Ron McQueeney/IMS
Question: What kind of car do you drive when you’re not racing?
Danica: I drive around Phoenix, where I live now, in a silver Lamborghini Gallardo. I also have a Mercedes SUV, and I really love that car. Before I got the Mercedes, though, I had the Lamborghini for about a year and a half, so I’d have to go to the grocery store in it. It has no room for groceries, no room for anything. One time I had to pick up my sister at the airport and it was pretty funny. I get there and she had her dog and all her luggage and there was nowhere to put everything. We were kind of hanging on to everything. It was a little embarrassing.
Question: What type of driver are you on regular roads?
Danica: I’m a very anxious driver in regular traffic. I have a lot of anxiety on the road. There are a lot of people who don’t know how to drive.
Question: Do you ever go above the speed limit?
Danica: Let’s just say I have a very big comfort zone when it comes to speed. I would never try to hurt anyone or myself, but I do it in the right … the responsible way.
Question:Have you ever had a car accident off the track?
Danica: I’ve had a couple of little rear-end events here and there, where, you know, I’ll look up at a stoplight and someone won’t move when I thought they would. But, knock on wood, I haven’t had any severe accidents, even competing.
Question: Do you see yourself as an athlete?
Danica: Absolutely I’m an athlete. If anybody took a little time to learn what we do, spent time with drivers to figure out what they do on a daily basis to work out, they’d see it is very physical. Driving in a go-kart will give you a sense of it, even — you come out with bruises. In the Indy cars, we don’t have power steering. The forces are such that we could drive upside-down. The cars weigh more than 1,000 pounds.
Question: How do you stay fit for racing?
Danica: I work out daily. My workout is a balance of building strength — especially upper-body strength — and stamina, endurance. I use free weights, and I do running, yoga and Pilates.
