DPR Sports & Racing News

Danica Patrick Starts 12^th in Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200

Danica Patrick, making her stock car debut in Saturday's  Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards race, made an appearance in the Daytona Int'l Speedway Infield Media Center on Friday afternoon to discuss the transition to stock car racing and her 12th-place starting spot in Saturday's race.

"The car's pretty good. We started off the day yesterday with a long practice session which was nice. I probably won't have the luxury of a long practice session for the rest of the year. We had a good four hours to work on the car and we did kind of need it and we got the car back to more kind of where it was in the practice we were here in December for. We weren't really picking up as much speed as we wanted when we were taping it up and trying to go as fast as possible but what we were really happy about was just when we went out to qualify today we went about the same speed that we did in practice and we didn't drop off at all, which can happen sometimes when you're the only one out there so we were happy about that and I think it showed. We were ahead of a few people that were ahead of us in practice. As Tony Eury Jr. pointed out to me, 'you're going to be able to see the pace car from there!' so apparently that's ok.

Danica you've lost the practice but you haven't really run in the draft here is there any way to simulate that so that you can get a sense of what that's like or do you just kind of have to do it?

I did run in the draft here in testing in December. I did it probably about three different times. I went out there with up to five cars in a group. I tried everything from running the front of the pack to running the back of the pack and in the middle. Even tried to bump out there. That's a little harder than I thought it would be but I felt really good. Worked on closing that distance between two car lengths and being right on them at a half a car length because with my INDY Car experience I thought two car lengths was on them but it's not, which is understandable why the accidents are so big because you have nowhere to go because you are literally nose to tail. So I did get some practice. There will never be enough of that. I think that for a long, long time to come it will be something that you get better and better at but I am really glad that we did get out there in the December testing and that there was enough time to do that.

You're starting alongside Frank Kimmel. He's a nine-time ARCA Champion so if you want experience there's the guy. Do you feel very fortunate that you are starting next to a guy that has so much experience in these types of cars in this series?

Definitely. A lot of these drivers are new to me. I don't know a lot of them. But just from the experience that I have had with practice and getting to know them a little bit, being familiar with their driving and their speed at least if I haven't met them. There's a lot of nice guys out there and its nice to be around some good drivers. Tony [Eury Jr] was pointing them out-'he's good, he's good, he's going to play good, be careful here, be careful there' but as he said, 'you're in a good group' so  that's good. The last thing you want to do is be put in a situation where you got to watch it at the start until about eight laps to go. I think we're in a good spot We'll hit the gas and keep our foot on it as long as we can.

Leilani Munter was on Twitter last night and mentioned that you had loaned her your spare HANS Device. Did you know her before? There are a half-dozen women in this race. Have you gotten to know any of them? I guess that's unusual. Can you talk about what that's like?

I see you on Twitter all of the time. I do know Leilani. We were actually Hostess Race Divas  for a couple of years back in my first couple of years in INDY Cars and she's very nice. She's always been very, very nice to me. She sent an email out to me a couple of days ago saying that she wasn't sure that she would get her HANS back in time for practice and if I had an extra and I matter of factly had one in my bag as I was bringing it over here to the race so I did have an extra and I was happy to give it to her.  I don't mind at all. We're very similar size.  I don't really know the rest of the girls out there. I don't know them but I always try to make an effort to say hi to everyone I see. Try to make friends and fit in get associated but if I haven't seen them I probably haven't said hi to them so I'm sure at one point I will meet them. If not it's a matter of circumstance.

Milka Duno indicated that she was surprised that she didn't have control of the engineering and she was so used to making adjustments in open wheel racing. Where do you find the balance between driver and engineering in these cars?

