Danica Patrick

MODERATOR: Now we're joined by Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 16 Argent-Pioneer/Panoz/Honda. Danica Patrick leads the Bombardier Rookie-of-the-Year standing, currently 11th, kind of flip-flopped with Patrick there for 10th the last couple weeks.

Q. This I believe will be the first track on the series that you've actually raced at before.



DANICA PATRICK: Right. It will be the first and only (laughter).

Q. Obviously, the cars are much different. Describe what kind of help that is going to be, if any.

DANICA PATRICK: You know, it's always good to have seen a track before, just to kind of know where the little bumps are here and there, and just the general feel for the size. But everything seems to shrink when you go faster. It's obviously going to be tougher and it's going to feel different. From a view perspective, at least I have an idea.

Q. You did get to race here twice in Atlantics. Can you give an idea of the progress or how it felt different maybe coming the second time with the Atlantics car compared to the first?

DANICA PATRICK: You know, once -- to be honest, once you've driven around for about five, 10 laps, you don't notice a difference. I mean, you've kind of got the track down, especially with ovals. The only thing that improves is that when race conditions come, you know what to expect slightly more from the track and from your car.

But overall, just as a track, you know, based on the track, it's pretty predictable and you know pretty much what's going on within a good few laps.

Q. Traditionally when people have looked at ovals, they've often talked about Milwaukee being about as close to a road course as you're going to see in an oval, the way it's flat, kind of the way you drive it. Is that still the case? Do you still see that a little bit? It's a whole lot different driving here than in Texas, Kansas, those types of tracks.

DANICA PATRICK: Well, you're pretty much just turning left (laughter). It's pretty much just left. So I don't really see how it is a road course of any kind. To me it's just another short oval.

Q. I guess I was referring more to the style of racing. It's not the pack-type drafting so much.

DANICA PATRICK: No, which is pretty standard for short ovals. The mile ovals are more; in Richmond's case less. There's usually not two grooves. Usually you pass and you get by or you don't. There's not as much side-by-side racing around. From that point of view it's a little bit more like a road course in that when you overtake, you overtake. You don't run side by side for five laps and go, "Oh, I lost that battle, I guess."

Q. Obviously since the Indy 500, you've been inundated and overwhelmed with requests from every type of media in the United States. How do you stay focused on your job? Media who have covered you for several years realize your talent and know you've got what it takes, whether or not you're a man or woman. How have you stayed grounded in doing your job and not letting all of this just make you crazy?

DANICA PATRICK: You know, I have to give so much credit to the team for organizing things, for making everything -- you know, everything we do is worthwhile, everything we do goes a long way. Everything we do, we maximize time. You know, it's just very planned out. At the beginning of the season, we needed to figure out where interviews fit best and where they didn't. We've really got it down now. I give so much credit to the team for not making me go crazy with so many interviews and so many different visits and appearances and stuff.

I think we all have a very good understanding and grasp for the job at hand, and that's to race the car. That's when the stories really develop and happen, is when good things happen there.

Q. Do you think you get a fair shake in your job as a driver or is it just completely overshadowed by the fact that you're a woman?

DANICA PATRICK: I definitely think I get a fair shake. There's no question about that. I feel like I have a good shot, I have a good team, there's good support, there's good faith, good confidence. I feel like sometimes people, because of the amount of media, because of the amount of attention, people seem to think I have to do things. Like I have to win right now, I have to do certain things. But I don't feel like that. I take none of that to heart. I don't feel like there's anything that I need to do for anybody else. I want to win bad enough for myself anyway, that nothing anybody can say can make me want to win any more.

I think that's one of the bad things that comes from the media and so much exposure, is that they can tend to think you need to do things to justify. And really it's just happening. I'm doing the interviews, you know, and turning down a lot. It's not like I'm just -- I'm not asking for everything. So much is coming this direction. It's what people want. It's the story that they want. You have to keep it all in perspective.

Q. Do you think your support network with your fiance and parents have also been crucial in helping you stay on an even keel with your job and personal life and responsibilities?

DANICA PATRICK: Yes. I believe because of my family, because of my friends, because of the team that I drive for, you know, I believe that I am able to focus. I'm able to vent when I need to. I'm able to be myself and to relax. Without their support and without their, you know, help, just even with simple domestic things like sending a package for me or doing a call for me, contacting someone for me, getting my motorhome to the track, whatever it may be, it's some stuff you wouldn't think is a big deal, but when you have to do everything yourself, it's impossible, so I have a lot of help.

