Indianapolis 500: Danica Returns Back To Business
May 11, 2008
IndyCar
Patrick had been in tears Friday after hitting Chuck Buckman and sending him flipping over her car and onto his face.
Buckman, who was hospitalized with a concussion and cuts to his face, was expected to return to duty as chief mechanic for Mario Moraes at Dale Coyne Racing in a few days.
And Patrick Saturday got back to the business of trying to capture pole position for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on May 25.
She got some words of encouragement from fellow driver Tony Kanaan of Brazil, her teammate at Andretti Green Racing who is the leader of the team.
“I came back and I watched the video,” Kanaan said. “When I came in, she had tears in her eyes, so I hugged her and she cried a little more, so maybe that was a bad move on my behalf.
“I said, ‘Let it go.’ She was like, ‘He has a family.’ I said, ‘It wasn’t your fault.’ I said he’s going to get better. There is not a lot you can say. I said, ‘You’ve got to keep your head straight.’ I said, ‘Go talk to his team, call his family.’”
Patrick, who addressed the media Friday night after the incident and said that she would not discuss the situation any further, was more interested in getting a chance to start up front for the biggest race of the season.
“Getting a pole here is like winning a race somewhere else,” Patrick said. “I was a little bit worried going in (to the qualifying run) just wondering what was going to come of it because I hadn’t done a full qualifying simulation. So that was a little bit intimidating.
Patrick, who won in Japan last month to become the first woman to win a race in a major series, had hoped to have another run on Saturday, but changing weather conditions and increasing wind prompted her team to decide it wouldn’t be fruitful.