Tony Eury Jr is a very good crew chief. In INDY Car our engineers are crew chiefs. I'm lucky to have great engineer-crew chiefs in both places. Tony's very talented. He's obviously been Dale's engineer. He was Dale's engineer for a long time, or crew chief. He knows what he's doing. I tell him what the car is doing and he fixes it and we worked very hard yesterday. We actually tried quite a few things and we did need the time to improve the car and we did that. And it has been that way pretty much everywhere we've went. I would say nine out of ten times I have a problem and I tell him what it is and he fixes it and that's it. It's like ya, okay, it's good. Now what? So he knows what he's doing. For me it's a matter of learning from him and understanding about the car. The difference between INDY Car and NASCAR is a lot of things are spoken in opposites so it's been a little bit confusing to me but I'm getting familiar. I'm getting into the car setup side as much as I can. It's hard to digest it all at once but  it will take awhile.

Have you had a chance to talk to any Cup drivers? There's a lot more give and take here, especially the give.

I spoke to one last night. He sent his driver over there to come and get me at my bus and I was very flattered. I've never met one before. I've kinda said hey or whatever on the pit wall at the 24 hours race that we've been at before. I'm planning on playing it fair with everybody. If they give me a reason to be mad then I'll do something about it. These cars do have fenders and you're not going to take yourself out like you do in an INDY Car. But I'm not planning on being a jerk out there. That would imply that I did something to someone else before they did something to me. I'm out there to make friends right now unless someone gives me a reason not to like them.

How are you so calm through all of this? And what about Monday and your decision where to run the Nationwide race...is that a team/group decision?

As far as being calm. I'm lucky enough that I've been put in situations similar to this where there is a lot of media attention. Racing in the INDY 500 is always a lot of attention. Not as much as this but you do get a feel for it. Once there's 20 interviews what's the difference if there's 30? And I have a lot of people helping me, making sure that I am where I need to be and that I have time to drive the car and do what I need to do there. I've had plenty of time to chill out in the truck and watch TV with the guys. I hang out with them a lot and I really like all of them. The biggest difference? There's so much stuff that is different. There really is. And I'm referring mostly to the car stuff. It does feel very different. The car moves around it has a lot of vertical travel, the car rolls over a little bit, actually I noticed the vertical more than to the side, but I'm sure that traffic running, race running, is going to be different too. I've run in a group of five but I haven't run in a group of thirty yet or twenty or whatever its going to be. I haven't completely made a pit stop yet. It's a little bit funky with driving back to the garages all of the time because you never like get used to pulling in anywhere and getting used to references. There's no wonder why people miss there pit boxes, because you don't do it until race day so your not practicing it. And in terms of basing my decision on whether to run the Nationwide race next weekend. It really does come down to me but I'm also listening to everyone around me. There's been a lot of people, a lot of really good people, that have told me it's not the right place to start. It's a weird race. There's so many Cup guys out there. I don't want to be out there and make a mistake and take somebody out that's running for a championship or God forbid taking out one of the Cup guys and making them mad right away. And it will not happen on purpose but it will be inexperience so I just want to play it smart and I might very well go out there and feel really great but there are a lot of other things out there then just driving around. You've got pit stops you've got all kinds of stuff so I have the ability to take it slow, nobody is really pressuring me to do it so we'll be erring on the side of caution.

Last year in the negotiation phase you met with Kelly Earnhardt in a Sushi Bar in North Carolina. Did you have to do any type of preparation to learn more about Kelly Earnhardt and Dale as well and also after having that meeting what kind of struck you about her?

The deal was pretty much done when we met. I did not come to JR Motorsports when I was out here in the summer time meeting with teams. I went to a lot of race shops but not that one. The deal progressed quickly and the natural progression was with GoDaddy and GoDaddy being involved with that team was a nice thing. It was a good transisition and it really helped the process. When I met Kelly and even when you talk to Kelly-Kelly is a very straight-forward girl. She's got her head screwed on straight, she knows what she wants, she's not bothered by the little things, she's just what do you need, this, that, the other, good. Let's just get it done. Let's not argue about silly stuff and obviously that's mostly regarding getting the deal done. But she's just really straight-forward. Whatever she can do to help and I think we're all going to have a lot of fun with this process. I think she's really excited about it. The first time that I talked to her I was flying home from Indianapolis and this came up and I was about to get on the plane but I called her and talked to her as long as I could and she really did have those simple questions, which really is what everybody asks me. All of the Cup teams asked me when I first talked to them they are like 'why do you want to do this, what do you want, what are you trying to accomplish, what are your goals.' They really wanted to know if I was serious. I would hope and I have heard from a few different people that they walk away and they say 'she's totally serious about it' which is the way it is and obviously I am sitting here today so I was pretty serious.  People want to hear it from me. People who have never met me and have never spoken to me. There is all kinds of stuff out there about me about what I'm like, things that people have written, and pictures and me looking mad all of the time and people don't really know what I'm like until they meet me so I think she just wanted to get a feel.