Q. The development programs for women in NASCAR, I do a lot of work with them. Do you feel more pride, or amusement that these other leagues all of a sudden are thinking they need their Danica?

DANICA PATRICK: Do I feel more pride that they need a Danica?

Q. Do you feel pride that now other leagues are saying, "We need someone ..." ?

DANICA PATRICK: I feel flattered that they feel they need someone like me. I definitely do. I was in the middle of nowhere just looking at the newspaper, and all of a sudden I open up the sports and a big topic or headline said, "Looking for Danica." I'm like, "Holy crap." I was shocked. I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, I can't believe this." It was then in that article that I read that a lot of other women in sports, in racing, have been doing interviews since Indianapolis. I think that's great. But, you know, the good ones are going to come through. If I help, I help. If I don't, I don't. The people that are going to make it are going to make it 'cause they're good.

Q. You've had a while now to look back and reflect on Indy. I've read a few of the articles, especially by the women racers, that said they couldn't imagine what pressure you were under because sometimes women only get one chance. You were under such a limelight that if you didn't do well, everybody would say, "Women drivers," and dismiss them as a group.

DANICA PATRICK: You know, Indianapolis wasn't going to be the month that I had to do well. It just became the month that everybody wanted me to do well, and since then. And even before that.

But I was doing well anyway, and that's why the media started getting so big. That's why everything started to build so much and so much attention was there, because I was doing well, I was doing what everybody was hoping someday would happen some day with a female somewhere or just from a standpoint of originality and attention. That's what was happening.

Q. Looking back, you didn't feel any extra pressure now that you said, "Whoa, I can't believe I went through that".

DANICA PATRICK: I just felt like a lot of people were hoping with me. I think that everybody hopes I do well. The smart people know that I'm very early in my career. I've done so little, and I've done so little oval racing, there's just so much things that are new to me. Smart people, people that are educated in motor racing, know where I'm at in the learning curve. They have a good grasp of what's going on each and every weekend.

Q. I'm wondering if you're hoping that the day comes real soon that the phrase "female driver" is redundant?

DANICA PATRICK: What do you mean?

Q. That it's no longer an issue, that it's just Danica Patrick the driver and not Danica Patrick the female driver.

DANICA PATRICK: You know, I don't -- it's a tough question because so many good things come along with being a female, being original, being something different, so I'm not going to say that I don't like being a female. I do, I love it. I'm proud to be what I am and who I am and the character that I am.

I think that over time as things, you know, progress and as the experience level goes up, as I do better and better, I think whether more females come along or not, they're not going to have -- they're not going to be saying, "She's good for a girl." I already feel like they're not saying that.

If more females come along, that's fine. But, you know, they're going to come along for the right reasons, I hope, and not just because they're females. They're going to be out there because they're good drivers.

Q. Do you feel for Katherine Legg, who is following in your footsteps in Toyota Atlantics, and hears your name every week?

DANICA PATRICK: Do I feel for her? Do I feel bad for her?

Q. Like I say, she hears your name every week and she's sort of on the same development curve as you are, trying to learn as a driver.

DANICA PATRICK: You know, I think -- I don't know. I don't necessarily feel for her. It would be like saying I feel for a guy out there. It's no different. I think the good drivers are going to make it through and then we'll see what happens. You know, I guess I don't necessarily feel bad for her. I mean, I think that, you know, due to what happened at Indianapolis is part of the reason why there is more attention, and due to what's happened in my career.

Q. We in the media, sports media that cover racing, have done so much on how you've become a face for the league, maybe the face for the league. When you were out in public, how much recognition do you get?

DANICA PATRICK: Usually -- it's a question that people ask, and I don't really get much hassle until I sort of stop. If I stop at the checkout somewhere or if I stop and eat somewhere. You know, if I keep moving, people for the most part don't really stare so much.

You know, when I'm in my hometown, people stare a little bit more because they're more familiar with the face. But other than that, I usually get someone at each place I go say something or look at me a little extra. But it's by no means not changing my lifestyle, it's not hindering being able to walk around at all, no.

Q. How strange was that at first, going from where you were a couple years ago, to being a bona fide celebrity?

DANICA PATRICK: How weird is it?

Q. Yes.

DANICA PATRICK: It's flattering. It's great. But it's something that, you know, I knew could happen if things went well and if I had the chance. I knew that great things could happen in motorsports. If I went somewhere and things went well, there would be a lot of attention. It's very satisfying. You know, I feel it's a rewarding feeling because it means you're doing those things right, it means you're doing a good job. It just makes you want to do even better all the time.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much for joining us. We'll see you this weekend in Milwaukee.