Danica Patrick’s goal for her first NASCAR race? Finish.
``My goal purely is just to finish the race,’’ she said. ``Log 300 miles of practice.’‘
Nerves could play a role. She has been somewhat timid in the face of all the attention her move from open-wheel racing to NASCAR has received and knows the media buzz surrounding her debut at Daytona has caused a sharp spike in ticket sales.
``I think that I’m just going have to stay cool and calm,’’ Patrick said. ``If the car is difficult to drive, I think the discipline will be to just keep it at the pace that I’m comfortable with, keep it in the race, try and work on the pit stops, just tune it in as much as possible.’‘
Tony Stewart, who has mentored Patrick this week, said fans and critics should keep in mind that Saturday’s race is simply a ``learning experience’’ for Patrick and ``if everybody treats it that way, then everything will be fine.’’
``If she can run the whole Nationwide race here [Saturday] and not have a problem, she’s going to have so much knowledge when she leaves here about these cars,’’ Stewart said. ``The good thing is that she is focused and determined and is logging a lot of miles right now, and that’s what you have to do.’’ MiamiHerald.com
Patrick watched replays of last year’s race, noting trends and tendencies. Based on what she has seen, her car could be even more of a handful in the race than it was in practice.
“I did some in-car camera and race footage from last year,” Patrick said. “I watched the first bit of the race [Thursday] morning. I’m in the garage telling the guys, ‘Everyone went loose last year, everyone went loose last year. Please, I’m already loose!”
In addition to watching video, Patrick has sought advice from some of the sport’s top drivers and crew chiefs. Beyond Dale Earnhardt Jr.—who is a co-owner of the family racing team, JR Motorsports, that Patrick is driving for—she also has talked to Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart and Chad Knaus, Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief.
“Guys have been extremely generous,” Patrick said. “I don’t plan on wasting that or taking that for granted.” ESPN
Race fans are clearly excited about Patrick, whose appearance in the ARCA race at Daytona last weekend led to a 59 percent increase in television ratings for that event.
“A lot of attention—for her, not me,” Earnhardt said. “This might be the first time we don’t have to weave through cameras and media reporters when walking to our car, because they’ll be in Danica’s garage. She handles it well, and we’ll try to make sure it’s not a distraction this weekend.
“We are there to do a job. ... It’s a big race for our sponsors, and it’s a big race for our sport. A lot of people will be paying attention to this race this Saturday.” NASCAR.com
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