the country and from all walks of life to chronicle a single day in their lives March 27, 2007. The 35 full-length stories, offer glimpses of job highs and lows from every field and income bracket struggling in their own ways. Fisher’s day on the job was captured while completing her first test on a professional road course at Sebring International Raceway where she was testing for the then upcoming Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. In early reviews, Publisher’s Weekly calls the book, both fascinating and eye-opening. Booklist writes, Skimming through this collection is not a good idea. There are sentences that will make readers stop, laugh, tear up, nod, and otherwise savor common and out-of-the-ordinary experiences.
Being a part of this national book project was really neat for me, added Fisher, 27. I wrote in a diary as a kid and keep a notebook of my happenings for ESPN.com during the racing season. But with this project, it felt really personal and I felt comfortable sharing a bit more of what I was feeling. I was at Sebring in a road course car, something I wasn’t familiar with at all. In life, things change and evolve and we constantly have new challenges to concur and I think this book gives a nice snapshot into the many lives of working women. I’ll be interested to read about the other featured diarists and the obstacles that we might have shared.
In March, Water Cooler Diaries will share shelf space in the bookstores with the first two volumes of the series: This Day in the Life, Diaries from Women across America (2006); and This Day: Diaries from American Women (2004). In a starred review, Publishers Weekly wrote about This Day in the Life, There is not one piece in this compilation that is not captivating. People magazine concurred, The ensemble resonates with drama, humor and pathos. This is one unremarkable day you’ll wish could go on forever.
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