As opposed to earlier in the week now you know you have a really good car, one that could potentially challenge to win the race. Does that make you want more than what you talked about earlier in the week?

I don't think I would ever say that I'm not thinking about winning. I'm thinking about doing really well and I think it would be silly for me to talk about winning the race because I've never done it before and I have no idea but I don't think I would ever drive for a team that I didn't think I had a chance to win with. I believe in them. They believe in me. I have a lot to learn but now that we have qualifying over with and everything is kind of shook down a little bit more you can kind of see. I have a lot of good drivers around me but how it goes down in the race is still a mystery to me. But I'm going to be smart and try to be there at the end and do something about it and hopefully I have people where if I'm not in the lead they will want to go with me and that's all I know right now. I'm sure that I'll learn a lot, and hopefully I will make it past half way at least.

You said usually a person is their own worst critic. How patient are you going to be with yourself?

I think the fastest way to make progress as a driver is to always recognize what you've done wrong.  I was disappointed with myself already during qualifying I came around from the line and I kind of did a tail spin a little bit and I didn't really go far. I didn't get all of the revs out of it and I'm like shoot, you know, and as you can see in the laps there's really not much to it and Tony is telling me it's all in the first five feet and I'm thinking great I didn't do well in those first five feet. I'm looking at those things but in a productive way. I'm not going to dwell on it. Note to self this is what I need to do next time. If you keep doing it over and over again you need to have a different plan of attack. I'm not going to get mad about it. I kind of feel like I'm going into my first year of INDY Car racing again.

Patrick starts 12th in Saturday's Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA race, live on SPEED beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern.

Alli Owens Comments on Patrick's Transition to Stock Cars

Danica Patrick announced today that she will run the 2010 ARCA Series race at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for her Nationwide Series events with JR Motorsports.  Alli Owens, who is returning for her third season of ARCA competition, offers some insight on the transition Patrick will face as she transitions from open-wheel racing.

Danica has New Colors for 2009

From The Indianapolis 500...Above

From Milwaukee.... (Photo Above by Mark Rotor)

Danica Patrick at the Kentucky Speedway August 8-9, 2008

Photos By Mark & Yolanda Rotor

Get your Boxing gloves on…
Danica Patrick & Milka Duno Spar at Race Track.


It was only a matter of time that a cat fight would start in the Indy Car Series. The series features more female athletes than nearly any other motorsports, maybe the exception being the NHRA. But you seldom if at all hear the women of the NHRA fighting and bickering.

The Honda Indy 200 was just more of the same for Danica Patrick. She seems to have had nothing but struggles & stress in the past three months since winning her first Indy Car race in Japan prior to the Indianapolis 500

Patrick, who started a career-best second at Mid Ohio a year ago, was 11th in the morning practice, blaming again someone else for her slower effort. The victim this time.. The soft spoken Milka Duno.

After getting out of her car, Patrick quickly strutted to where Duno, the only other woman racing here in the IRL’s  top league this weekend,  and confronted the less experienced driver about getting in her way several times during the practice.

Where or where was Charles Burns when you needed him?

The confrontation lasted only about a minute, but witnesses said it grew heated and that Duno flung a towel in Patrick’s direction at one point as the two exchanged words. Patrick eventually walked away. Can you blame Milka?

Patrick seems to have little if any respect for her fellow drivers, especially those who have less experience and time in the Indy Car Series.

Patrick, who has previously confronted fellow drivers Dan Wheldon and Ryan Briscoe after racing incidents, brushed off the latest dustup, saying, “I just wanted to know if she saw me out there.” Sure she did. Racing is about competition, and sometimes cars will get in each others way. Its called racing.

