Danica Patrick Not Antsy for First Win

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Posted 8:07PM on Friday, July 22, 2005

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - It seems like everybody is fixated on when Danica Patrick is going to make history. Everybody except Patrick, that is. The question comes up each time the Indy Racing League rookie phenom approaches a race: When will Patrick get that first win, becoming the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America? "I get asked that question daily, often," said IRL spokesman John Griffin as the subject of the conversation buzzed around the Milwaukee Mile on Friday during the opening practice for Sunday's A.J. Foyt 225. Just don't ask Patrick. The 23-year-old racer would much rather concentrate on what she considers the big learning curve. Just like any rookie, she'll need to turn a lot of laps before she's a weekly threat to win and a serious contender for the IndyCar Series championship. "I'll get that first win when everything falls into place and I deserve to win," Patrick said. "It's tough, though. The IRL public relations people did some research and most rookies don't win their first year." Of the 23 drivers currently in the IRL, 12 have won races in North American open-wheel series and their first win on average came in their 33rd start. The last IRL rookie to win a race was Tomas Scheckter, who took the checkered flag in 2002 at Michigan International Speedway - in his 11th start. But it's Patrick who has raised expectations by her performance this season. She has won a pole and started from the front row three times in her first nine races. Patrick also has led laps in three races and has a pair of fourth-place finishes, including one in the Indianapolis 500 that gave her the most notoriety, turned her into a one-name and created "Danica-Mania." Patrick didn't win any awards at the star-studded ESPY's last week, but she did get one of the biggest ovations when she was introduced as a presenter. She draws a crowd of autograph seekers wherever she goes and is No. 1 on the IRL list of media interview requests. A story this week in the Wall Street Journal about the superior reaction times of drivers referred to NASCAR star Jeff Gordon - and Patrick. But Patrick remains serene and focused on her job. "She's pretty amazing," said Ray Leto, her engineer on the Rahal Letterman Racing team. "I don't think all the attention has gotten into her head at all. She wants to be a great race car driver and that's her total focus when she's at the racetrack." Patrick understands how fortunate she is to be with a top team and have some of the best equipment. That means all she has to be concerned with is learning her job. "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," she said. "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." The wide, nearly flat one-mile oval at the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds Park is the only track on the IRL schedule where Patrick has raced before this season. She finished sixth in 2003 and fourth in 2004 in races in the developmental Toyota Atlantic series. "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," Patrick said. "But, everything seems to shrink when you go faster. It's obviously going to be tougher and it's going to feel different." Helio Castroneves was the fastest in Friday's practice at 166.293 mph, followed by series points leader Dan Wheldon at 165.605, Scheckter at 165.390, Saturday's Nashville winner Dario Franchitti at 165.372, two-time series champion Sam Hornish Jr. at 164.372 and Patrick at 163.385. "To be honest, once you've driven around for about five, 10 laps, you don't notice a difference," she said. "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." © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.