Patrick needs to stop complaining about what others are doing and worry about what she does. Then things will get better… for everyone.

Milka Duno was not immediately available for comment.
Things didn’t get better for Danica after the confrontation.
She failed to get past the first of three rounds in the knockout-style time trials and started 20th on the 26-car grid in Sunday’s race. Duno qualified last.

“The car was pretty fast during practice this morning, but I was unable to find the speed that I needed during qualifying,” Patrick said. “I’m disappointed that I didn’t qualify better, knowing that I started on the front row last year.

“But there are some areas of the course where I will be able to make some passes. It’s a long race, so, hopefully, I can work my way up the field.”

Danica Patrick at Chicagoland Speedway September, 2007

Photos By Dan Peters & Joe Paolella

Focused and ready during practice

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 2007 

Danica Patrick To Run For JR Motorsports

Photo Photo By Joe Paolella

Danica Patrick is near a deal to join JR Motorsports

IndyCar Series and crossover media star Danica Patrick is nearing completion of a two-year contract with JR Motorsports, the NASCAR Nationwide Series operation owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and a source close to the negotiations described the talks as being "in the final phase."

A second source close to the situation confirmed the deal is moving forward, saying "talks are moving in a very positive direction and it would probably be a surprise if it didn't happen."

Danica Patrick in Makes her Debut in ARCA Testing at Daytona

NASCAR Photo

Both the Patrick and Earnhardt camps declined comment when reached Wednesday, but Earnhardt told SceneDaily.com that other teams also continue to talk to Patrick about a future in NASCAR.

"She's really serious about coming to NASCAR. A lot of people, I guess, thought that it was just a media hoax or her kind of blowing smoke," Earnhardt Jr. said Wednesday night. "She's really serious about it, and she's going to do it with somebody."

Before Brad Keselowski signed with Penske Racing South, JR Motorsports had no room for Patrick -- and thus little interest -- sources close to negotiations between the team and driver told ESPN.com's Marty Smith. But when Keselowski jumped to Sprint Cup with Penske, JRM jumped headfirst into the Patrick sweepstakes.

Sources close to negotiations told Smith on Wednesday a deal is expected to be completed within a week or 10 days, but likely won't be formally announced until the offseason. NASCAR's Chase for the Cup playoffs culminate with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami on Nov. 22.

Sources also told Smith the first race on Patrick's tentative schedule is the ARCA event at Daytona Speedweeks. Depending on whether she is approved by NASCAR to run the Daytona Nationwide Series event in February, Patrick plans to run 12 or 13 Nationwide races in 2010, sources said.

If Patrick is not approved by NASCAR, she would likely debut at Auto Club Speedway the following week.

Patrick met with Rick Hendrick, owner of Sprint Cup juggernaut Hendrick Motorsports, which supplies support to JR Motorsports, for the first time just two weeks ago due to scheduling conflicts. Hendrick at the time made a "big commitment" to her that he would continue to support thoroughly the JRM effort, sources told Smith.

Since then, talks have intensified.

Sources told ESPN's David Newton that Patrick is negotiating to drive the No. 7, her number in IndyCar. That would replace the No. 5, the second car at JRM. She would split that ride with Earnhardt Jr. and one or more other drivers.

Sources said GoDaddy.com, which already sponsors Patrick in the IndyCar Series, is expected to be the primary sponsor for the car.

Contrary to reports that Patrick will make $300,000 a race, sources said she would make in line of the typical Nationwide salary -- between $50,000 and $100,000 a race. "She's not in it for the money," a source said. "She's in it for the experience."

Patrick, the 2005 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year and the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race, will continue to race full-time for Andretti Green Racing in IndyCar.

Sources told ESPN.com's Marty Smith that, at present, the first race on Patrick's tentative schedule is the ARCA event at Daytona Speedweeks. Depending on whether or not she is approved by NASCAR to run the Daytona Nationwide Series event in February, Patrick plans to run 12 or 13 Nationwide races in 2010, sources said.

Patrick signed a three-year contract extension with AGR earlier this year, leading many to believe that she had put any NASCAR plans on hold. While the relatively sparse IndyCar schedule -- 17 races spread over seven and a half months -- leaves plenty of room to run a number of other events, calendar conflicts between the two series appear to make running the full Nationwide schedule all but impossible.

"Danica Watch" has been a season-long source of headlines and garage gossip in IndyCar and NASCAR throughout the 2009 season, as the 27-year-old driver made repeated trips to North Carolina to chat with potential stock car suitors, including Tony Stewart's Stewart-Haas Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. A decision to sign with JR Motorsports would establish a direct tie to Hendrick, which supplies engines, cars and technical assistance to Earnhardt's operation -- as well as Stewart's.

Earnhardt and Patrick already have a corporate connection, in current sponsorship deals with GoDaddy.com. The Web site registration service is a sponsor on JR Motorsports' No. 88 Chevrolet, which has earned four Nationwide Series wins this season with Keselowski at the wheel.

GoDaddy.com also recently signed on to sponsor Hendrick's No. 5 Chevy beginning in 2010. That car is currently driven by Mark Martin, who is signed through 2011.

As recently as last weekend, some Sprint Cup stars, most notably open-wheel defector Juan Pablo Montoya, have suggested that Patrick concentrate on running one series only instead of jumping back and forth from IndyCar to stock cars. Patrick herself has openly expressed reservations about diving into NASCAR's notoriously long schedule.

But even those who have advised her to resist the temptation to double dip admit that the potential financial windfall might be worth the grind of logistics and the learning curve of stock car racing.

Patrick made headlines in April 2008 when she won an IndyCar race at Twin Ring Motegi, the first for a woman in a major American non-drag racing series. She was the first woman to lead a lap at the Indianapolis 500, in 2005.

No woman has ever won a race in any of NASCAR's top three national series. The last regular female competitor in the NASCAR Nationwide Series was Patty Moise, who started 22 of 26 races in what was then known as the Busch Series in 1995. Shawna Robinson won the pole position for a Busch Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1994.

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Patrick graces cover of Shape magazine

Danica Patrick is featured on the cover of the June issue of Shape magazine, which is available on newsstands and by subscription.

Patrick relays that she relies on win-win “E” strategies -- eating healthy and exercise – to keep fueled and fit for the rigors of the IndyCar Series. During the racing season, a high-protein diet with complex carbohydrates is in order. Many days, breakfast consists of a three egg-white omelet and a bowl of homemade oatmeal with cinnamon, flax meal, brown sugar and a scoop of peanut butter on the side.

Because Patrick is 5 foot 2 and about 104 pounds – the lightest driver in the series – upper-body strength is important to control the 1,600-pound No. 7 Motorola car on the street/road and oval circuits. She tells readers about the diversity of regimens to build endurance and strength.

“I’m really excited for the Shape magazine to be released,” Patrick said. “It was an honor to be asked to do the cover on a magazine that I have been a faithful reader of for years. But it was also great to be part of a magazine that is centered on women. It was a lot of fun, a great deal of hard work, but well worth it.”

Danica Patrick's official web site:

http://www.danicaracing.com/

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Danica has only one speed.... Fast

Danica Patrick paid a $196 fine to settle a speeding ticket after the star race car driver was caught going 54 mph in a 35 mph zone last month.

Patrick, the first woman to win an IndyCar race, was due in traffic court Monday, but a Scottsdale City Court clerk says she paid the fine Wednesday.

The 26-year-old driver was pulled over by Scottsdale police Dec. 9 in her hometown while driving a 2007 Mercedes. A year ago, she was ticketed for driving 57 mph in a 40 mph zone in Scottsdale and was ordered to attend traffic school.

Scottsdale court records show the recent tickets are among several she has received in the past three years.

A call to Patrick’s racing team wasn’t immediately returned.

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Danica Patrick at Iowa, 2008

Photos By Mark & Yolanda Rotor

Danica has her "Race Face" on 

Danica Patrick in Turn 1 at Iowa

Danica's Crew gets her car ready for battle

Danica Patrick at The Milwaukee Mile June, 2007

Racing at the legendary "Mile"